Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a pianist whose playing is “warmly
charismatic” and “calm maturity with naturalness” by Seen and heard
International, pianist Hanchien Lee is recognized for her eloquent and
virtuosic performances as a soloist and chamber musician. Since her debut
with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age sixteen, Ms. Lee has performed
throughout the US, in Europe and across Asia in such prestigious venues as
Steinway Hall in New York, Academy of Music, Kimmel Center in
Philadelphia, Phillips Collection in Washington DC, the Basilica San Pietro
in Italy, and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.
Ms. Lee performs diverse repertoire that incorporates familiar works from
the piano repertoire as well as compositions by 21st-century composers. In
the past seasons, Lee has given recitals at the Philadelphia Chamber Music
Society, Muhlenberg College Piano Series, Hillman Performing Arts Center,
Texas International Piano Festival and China Conservatory. She has also
appeared as soloist internationally with the Philadelphia Chamber
Orchestra, Taiwan National Orchestra, American Elite youth orchestra,
Plainfield Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Perugia and Poland’s Capella
Cracovienses Chamber Orchestra.
Interested and dedicated in advancing contemporary music, Ms. Lee often
premieres works by contemporary composers. An active recording artist,
she took part in recording for composer Chia-Yu Hsu under the Naxos
label. Her recording of Sarasate’s violin works with award winning violinist
Yu-Chien Benny Tsung was awarded “Best interpretation” by 2015 Chun-Yi
Golden Music Award in Taiwan.
A dedicated and enthusiastic chamber musician, Lee has performed in
many highly respected music festivals including Prussia Cove International
Music Seminar, Kingston Chamber Music festival, Sarasota, Yellow Barn,
Norfolk Chamber Music Festivals, and Music Academy of the West.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Hanchien Lee began her piano study with Shu-Ling
Wang and Chao-Yang Liu at age 5. She immigrated to US to study at the
Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age eleven where she was under
the tutelage of Claude Frank and Eleanor Sokoloff. Following graduation
from Curtis, she continued her studies at Yale University with Claude
Frank, earning both a Master of Music degree and an Artist Diploma. She
holds the Doctor of Musical Arts from Peabody Conservatory of John
Hopkins University where she worked with Boris Slutsky. She was part of
András Schiff’s class at Prussia Cove International Music Seminar. Her
mentors also includes esteemed pianists such as Gary Graffman, Richard
Goode, Meng-Chieh Liu and Jerome Lowenthal.
Motivated by the enthusiastic pedagogical activities by her mentors, Ms.
Lee always make time to teach amid her performances, she is frequently
invited to give outreach concerts and Masterclasses in US and abroad. Ms.
Lee has served as a piano faculty at Peabody Preparatory of the Johns
Hopkins University and Washington College. Currently, she resides in
Philadelphia and teaches at University of Pennsylvania.
