Zhen Chen

Zhen Chen, Piano and Chamber Music Faculty

Hailed for his “Apollonian virtuosity and sensitive tone,” multi-award winning pianist-composer Zhen Chen has performed as a soloist and chamber music artist at prominent music venues in USA, Europe and China, such as Stern Auditorium, Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall of Lincoln Center, Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center, and China National Centre for Performing Arts. His live performances and recordings have been broadcasted by Chicago WFMT 98.7, Princeton WPRB 103.3, WCNY Classic FM, and China Central Television, among others.

Mr. Chen has worked with prominent violinists Maxim Vengerov, Cho-Liang Lin, and outstanding instrumentalists of the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera in concert and recording engagements. He is a guest artist of New York Philharmonic Ensembles since 2018, official collaborative pianist of the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (SISIVC), and the International Music Competition Harbin (IMCH). His recording Brahms: The Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano, in collaboration with Elmira Darvarova, former concertmaster of the Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera, has been recently released by German label Solo Musica and distributed by Sony Music and received plaudits from listeners and critics worldwide. Spain classical music magazine RITMO praised this recording as an “exceptional expressive flight to the height of classic interpretations of this [Brahms’] music.”

Mr. Chen wears another hat as a performer-composer who bridges Eastern and Western sensibility and musicality. His cross-culture and cross-genre composition works were crystallized in the albums ERGO: New Music for Piano and Chinese Folk Instruments (Navona/Naxos, 2017) and On & Between: New Music for Pipa and Western Ensembles (Navona/Naxos, 2018). The latter won the Gold Medal of Global Music Awards for Best Show top honor, Best Album, and Best Instrumentalists.

Mr. Chen received a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing with Bo Tong and a master’s degree in piano performance under Dr. Arkady Aronov at Manhattan School of Music in New York City, where he also earned a master’s degree and professional studies certificate in collaborative piano and chamber music with Dr. Heasook Rhee.

Manhattan School of Music Precollege faculty since 2022.