Chengzong
Yin, one of the world's leading pianists, was born on
China's "Piano
Island" of Gulangyu in Xiamen, Fujian Province. He gave his first recital
at age nine. Three years later he entered the pre-college of the Shanghai
Conservatory, later transferred to the Central Conservatory in Beijing.
Mr. Yin traveled to Russia in 1960s to study with Tatiana Kravchenko,
and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory and Central Conservatory
in Beijing.
He has won numerous awards, including the gold medal at the World Youth
Peace and Friendship Festival held in Vienna in 1959 and second prize
in the 1962 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Mr. Yin made
his
debut in New York's Carnegie Hall in 1983 and has returned five times
as a soloist. The New York Times has called him "China's best pianist." Throughout
his career Mr. Yin has touched millions of souls with his music. Bernard
Holland of the New York Times wrote that he demonstrated an "absolutely
beautiful command of piano colors."
Through the years, Mr. Yin has traveled worldwide, performing under the
baton of Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin and the Moscow
Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sir Malcolm Sargent and the St. Petersburg
Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also appeared in Boston, San Francisco,
Chicago, Toronto, and at Lincoln Center. His numerous interviews were
featured on China's Central Television and CBS Sunday Morning. Formerly
a professor and artist-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music,
Mr. Yin now lives in New York City.
Mr. Yin is not only a virtuoso interpreter of Western masters, he is
also a composer of highly renowned piano pieces. His piano arrangements
and interpretations of traditional Beijing opera and other classic Chinese
music, combined with his contribution to the Yellow River Concerto have
made him a household name in China. His
recording of the latter piece received a Gold Record award, which has
already over 3 million copies sold. He has become a legend in the music
world and is one of four Chinese musicians who are listed in the New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, published in 1980.
Mr. Yin has released more than 20 albums, among them recent releases
of an all-Chopin CD and a recording of Debussy's Preludes, super CDs
of The Seasons by Tchaikovsky, and various Chinese ancient and traditional
pieces arranged by Mr. Yin and others. His recordings of the Yellow River
Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the St. Petersburg
Philharmonic was released recently.
In autumn of 2002, Mr. Yin brought the prestigious Fourth Tchaikovsky
International Competition for Young Musicians to his hometown, Xiamen,
China, where he served as the Head Chairman of the Competition. He
also served on the jury of the Third China International Piano Competition
in 2004. The year 2005 marks the 55th anniversary of Mr. Yin's musical
career. His extensive tours in North America and China during the year
have included more than a dozen major cities in North America and China.
In September and October of 2005, Mr. Yin performed the "Yellow River" Concerto
at the Grand Theatre of Beijing's Palace for Nationalities and New York's
Carnegie Hall respectively, marking the 35th anniversary of this work
which he worked on as the primary composer and premiered in 1970. Mr.
Yin has so far given seven performances in Carnegie's main hall.
During the season of 2006-07, Mr. Yin performed during the opening and
closing ceremonies of the 50th anniversary of the founding of China National
Orchestra. And in July of 07, he was invited to perform in Hong Kong
with the China Philharmonic in celebration of the 10th anniversary of
the return of Hong Kong to China - his Yellow River Concerto deeply touched
the audience and, as the main composer and premier performer, his performance
also revived the popular passion for the masterpiece.
In early 2007, Mr. Yin travelled to Brisbane and Melbourne of Australia
and gave three performances there to sold-out audiences. His tour in
Australia also marks the realization of his decades-long dream to perform
on all five continents of the world.
In February 2008, Mr. Yin worked with the China National
Orchestra to give their first-ever performance in the newly-opened
China National Grand Theatre to mark the Chinese lunar new year. The
concert was orgazined by Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV and broadcast live
around the world.
Beginning in 2008, Mr. Yin embarked on an effort to produce
ten recital programs basing on different composers and styles. The project
will span three to five seasons. The first two programs have been completed
and played in over 60 concerts in China and North America in the past
year. He will continue to launch new programs in the coming seasons.
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