Born in Taiwan, the pianist Stephanie Shih-yu Cheng was about 5 when she started lessons, and started competing when she was 7. She moved to the US when she was 16 to study music at Michigan's Interlochen Academy. Ms. Cheng’s principal teachers have been Ann Schein at the Peabody Conservatory and Gilbert Kalish. She also earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Ms. Cheng has performed in the U.S., France, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan to great critical acclaim. She played at the world’s major music centers, including the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, Opera City Hall of Tokyo, National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., Kravis Center in Florida, and the National Concert Hall of Taipei. She has distinguished herself in several international competitions, including first prizes in the IBLA Grand Prize Competition in Italy, Kingsville International Competition, and the Association of Pianists and Piano Teachers of America International Piano Competition. She was the recipient of Prix-Ville de Fontainebleau in France, which was presented to her by Philippe Entremont. Martin Bernheimer wrote that she plays “eloquently and elegantly…(with) passion and introspection…sensitivity and a finely honed sense of style.” Her recent engagements include concerts with the Stony Brook Symphony under Leon Fleisher and Brampton Symphony Orchestra in Toronto. She frequently appears in recitals with pianist Sara Davis Buechner.
Ms. Cheng was a teaching assistant for Earl Carlyss at the Peabody Conservatory where she received the Rose Marie Milholland Award in Piano. Currently she is on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege and City College of New York
Ms. Cheng’s repertoire is broad, but we’ll hear Stephanie play several French Impressionist pieces. First, Scarbo from Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit (here). We’ll follow with Claude Debussy’s Soiree dans Grenade, from Estampes (here). Finally, back to Ravel and his Sonatine (here). You can find more of Ms. Chang’s performances on her personal page.
January 9, 2012
Born in Taiwan, the pianist Stephanie Shih-yu Cheng was about 5 when she started lessons, and started competing when she was 7. She moved to the US when she was 16 to study music at Michigan's Interlochen Academy. Ms. Cheng’s principal teachers have been Ann Schein at the Peabody Conservatory and Gilbert Kalish. She also earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Ms. Cheng has performed in the U.S., France, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan to great critical acclaim. She played at the world’s major music centers, including the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, Opera City Hall of Tokyo, National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., Kravis Center in Florida, and the National Concert Hall of Taipei. She has distinguished herself in several international competitions, including first prizes in the IBLA Grand Prize Competition in Italy, Kingsville International Competition, and the Association of Pianists and Piano Teachers of America International Piano Competition. She was the recipient of Prix-Ville de Fontainebleau in France, which was presented to her by Philippe Entremont. Martin Bernheimer wrote that she plays “eloquently and elegantly…(with) passion and introspection…sensitivity and a finely honed sense of style.” Her recent engagements include concerts with the Stony Brook Symphony under Leon Fleisher and Brampton Symphony Orchestra in Toronto. She frequently appears in recitals with pianist Sara Davis Buechner.
Ms. Cheng was a teaching assistant for Earl Carlyss at the Peabody Conservatory where she received the Rose Marie Milholland Award in Piano. Currently she is on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege and City College of New York
Ms. Cheng’s repertoire is broad, but we’ll hear Stephanie play several French Impressionist pieces. First, Scarbo from Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit (here). We’ll follow with Claude Debussy’s Soiree dans Grenade, from Estampes (here). Finally, back to Ravel and his Sonatine (here). You can find more of Ms. Chang’s performances on her personal page.