Helen Huang (; born October 1982) is an American classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. She began studying piano in 1987, performing and touring with major symphony orchestras.

Musical career

Huang was born in Ibaraki, Japan, to Taiwanese parents. Her family moved to the United States in 1985 and Huang began her piano study in 1987. She 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 then 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 ...

, where she studied with the Israeli pianist

Yoheved Kaplinsky Yoheved "Veda" Kaplinsky (born March 23, 1947, in Tel Aviv, British Mandate of Palestine Israel.html" ;"title="ow Israel">ow Israel is a lecturer and professor of music at the Juilliard School. She heads the Pre-College department at Juilliard. ...

, graduating in 2004. Huang debuted with a major symphony orchestra at age 8, when she performed with the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

.Helen Huan
biography
at Chamber Music International She performed in December 1992 with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

under the direction of

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...

, with whom she maintained a close association. Huang has performed with several major orchestras, including the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

, the U.S. National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Saint Louis Symphony, the

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

and the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the exist ...

. She has toured with the New York Philharmonic (in 1998 and again in 1999), the

Pittsburgh Symphony The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra is resident at Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Since 2008, the orchestra's music director is Manfred Ho ...

(1998–99) and the

Vienna Chamber Orchestra The Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammer Orchester, or WKO) is an Austrian chamber orchestra based at the Vienna Konzerthaus. History The WKO was founded in 1946, and its first artistic directors were Franz Litschauer, Heinrich Hollreiser, P ...

. She has been a member of the Juilliard School faculty since 2008.

Awards

Huang is the recipient of numerous awards including the Manhattan School of Music concerto competition (1992); the Martin E. Segal Award (1994); and the Avery Fisher Career Grant (1995).

Discography

;''Introducing Helen Huang'' (1995) *

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 *

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 ;''Helen Huang: For Children'' (1996) * Villa-Lobos, A Prole do bebê (8), suite for piano, Book 1 ("A família do bebê"), A. 140 *

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

Children's Corner ''Children's Corner'', L. 113, is a six-movement suite for solo piano by Claude Debussy. It was published by Durand in 1908, and was first performed by Harold Bauer in Paris on 18 December that year. In 1911, an orchestration by André Caple ...

, suite for piano (or orchestra), L. 113 *Mozart, Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman", for piano in C major, K. 265 (K. 300e) *

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

Songs without Words ''Songs Without Words'' (') is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre. Music The ...

for piano No. 34 in C major ("Spinnerlied"), Op. 67/4 *

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Kinderszenen ' (, "Scenes from Childhood"), Opus number, Op. 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838. History and description Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version. T ...

(Scenes from Childhood) for piano, Op. 15 *

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

, Gnomenreigen, for piano (Zwei Konzertetüden No. 2), S. 145/2 (LW A218/2) ;''Helen Huang'' (1998) *Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ("Elvira Madigan") K. 467 *Mendelssohn, Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 *Mendelssohn, for piano and orchestra in B minor, Op. 22 ;''

Georg Tintner Georg Tintner, (22 May 19172 October 1999) was an Austrian conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Although best known as a conductor, he was also a composer (he considered himself a composer who conducted ...

: Violin Sonata; Works for Piano'' (with Cho-Liang Lin, violin) (2007) *Tintner, Sonata for violin & piano *Tintner, Variations on a Theme of Chopin, for piano *Tintner, Sehnsucht (Longing), prelude for piano *Tintner, Auf den Tod eines Freundes (On the death of a Friend), for piano *Tintner, Piano Sonata in F minor *Tintner, Fugue for piano in G major (''Allegro'') *Tintner, Fugue for piano in C minor (''Bewegt'') *Tintner, Trauermusik (Musica Tragica), for piano

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Helen 1982 births Living people American women classical pianists American musicians of Taiwanese descent American women musicians of Chinese descent People from Ibaraki Prefecture Japanese emigrants to the United States Juilliard School alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni American classical musicians of Chinese descent Juilliard School faculty 20th-century American classical pianists 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American classical pianists 21st-century American women pianists American women music educators