Hsin-Yun Huang, Viola Biography

Hsin-Yun Huang, viola Biography

Hsin-Yun Huang has forged a career as one of the leading violists of her generation, performing on international concert stages, commissioning and recording new works, and nurturing young musicians. Ms. Huang has been soloist with the National Philharmonic of Taiwan, with which she performed the complete Hindemith concertos in 2013. Other concerto appearances have included the Berlin Radio Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, Zagreb Soloists, International Contemporary Ensemble, and the London Sinfonia, among many others. She is a regular presence at festivals including Marlboro, Santa Fe, Rome, Spoleto USA, and the Seoul Spring Festival. Other festivals include Moritzburg, Divonne, Cartagena, Prague Spring, Telluride, and Salt Bay. She tours extensively with the Brentano String Quartet, most notably including performances of the complete Mozart string quintets at Carnegie Hall. She is a founding member of the Variation String Trio with violinist Jennifer Koh and cellist Wilhelmina Smith.

Highlights of the 2017-18 season include concerto performances under the batons of Osmo Vänskä and Josef Cabelle in Taipei and Bogota and appearances at the Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival. Highlights of 2016-2017 include appearances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the 92nd Street Y, Chamber Music Columbus, and the Seoul Spring Festival. The 2014-2015 season brought the debut of a series of three chamber concerts curated by Ms. Huang and presented by the 92nd Street Y. Other recent highlights include complete Hindemith Viola Concerti with the National Philharmonic of Taiwan, and concerto appearances in Alice Tully Hall and Central Park in New York City.

Ms. Huang has in recent years embarked on a series of major commissioning projects for solo viola and chamber ensemble. To date, these works include compositions from Shih-Hui Chen (Shu Shon Key, which Ms. Chen also arranged for orchestra) and Steven Mackey (Groundswell), which premiered at the Aspen Festival. Ms. Huang’s 2012 recording, titled “Viola Viola,” for Bridge Records, included those works along with compositions by Elliott Carter, Poul Ruders, and George Benjamin; the CD has won particular accolades from Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine. Her next recording will be the complete Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach, in partnership her husband, violist Misha Amory, to be released by Bridge Records in 2017.

A native of Taiwan and an alumna of Young Concert Artists, Ms. Huang received degrees from The Juilliard School and The Curtis Institute of Music. She now serves on the faculties of both schools and has given master classes at the Guildhall School in London, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the San Francisco Conservatory, and the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. She served on the jury of the 2011 Banff International String Quartet Competition.

Ms. Huang first came to international attention as the gold medalist and the youngest competitor in the 1988 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. In 1993 she was the top prize winner in the ARD International Competition in Munich, and was awarded the highly prestigious Bunkamura Orchard Hall Award. Ms. Huang was a member of the Borromeo String Quartet from 1994 to 2000.

[October 2016]