Ching-Yun Hu, Pianist

"We have waited for years for such a giant talent and here she is. Ching-Yun Hu, the amazing Taiwanese, is not just a great pianist, she is first of all a human being playing music; so human in every sound she produces. She plays, talks, prays and what not. A phenomenon of Nature. She plays Beethoven's Concerto No. 1 - and it was a very stylized and real, sincere one. Full of drama and poetry at the same time. This young woman brings with her the secret, the mystery ,and the style. She has the suspense of Brendal, Perahia's lyricism and Barenboin's depth. Are we witnessing the birth of a new Martha Argerich?"
— Chanoch Ron, Yediot Acharonot, Israel

"Listen to the dramatic thunder storm of the Rachmaninoff Sonata No. 2, and energitic keywork of the Leighton Fantasia, Hu's playing is especially shown when she played two well known Mozart works. Her playing expands from strength to the most deeply felt moments of almost inaudibility; to the soul and pianistic bliss. It is like the way of scultures. Her way of music is to find the essential at the core of the composition's fullness."
— Der Western, Klavier-Ruhr Festival, Germany

"Ching-Yun Hu displayed the maturity to infuse El Amor y la Muerte, from the Goyescas by Granados, with a profound depth of emotion in a beautifully-shaped, expansive perfromance. She followed it with Chopin's relatively unfamiliar E-flat Rondo, Op. 16, negotiating its fast-flowing passages with cool control, elegance and ease. To conclude, she offered a highly accomplished account of Rachmaninov's Second Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 36, the dramatic opening of the Allegro agitato compelling attention, while the concluding Allegro molto was the ideal showcase for Hu's virtuosity as she propelled the movement to an emphatic climax."
— Margaret Davis, Musical Opinion, UK

“Ching-Yun Hu 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.”
— Harris Goldsmith, New York Concert Review

“It is almost mysterious to see how the 27 year old pianist - Ching- Yun Hu - can dominate the podium entirely with her flexible and spirited reading of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, and the next day transforms into a casually dressed young woman – radiating with simplicity and discretion from the deepest of her being. In her birth country, she is being acclaimed already 'Taiwans glory". With a cheered recital in Alice Tully Hall, which she broke through two years ago at the hypercritical public of connoisseurs in New York, the doors to Carnegie Hall opened themselves."
— Elger Niel, Pianowereld, The Netherlands

"Ching-Yun Hu has everything you need in the pianistic league... extremely confident and physically strong, with a pleasant relaxed tone, also the soft sound beautifully textured. Especially in the second movement of Rachmaninoff's B minor Sonata: Here she exposes an emotional structure that is transparent, and even moving."
— Suddeuche Zeitung, Germany

“The strangely fantastical sense of freedom of Ching-Yun Hu, identify[ies] her as a player willing to stand outside of the box with a distinctive resolve. Her accurate musical phrasing of Chopin’s A minor Study would put most performers to shame.”
— Michael Dervan, Irish Times

"Ching-Yun Hu reveals a deeply original and imaginative personality, supported by a technique of hell."
— Martine D. Mergeay, Libre Belgigue

“Judging from Tuesday night's semi-finals, the Rubinstein Piano Master Competition already has a winner. It is Taiwanese Hu Ching Yun, the only semifinalist with a real "spark," that elusive superstar quality that everybody looks for... Musical, energetic and full of flair, she gushed through Beethoven's Concerto No. 1 and drove some of the audience to give her a standing ovation.”
— Omer Shomrony, The Jerusalem Post

“Ching-Yun Hu literally brought down the house with the tremendous ovation she received.”
— Alice Kennelly Roberts, Cincinnati Post

“Ching-Yun Hu is the key to success.”
— Basingstoke Gazette, UK

“The slightly built Taiwanese, Ching-Yun Hu, gossamer in her Ravel, outwardly romantic in Chopin's Third Sonata, [gave] an account of Shostakovich's First Sonata that was a show of red-blood brilliance.”
— Yorkshire Post, UK

Hu's staggering fingerwork in Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody was stamped by her hallmark of visceral virtuosity allied to breathtaking clarity. A foretaste of Hu's outstanding pianism came in the opening work in which Schubert's amazingly fecund imagination inspired the Sonata in C minor, D.958. With stamina sapping demands Hu's all-embracing playing never faltered. A towering talent, and in one so petit”
— Bournemouth Echo, UK

"As in the competition, the audience remains favoring the Taiwanese pianist, Ching-Yun Hu. After the 4 hands of Schubert Fantasie and Stravinsky's Petrouska, Hu played with mesmorizing, magic touch in the Chopin Barcarolle, and even more so shown in the Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit. And the transcription of the Strauss Blue Danube, like a marvelous "desert", was played with great virtuosity..."
— Haaretz

“Ching-Yun Hu’s sound is one of the most exquisite sounds one can hear. She succeeded in bringing out the special radiance of her touch and performed a very poetical Rachmaninov [Concerto No. 2] without being over sentimental. In short, a delight to the listner’s ears."
— Hagai Hitron, Haaretz

“Ching-Yun Hu gave an overwhelming impression as she changed drastically from Eusebius and Florence in the Schumann Kreisleriana. The interpretation was beautifully done.”
— Arts Magazine, Taipei

“Ching-Yun Hu possesses the soul of Chopin.”
— Chopin International Festival, Duszniki-Dzroj, Poland
(After an All-Chopin Recital)

“Highlights included a wonderful performance of Kenneth Leighton's Fantasia contrapuntistica by Ching-Yun Hu, whose movement between dynamic ranges was imperceptible yet superbly effective.”
— The Herald, UK

“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.”
— Rorianne Schrade, New York Concert Review, Winter, 2007

“Ching-Yun Hu is a pianist of power, poetry, color, and virtuosity. She lives within the music, so does her audience. Don’t miss her!”
— David Dubal, Radio host of WQXR, New York Classical Radio Station