Ernest Hin-Leung So (Chinese: 蘇顯亮; born June 1, 1978) is a Hong Kong-born pianist who specialises in the works of lesser-known classical composers such as

Sergei Bortkiewicz Sergei Eduardovich Bortkiewicz ( – 25 October 1952) was a Romantic composer and pianist. He moved to Vienna in 1922 and became a naturalized Austrian citizen in 1926. Life Early life and origins Sergei Eduardovich Bortkiewicz was born i ...

Leopold Godowsky Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher, born in what is now Lithuania to Jewish parents, who became an United States of America, American citizen in 1891. He ...

Nikolai Medtner Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (; – 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immediately after his death, he is now becoming recognized as one of the most significant Russian com ...

Jean Wiener Jean Wiener (or Wiéner) (19 March 1896, 14th arrondissement of Paris – 8 June 1982, Paris) was a French pianist and composer. Life Wiener was trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied alongside Darius Milhaud, and worked wit ...

Déodat de Séverac Marie-Joseph Alexandre Déodat de Séverac (; 20 July 1872 – 24 March 1921) was a French composer. Life Séverac was born in Saint-Félix-Lauragais, Saint-Félix-de-Caraman, Haute-Garonne. He descended from a noble family, profoundly influen ...

Mario Ruiz Armengol Mario Ruiz Armengol (known as "Mayito" or "Mister Harmony") (March 14, 1914 in Veracruz, Mexico – December 22, 2002 in Cancun, Mexico), was a Mexican pianist, composer, arranger, conductor and music teacher. He was the son of pianist and con ...

Federico Mompou Frederic Mompou Dencausse (), or Federico Mompou (16 April 1893 – 30 June 1987), was a Spanish composer and pianist. Life Early years Mompou was born in Barcelona to the lawyer Frederic Mompou and his wife, Josefina Dencausse, who was of ...

, and Anatoly Alexandrov,Musica Espanola in HK - SCMP 23-06-2009
/ref>Piano Recital by Ernest So in HK - SCMP 16-09-2010
/ref>
/ref>The Alexander and Buono Festival
/ref> among many others, including world premiere recordings of works by

Lucien Wurmser Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. People Given name * Lucien, 3rd Prince Murat (1803–1878), French politician and Prince of Pontecorvo *Lucien, Lord of Monaco (1487� ...

and

Abram Chasins Abram Chasins (August 17, 1903 – June 21, 1987) was an American composer, pianist, piano teacher, lecturer, musicologist, music broadcaster, radio executive and author. Biography Born in Manhattan, New York, he attended the Ethical Cultu ...

. So's performances usually include impromptu deliveries on the provenance and contextual background of the pieces he is playing.

Biography

Early in his career, So won the Best Performer Award in Singapore (1995) and the Beethoven Trophy (1995). He later attended the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

and The

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in New York, where he studied under

Jacob Lateiner Jacob Lateiner (March 31, 1928 – December 12, 2010) was a Cuban-American pianist. Early life and studies Though born on March 31, 1928, Lateiner's father did not get around to registering his birth until May 31 the same year. He was the br ...

, Solomon Mikowsky,

Constance Keene Constance Keene (9 February 192124 December 2005) was an American pianist, who was renowned for her 1964 recording of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Preludes and won critical acclaim for her recordings of the works of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Carl Maria von ...

, and Jonathan Feldman.Piano Music from Argentina & Mexico in London, 22-09-2012
/ref> So began touring China intensively in 2014, and has since been appointed as Honorary Professor of Music at numerous universities such as

Jilin Normal University Jilin Normal University () is a university in Siping, Jilin, northeast China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the lis ...

Guangxi University Guangxi University () is a provincial public university in Nanning, Guangxi, China. It is affiliated with the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and co-funded by the regional government and the Ministry of Education. The university is part of P ...

and Jining University. He serves as an Affiliated Fellow at the Morningside College of the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

. From 2009 to 2019 he served as the Chief Technical Consultant of Asia Piano Japan Co. Ltd., where he oversaw the quality control of the company's piano restoration department.Asia Piano Japan Co., Ltd.
''Interlude'' Touch with Pianist Ernest So
/ref> When he is not performing, So devotes much of his time working with the Au Kim Hung Love & Care Association to provide charitable support for school-building and scholarship projects in impoverished areas of mainland China.Charity Piano Concert Dinner in HK, 22-11-2010 - SCMP 18-11-2010
/ref>Ernest So Charity Recital Raises Funds for AKH Love & Care Association 2011
/ref>Ernest Charity Piano Concert in HK, South China Morning Post, 23-11-2012
/ref>
/ref> He currently lives in London.

References

External links

So website''

''Au Kim Hung Love & Care Association''

''Interlude''
{{DEFAULTSORT:So, Ernest 1978 births Living people Classical pianists from Hong Kong 21st-century classical pianists