Taiwan-born pianist Ching-Yun Hu has performed extensively in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa to high critical acclaim. The prominent music critic Harris Goldsmith wrote of her Lincoln Center debut in March, 2007: “She conveyed fervor and excellence thrust along with the touching moments of lyricism in the Rachmaninoff Sonata No. 2. Chopin Study in A minor was played with almost indecent airbourne ease. Her account made me think of one by the young Vladimir Ashkenazy - high praise indeed.” Her recent performance of the music of Chopin at New York’s Steinway Hall drew particular praise from Rorianne Schrade, reviewing for the New York Concert Review (Winter 2007): “The Chopin Rondo in E-Flat, Op.16 was played with elegance and flabbergasting fingerwork. Speaking in terms of sheer technical brilliance, I don’t recall being as amazed even by Horowitz’s performance of the same work.” Elsewhere, the Irish Times of Dublin has cited Ms. Hu as “a player willing to stand outside of the box with a distinctive resolve.” In the words of piano authority David Dubal, radio host of WQXR’s The World of the Piano, “Ching-Yun Hu is a pianist of power, poetry, color and virtuosity…Don’t miss her!” Ms. Hu’s concert appearances have taken her to such prestigious venues as the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salle Cortot in Paris, Aspen Music Festival, Chopin International Festival (Duszniki-Zdroj, Poland), National Chiang Kai-Shek Performance Hall (Taipei), Osaka Hall (Japan), and in various concert halls in Spain, Portugal, Africa, UK and the U.S. She made her solo debut at age 13 with the Poland Capella Cracoriensis Chamber Orchestra on tour in Japan and Taiwan, and won a Silver Medal at the important Taipei International Piano Competition at age 16. Her other competition accolades include First Prizes in the Olga Koussevitzky International Piano Competition, California International Piano Competition, and the Seiler International Piano Competition, and top honors at the Chopin Competitions of the Kosciusko Foundation in New York. In addition, she has appeared in a sold out concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra as soloist in the Grieg Piano Concerto, and with the Aspen Concert Orchestra, New York Sinfonietta, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and Viana do Castelo Festival Orchestra. Her performances have been aired by the WQXR Robert Sherman Young Artists Showcase, WRTI Philadelphia Orchestra Broadcast Concert Series, and the Polish National Radio and Television Stations. In her native country, she has been honored with awards and career sponsorships from the National Culture and Education Committees, National Concert Halls, Chi-Mei Music and Art Foundation, and the International Rotary Clubs. Ms. Hu made her Lincoln Center debut at Alice Tully Hall in March, 2007 to a sold out house. The success of the concert received enthusiastic response from critics and audience alike, claiming the performance to be “the best piano recital in years”. In addition to her Lincoln Center debut, 2007 – 2008 season takes her to recitals in several cities in the US, United Kingdom, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Mozambique, Africa, including her Carnegie Hall recital debut at Weills Recital Hall, Phillips Collection and Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Taft Museum in Cincinnati, Puffin Foundation in New Jersey, Steinway Hall in London, and as guest soloist with the World Festival Orchestra, Grande Rapide Symphony Orchestra. In July, 2007, Ms. Hu became the Gold Medalist and First Prize winner at the prestigious World Piano Competition in Cincinnati. Within the same year, he also earned prizes at the Louisiana International Piano Competition and Scottish International Piano Competition in Glasgow. Future engagements for 2008 – 2009 season includes a return recital to Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center as the winner of World Piano Competition, her Wigmore Hall debut in London, return engagements to Phillips Collection in DC, Red Bank Theater in NJ, California Center of Arts, and a tour of UK, among others. Born in 1982 in Taipei, Taiwan, Ms. Hu received both her Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees from The Juilliard School, studying piano with Herbert Stessin and Oxana Yablonskaya, chamber music with Timothy Eddy, Joseph Kalichstein, and Seymour Lipkin. In addition, she has worked in master classes with Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, coached privately with Seymour Bernstein, and presently, she continues to work with Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Ms. Hu is a Yamaha Artist.