JunyanChen
- Piano
About Junyan
Leeds International Piano Competition 2024 • Second Prize & The Marion Thorpe Silver Medal • Chamber Music Prize (Yaltah Menuhin Award) • Work by a Woman Composer Prize (Alexandra Dariescu Award)
Junyan Chen won Second Prize at the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition also winning the prizes for chamber music and a work by a woman composer. In the competition final she performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.4 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Domingo Hindoyan. She has also played this work with Edward Gardner, in a concert that was live-streamed on Classic FM.
Recent and forthcoming solo engagements include Munich, London (Wigmore Hall), Leeds, Harrogate and Liverpool. In spring 2025 Junyan collaborated with the Manchester Collective in a project including a world premiere by Héloïse Werner with performances in Manchester, Leeds and London (Southbank Centre). An enthusiastic performer of contemporary music, she has collaborated with Hans Abrahamsen, Eleanor Alberga, Mark Anthony-Turnage and Dominic Muldowney.
Her debut solo album, It's Time, features works by Fazil Say, Unsuk Chin, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Eleanor Alberga. Released by Linn Records in 2022, this disc explores cultural identity through different musical genres and art forms, including Turkish folk ballad, jazz, Russian poetry, and African dance.
Junyan Chen lives in London, having recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music where she studied with Professor Joanna MacGregor.
Contact
For availability and general enquiries:
Alison Nethsingha
For contracts, logistics and press:
Holly Cartwright
Representation
Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt
Season Highlights
Video
- Playing
Leeds International Piano Competition Final
St George's Hall, Bradford~ September 2024 ~ Rachmaninov No. 4 ~ Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Domingo Hindoyan Credit: Leeds International Piano Competition
Leeds International Piano Competition - Semi-final Round
The Great Hall, University of Leeds – September 2024 – solo works by Unsuk Chin and Harrison Birtwistle, Ravel Trio Credit: Leeds International Piano Competition
Leeds International Piano Competition Second Round
The Great Hall, University of Leeds ~ September 2024 ~ solo works by Beethoven, Bartók, Liszt Credit: Leeds International Piano Competition
Leeds International Piano Competition - First Round
Berlin University of Arts ~ April 2024 ~ solo works by CPE Bach, Dutilleux Credit: Leeds International Piano Competition
Junyan Chen performs an excerpt from Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B Minor
Filmed in May 2023 at the Angela Burgess Recital Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London. Credit: Royal Academy of Music, London
Sample Programmes
Programme 1
CPE BACH: Piano Sonata in A Major, H. 186 HARRISON BIRTWISTLE: Oockooing Bird & Sad Song BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 101 Interval LISZT: Funérailles AMY BEACH: Variations on Balkan Themes
Programme 2
COUPERIN Les Barricades Mistérieuses, Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou Les Maillotins, Les Ombres Errantes, Les Tricoteuses MESSIAEN Preludes La colombe, Un reflet dans le vent RAVEL Tombeau de Couperin Interval AMY BEACH Variations on Balkan Themes RAVEL La Valse
Programme 3 (60 mins)
FAZIL SAY: Black Earth THOMAS LARCHER: Noodivihik HARRISON BIRTWISTLE: Oockooing Bird & Sad Song IANNIS XENAKIS: Evryali MAURICIO KAGEL: Ragtime Waltz JONATHAN HARVEY: Tombeau de Messiaen for Piano and Tape
News
Press
Rachmaninov No. 4 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
St George's Hall, BradfordSep 2024The vivacity was outstanding…vintage Rachmaninov.
- The Arts Desk
- 23 September 2024
Junyan Chen's phenomenal Liszt
Royal Academy of Music, LondonMay 2023Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor, an exhilarating and technically thrilling performance.
- Gramophone
- 11 May 2023
