Johannes Brahms (1833~97)
Drei Intermezzi, op. 117
i. Intermezzo in E-flat Major
ii. Intermezzo in B-flat Minor
iii. Intermezzo in C-sharp Minor

Fryderyk Chopin (1810~49)
Etude in C-sharp Minor, op. 10, no. 4
Etude in G-flat Major, op.10, no. 5

Franz Schubert (1797~1828)
Impromptu in A-flat Major, op. 90, no. 4

Adolf Schulz–Evler (1852~1905)
Concert Arabesques on themes from “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss jr.

~ intermission ~

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756~91)
Sonata in C major, K. 330

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873~1943)
Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 36

As the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung Heidelberger described, “Shijun Wang is a fascinating, serious and sensitive musician.” As a solo pianist and orchestral soloist, Shijun Wang has performed in over a dozen states in the U.S., as well as Germany, France, Norway, Spain, China, Mexico, South Korea, and Japan. In his most recent China tour, he gave master classes, lectures and recitals in major Chinese conservatories, including Shenyang Conservatory, Xi’an Conservatory, Sichuan Conservatory and Jilin College of Arts. As a visiting professor of Xi’an Conservatory, he gives month-long concerts and master classes each summer since 2017. He also teaches at Puigcerda Music Festival in Spain, East/West International Piano Festival in South Korea and Lancaster International Music Festival in Pennsylvania in the summer.

His recent orchestral appearances include Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Lafayette Symphony, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.2 with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Evening Stars Orchestra, Duxbury Music Festival Orchestra, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Music Academy of the West Orchestra, and Tulsa Signature Symphony Orchestra.

He has won many national and international prizes of piano performances, including the Excellence Award in the 65th Steinway Children and Young Pianist Competition 2002. He subsequently won the Excellence award of the 8th Germany Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in 2002. The same year he won the Bronze medal at the Hong Kong Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. In 2008, he won the fifth prize in the Hamamatsu Piano Academy. In 2010, he won the first prize and the audience prize in Crescendo Piano Competition.

Wang is currently an assistant professor of piano at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He also worked at Weber State University where he taught piano major students, music theory, collaborative piano, and chamber music. Wang received his childhood music training in Shenyang, China. He began learning piano at age four. In 1999 he was accepted into the Music High School of the Shenyang Conservatory of Music and studied with Professor Dong-Dun Zhang. He received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School studied with Oxana Yablonskaya and Joseph Kalichstein, and completed his Doctoral of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music under the guidance of Nelita True. His musical mentors includes Thomas Schumacher, Dan-Wen Wei, Alfred Brendel, Emanuel Ax, and Richard Goode.

A native of Taiwan, pianist Chih-Long Hu‘s performance career was launched after receiving honors including the Taipei National Concert Hall Arising Star, the Chi-Mei Artist Award, and prizes from the Mauro Monopoli International Piano Competition in Italy, the Concurs International De Piano D’Escaldes-Engordany in Andorra, the Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, and San Jose International Piano Competition in California.

An active performer, Hu performs extensively appearing as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. His recent performance highlights include concerto performances of Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody, Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, solo and chamber recitals in China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Ireland, France, Canada, and throughout the U.S. Hu’s performances have been broadcast in “Performance Today” through NPR stations across the U.S. His CD albums “Formosa Caprices”, “Complete Rachmaninov Etudes-Tableaux”, and “Goldberg Variations” have received critical acclaims.
​
Recipient of the UT Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award and named “Teacher of the Year” by Tennessee Music Teachers Association, Knoxville Music Teachers Associations, and Appalachian Music Teachers Association, Hu is committed and passionate in teaching. He strives to cultivate and inspire curiosity in meaningful expressions and to help his students discover their individuality through the music.

Hu holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Michigan, a Master’s degree from Taipei National University of the Arts, and a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from National Taiwan University. Hu is currently the Sandra G. Powell Endowed Professor of Piano and the coordinator of Keyboard Studies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Shigeru Kawai SK-EX is the official piano for this concert.