Rachel Wai-Ching Cheung (; born September 27, 1991) 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 ...
from
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
She has won numerous prizes and awards in Hong Kong and overseas, and performs regularly in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Early life and education
Cheung comes from a musical family. Her father, a piano teacher, gave her first
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
lessons at age four.
At age ten, she was admitted to
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) (Chinese: 香港演藝學院) is a provider of tertiary education in Hong Kong. Located near the north coast of Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, the main campus also functions as a venue for pe ...
(HKAPA) as a junior student studying under Professor
Eleanor Wong, Artist-in-Residence and Senior Lecturer in Keyboard.
She also attended secondary school at the
Maryknoll Convent School
Maryknoll Convent School (MCS, ) is a Roman Catholic girls' school with primary and secondary sections at Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded by the American Maryknoll Sisters in Hong Kong in 1925 at Kowloon Tsai, Hong Kong. MCS is a pre ...
.
For college, she continued studies at HKAPA with Professor Wong and obtained her
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...
degree in Piano Performance with First Class Honours in June 2011 on a full scholarship from the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation.
In September 2011, Cheung began studies overseas with Professor
Peter Frankl
Peter Frankl (born 2 October 1935) is a Hungary, Hungarian-born United Kingdom, British pianist. He mainly performs music from the Classical period (music), Classical period (particularly Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart), the Romantic music, Rom ...
at the
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...
in the USA on full scholarships from Yale and the
Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...
Music and Dance Fund Scholarship.
She was awarded the Elizabeth Parisot Prize with Larry Weng for outstanding pianists at the Yale School of Music during school year 2011–2012.
On May 20, 2013 Cheung was conferred the
Master of Music degree in piano at Yale School of Music's 120th Commencement.
Awards
Junior competitions
In 2001 Cheung won First Prize in the Hong Kong regional competition of the
Steinway and Sons International Youth Piano Competition. At her first competition in Europe, she claimed First Prize at the 2002
Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod
The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from around ...
for Western Instrumental Group under 15 in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. In May 2003, Cheung won First Prize in the Junior Group (under age 15) at the “5th Biennial
International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz” in the
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Besides winning the Gold Medal, she was awarded three special prizes from the jury: Most Outstanding Concerto Performance, Best Performance of Romantic Period Pieces, and Youngest Participant of the Competition. Also in 2003, Cheung was awarded First Prize in the Piano Solo division and First Prize in the Piano Concerto under Age 18 division at the 55th Hong Kong School Music Festival. In June 2004, she won First Prize and a Peer Jury Prize for the most popular finalist at the 2004
Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Senior competitions
In 2008, Cheung won second prize at the
Alessandro Casagrande
Alessandro Casagrande (1922 – 1964) was an Italian composer and pianist. There is an international piano competition held in his name.
Casagrande was born in Terni on 11 April 1922. His parents were musicians and owned a music shop in t ...
International Piano Competition in
Terni
Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...
, Italy.
In September 2009 she won fifth prize at the
Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, the best result a Hong Kong pianist has achieved in this prestigious competition. She was also a semi-finalist at the
XVI International Chopin Piano Competition
The XVI International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, XVI Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held in Warsaw, Poland from 3 to 20 October 2010, for the first time organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Prize winner ...
in Warsaw in October 2010. In November 2012, Cheung was awarded the George Leibenson Special Prize at the 67th
Geneva International Music Competition
The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...
in Piano.
In 2017, Cheung was a finalist and won the Audience Award in the
Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in Fort Worth, Texas, from May 25 to June 10, 2017.
Commissioned work
All competitors were required to play the commissioned work in their 45-minute Preliminary Round recital. It ...
in Fort Worth, Texas. ''The Dallas Morning News'' called her “a poet, but also a dramatist,” displaying “the most sophisticated and compelling music-making.”
Career
2005
On April 14, 2005, 13-year-old Cheung performed an extraordinary program to thunderous applause, cheers, and whistles at the 2005 Miami International Piano Festival at the
Broward Center for the Performing Arts
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts (commonly known as the Broward Center) is a large multi-venue performing arts center located in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States.
Opened in 1991 on a site along the north bank of the N ...
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She performed Bach's
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, Haydn's
Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Liszt's "
Étude in F minor, La leggierezza," "
Au bord d'une source (S.156, No. 2b)," and "
Étude No. 5 in E major, La chasse,' Chopin's "
Variations brilliantes in B-flat major," Faure's "
Nocturne No. 1 in E-flat minor," "Barcarolle No. 4 in A-flat major," and "Impromptu No. 2 in F minor," and Prokofiev's "
Suggestion diabolique, Op. 4, No. 4" and "
Piano Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28." When it was over, the audience presented Cheung with seven bouquets and a stuffed lamb.
