Left to Right: Hung-Kuan Chen, photo courtesy of the artist. Tema Blackstone, photo courtesy of the artist.
A pair of exceptional pianists unite for an unforgettable evening of piano. Masterful performers from the Juilliard School, Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone showcase their technical prowess via selections from Mozart and Debussy, including music for two pianos. The married couple often teaches together and has performed as a duo worldwide.
Chen was born in Taipei and raised in Germany. The winner of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and the recipient of an Avery Fisher Grant, he has collaborated with conductors like Christoph Eschenbach and Hans Graf. His colleagues include the Tokyo and Shanghai string quartets and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Blackstone’s rich and varied life in music has grown out of her impressive career as a pianist. Her influential work involves the advocacy of music as a force for personal and societal wellbeing, and the passing on of great music to new generations.
Both are part of the faculty for Art of Piano, a program that pushes the instrument to new heights in skill, expression, and composition.
Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.
Additional support provided by Helen Graham and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music fund.
Related People
Hung-Kuan Chen
Hung-Kuan Chen was born in Taipei and raised in Germany. His early studies fostered strong roots in Germanic Classicism tempered with the sensibility of Chinese philosophy. The winner of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the recipient of an Avery Fisher Grant, Chen has collaborated with conductors including Christoph Eschenbach and Hans Graf, and his colleagues include the Tokyo and Shanghai string quartets, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinists Cho-Liang Lin and Roman Totenberg, clarinetist David Shifrin, and pianist Tema Blackstone.
Tema Blackstone
Tema Blackstone’s rich and varied life in music has grown out of her career as a pianist. Her influential work encompasses advocacy of music and musicians as a force for personal and societal well-being, and the passing on of the legacy of great music to new generations. She is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard’s Pre-College division in New York. As a public speaker, Ms. Blackstone raises awareness of the positive effects of the arts on society, describing how music and medicine reflect and enhance one another. She champions this cause as musician and lecturer wherever she travels, from Boston, New York, Calgary and Toronto to France, Switzerland and China. Her impressive concert career encompasses solo engagements as well as piano duo performances with Hung-Kuan Chen, to whom she is married. The couple often teaches as a team and has performed worldwide.