Helen Huang (; born October 1982) is a classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

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

Musical career

Huang was born in Ibaraki, Japan, of 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 in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, and then the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

, where she studied with the Israeli pianist Yoheved Kaplinsky, graduating in 2004. Huang made her debut 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, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

.Helen Huan
biography
at Chamber Music International She went on to perform in December 1992 with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

under the direction of

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German 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 Gewandhaus Or ...

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

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Sev ...

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

Saint Louis Symphony The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony orc ...

, 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 one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

. 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's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Pittsburgh, Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Sy ...

(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, Pa ...

. 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. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

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

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, 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 Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

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" Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individuals ...

, for piano in C major, K. 265 (K. 300e) *

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

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 influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

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. Th ...

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

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, 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 Cho-Liang Lin (Lin Cho-liang, , born January 29, 1960), born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is an American violinist who is renowned for his appearances as a soloist with major orchestras. Musical America named him its "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 20 ...

, 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 classical pianists 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 pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century American women pianists Women music educators