2006
On December 14, 2006 Cheung played a solo recital at
Hong Kong City Hall
Hong Kong City Hall () is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.
Since Hong Kong is a " Special Administrative Region" and not a normal Chinese city, there is no mayor or city council; therefore, the ...
Concert Hall at The Joy of Music Festival organized by the Chopin Society of Hong Kong. Her programme included Mozart's
Fantasy No. 2 in C minor, K. 396/385f and
Piano Sonata No. 18 in D major, K. 576; Liszt's
Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude and
Two Concert Studies; Schubert's
Three Piano Pieces, D. 946; Chopin's
Four Mazurkas, Op. 24 and
Ballade in F minor, Op. 52, No. 4 and Poulenc's ''Trois pièces'',
FP 48.
2007
On July 15, 2007, 15-year-old Cheung opened the 2007
Golandsky Institute International Piano Festival by performing works by Chopin, Copland, Mozart, and Schumann at Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, New Jersey. On September 8, 2007, 15-year-old Cheung performed
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Cantonese: 香港管弦樂團), commonly abbreviated as HKPO or HKPhil (Cantonese: 港樂), is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Si ...
conducted by
Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the S ...
at
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall.
2012
On February 25, 2012 Cheung performed
Johannes Brahms’s Six Pieces, Op. 118 as part of The Kennedy Center's Conservatory Project featuring Yale School of Music students on The Millennium Stage at the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in Washington, DC. On December 3, 2012 she performed
W.A. Mozart: Sonata No. 15 in F major, K. 533/494 in a piano master class with
Robert D. Levin
Robert David Levin (born October 13, 1947) is an American classical pianist, musicologist and composer, and served as the artistic director of the Sarasota Music Festival from 2007 to 2017.
Education
Born in Brooklyn, Levin attended the Brookly ...
at Parker Recital Hall in Leigh Hall, Yale University.
2013
On September 26, 2013 Cheung performed a duo recital "A Musical Dialogue" with
bassoonist Chan Ting Yuen in the
Citibank Plaza
Three Garden Road, Central, is an office building in Central, Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong near Garden Road stop of the Peak Tram, completed in 1992 by the Great Eagle Holdings, Great Eagle Group.
The building comprises two wings, each with its ...
lobby, Central, Hong Kong.
2014
On January 24, 2014 Cheung played a piano duet recital with Dr. Helen Cha at the Y.C. Cheng Lecture Theatre of the
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts education, liberal arts institution with a Christian ethics, Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of Ame ...
in Kowloon.
2015
On October 4, 2015 Cheung made her debut at the Stars of Steinway Recital Series at Dunkley Music in
Meridian, Idaho
Meridian is a city located in Ada County in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population of Meridian was 117,635, making it the second largest city in Idaho after Boise. Meridian is considered the state's fastest-growing city an ...
. Her season-opening concert was sponsored by Dunkley Music and Pianoconcert Idaho. She played Oiseaux tristes, Une barque sur l'ocean, and Alborada del gracioso from Ravel's
Miroirs
upRavel in 1907
''Miroirs'' (French for "Mirrors") is a five-movement suite for solo piano written by French composer Maurice Ravel between 1904 and 1905."Miroirs". Maurice Ravel Frontispice. First performed by Ricardo Viñes in 1906, ''Miroir ...
, Brahms'
Four Piano Pieces, Op. 119, and Prokofiev's
Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82. Receiving multiple standing ovations and applause, she played two encores: Chopin's
Prelude Op. 28, No. 6 and Liszt's
La Campanella
"La campanella" (Italian for "The little bell") is the nickname given to the third of Franz Liszt's six ''Grandes études de Paganini'', S. 141 (1851). It is in the key of G-sharp minor. This piece is a revision of an earlier version from 1838, ...
.
Discography
References
External links
official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheung, Rachel
1991 births
Hong Kong pianists
Prize-winners of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition
Prize-winners of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
Piano pedagogues
Alumni of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Yale School of Music alumni
Child classical musicians
Women classical pianists
21st-century classical pianists
Accompanists
People from Kowloon
Hong Kong people
Cantonese people
Living people
Women music educators
21st-century women pianists