Piano virtuoso returns to native Taiwan for twin concerts

 Taiwan-born Rueibin Chen will interpret Beethoven and Tchaikovsky in Taipei and Tainan next month

Reported by Taiwan News    

2020/11/27

 TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Musical wunderkind Rueibin Chen (陳瑞斌) has returned to his birthplace to channel two Romantic era greats, marking the 250th birthday of Beethoven and 180th year since the birth of Tchaikovsky.

A native son of Tainan, Chen struck a chord at a young age by winning piano competitions, while most of his peers were starting to read Chinese characters. He played with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra at the tender age of 10.

At 13, the government gave him a passport so he could continue his musical education abroad. Chen's family helped him make the move to Austria, where he became the youngest student ever accepted by the prestigious Vienna Conservatory.

He later studied under Russian virtuoso Lazar Berman, becoming his first Asian student. He has performed with orchestras the world over, from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to the Shanghai Symphony, and taken the stage at an equally wide range of events, including the Salzburg Festival, Moscow's International Rachmaninoff Music Festival, and the Auckland International Piano Festival.

Chen has racked up a multitude of accolades over the years, including the Bösendorfer Prize, the Salzburg Festival's Best Prize for Contributions to Music, and the Golden Melody Awards for Best Performance and Best Album. He was also named "Best Young Artist" by Taiwan's minister of culture.

In a 2018 interview with Taiwan News, Chen said Taiwan was a late arrival on the classical music scene due to a dearth of public funding. However, he believes this has begun to change.

"I really hope the government can do more and more to support musicians through policy now that we have new concert halls opening up all over the country," Chen said.

The Taiwanese-Austrian pianist will serenade his hometown with selections from Beethoven and Tchaikovsky at the Tainan Municipal Culture Center next Friday (Dec. 4) at 7:30 p.m., followed by a performance at Taipei's National Concert Hall on Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Highlight: Chen Ruei-bin piano concert

Reported by Taipeitimes 台北時報     

 Fri, Dec 04, 2020

Internationally acclaimed Taiwanese-Austrian pianist Chen Ruei-bin (陳瑞斌) will be putting on a treat for classical music lovers this month in honor of Ludwig van Beethoven and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who this year are respectively celebrating their 250th and 180th birthdays.

Chen says he also wants to provide encouragement and inspiration for people in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and hopes to infuse some positive energy into Taiwanese society as the year draws to a close. The program will include Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, a set of 12 pieces that correspond to each month of the year, as well as Beethoven’s Moonlight and Appassionata sonatas. He says that these pieces are most fitting to help people face uncertain times.

A child prodigy, Chen won his first award at the age of six with a performance of Beethoven’s Pathetique. He left Taiwan when he was 13 to study in Vienna, the same city where Beethoven made his name. He later trained under Russian master Lazar Berman, which brought him close to the works of Tchaikovsky.

Chen Ruei-bin will be playing two concerts in Taiwan this month.

Photo courtesy of Chen Ruei-bin

 Tonight at 7:30 at Tainan Municipal Tainan Cultural Center, 332, Zhonghua Rd Sec 3, Tainan City (台南市中華路三段332號), and Dec. 19 at 7:30 at Taipei’s National Concert Hall, 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei City (台北市中山南路21-1號)

■ For more information, visit www.rueibinchen.com

Chen Ruei-bin.

Photo courtesy of Chen Ruei-bin

Pianist Rueibin Chen to give Tchaikovsky, Beethoven recitals

Reported by CNA English News 

11/25/2020

Photo courtesy of the organizer Capriccio Chamber Orchestra

Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) Concert pianist Rueibin Chen (陳瑞斌) will give two solo performances of pieces by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, in the hope that the pieces will offer optimism and inspiration to people in these difficult times amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the musician said on Tuesday.

The choice of the two composers' pieces, Chen said, was made because of their lasting impact and status in the world of classical music and because 2020 marks the 250th and 180th anniversaries of the birthdays of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, respectively.

Chen will play "The Seasons" by Tchaikovsky, a collection of 12 pieces that correspond to each month of the year, during the first half of his performances to be given at the Tainan Municipal Cultural Center on Dec. 4 and at the National Concert Hall in Taipei on Dec. 19, the organizers said.

For the second half, two Beethoven piano sonatas are planned -- No. 14 in C-sharp Minor titled "Moonlight" and No. 23 in F Minor titled "Appassionata."

The Taiwan-born pianist, who studied at the Vienna Conservatory in Austria and the Hannover Hochschule für Musik in Germany, said he feels that the pieces are most fitting for helping people face the current uncertain times.