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Wu Han (pianist)

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 8 min
Wu Han
Wu Han in 2013
Wu Han in 2013
Background information
Born (1959-02-19) February 19, 1959 (age 66)
OriginTaipei, Taiwan
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Pianist, arts administrator
InstrumentPiano
LabelsArtistLed
Websitewww.davidfinckelandwuhan.com

Wu Han (Chinese: 吳菡; pinyin: Wú Hán; born February 19, 1959) is a Taiwanese-American pianist and arts administrator. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, she performs as a concert pianist and has made numerous recordings. She co-directs the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute in California. She co-founded ArtistLed, a classical music label. Wu Han also serves as an artistic advisor for Wolf Trap’s Chamber Music at the Barns series and The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach. In 2022, she became the artistic director of La Musica International Chamber Music Festival.[1]

Career

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Wu Han began studying music in Taipei, Taiwan at the age of 9, including piano, viola, and percussion. By age 12, Wu Han was performing in concerts and competitions, and within a few years, she had earned first prizes in all of Taiwan's major competitions.[2] In 1981, she traveled to the United States at the invitation of The Hartt School in Connecticut to study viola and piano. Wu Han studied with Raymond Hanson, Rudolf Serkin, Herbert Stessin, Lillian Kallir, and Menahem Pressler and attended the Marlboro Music School and Festival for two summers.[3]

Wu Han has performed on stages including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and Wigmore Hall in London. She collaborates with ensembles including the Borromeo String Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Escher String Quartet, and St. Lawrence Quartet.

Wu Han's repertoire has expanded to include works by composers Bruce Adolphe, Lera Auerbach, Gabriella Lena Frank, Pierre Jalbert, Augusta Read Thomas, and George Tsontakis. Works have been commissioned for and dedicated to Wu Han and cellist David Finckel from these composers, and music by several of them are featured on ArtistLed's 'For David and Wu Han' album.

Partnership with David Finckel

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Wu Han frequently collaborates with cellist David Finckel. The two married in 1985.[4] They regularly perform in chamber music series in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and in trio performances with violinist Philip Setzer and clarinetist David Shifrin, and as a piano quartet with violinist Daniel Hope and violist Paul Neubauer.

In 2002, Wu Han developed AudioNotes, listener guides designed to offer audiences an introduction to concert programs presented over the years.

In 2003, Wu Han and Finckel co-founded Music@Menlo, an annual chamber music festival.[4] Alumni of Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute and internship program have gone on to create and direct more than 30 chamber music organizations worldwide.[citation needed][5]

Artistic leadership

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In 2004, Wu Han and Finckel were appointed Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City.[5][6]

The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts appointed Wu Han as the Artistic Advisor for Chamber Music in the Barns in 2018, and she continues to curate the series. Wu Han also serves as Artistic Advisor for Classical Music for the Society of the Four Arts. In 2022, she was appointed as the Artistic Director of La Musica in Sarasota, Florida and was invited to serve on the jury of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Wu Han served as a member of the artist faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School for many years, and in 2013 established The Finckel-Wu Han Chamber Music Studio, which ran for two weeks each summer through 2019.[7]

Media

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Wu Han has been featured in articles and publications including: The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times,[8] Musical America Worldwide, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Toronto Star, New York Newsday, The Mercury News,[9] The Strad, BBC Music Magazine,[10] San Francisco Classical Voice,[11] Concerti Magazine,[12] Music Matters,[13] Musical America,[14] and Tokyo's Ongaku-no-Tomo. On television, she has appeared on Articulate with Jim Cotter, NBC Nightly News, Channel 13 New York Voices and PBS's AHA! A House for the Arts,[15] and has also been a guest on American Public Media's Performance Today, Saint Paul Sunday, and other classical radio programs.[citation needed]

Discography

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  • Sonatas by Grieg, Schumann, and Chopin (1997)
  • Sonatas by Strauss, Franck, and Finckel (1997)
  • Sonatas by Tchaikovsky and Kodály with Da-Hong Seetoo and David Finckel (1997)
  • Beethoven: Complete Works for Piano & Cello (1998)
  • Russian Classics (2001)
  • Edwin Finckel: Music For Cello (2001)
  • Schubert Sonatas (2004)
  • Brahms Sonatas (2005)
  • CMS Studio Recordings: Elgar and Walton (2007)
  • CMS Studio Recordings: Beethoven and Dvořák (2007)
  • DG Concerts: Bartok/Dvořák (2007)
  • Russian Recital (featuring solo piano works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Skryabin) (2007)
  • Schubert Piano Trios with Philip Setzer and David Finckel (2008)
  • Derek Han plays Mozart, with Wu Han, Peter Asimov, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2008)
  • For David and Wu Han (contemporary works composed for David Finckel and Wu Han) (2009)
  • Clarinet Trios with David Shifrin and David Finckel (2011)
  • Mendelssohn: The Piano Trios with Philip Setzer and David Finckel (2011)
  • Dvorak Piano Trios with Philip Setzer and David Finckel (2012)
  • Wu Han LIVE (2014)
  • Romantic Piano Quartets (Brahms, Schumann, Mahler) on Deutsche Grammophon with Daniel Hope, Paul Neubauer, and Wu Han (2015)
  • Wu Han LIVE II (2016)
  • Bach, Mendelssohn, Debussy, Britten (2018)
  • Wu Han LIVE III (2019)
  • Winterreise (2020)

References

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  1. ^ "Artistic Directors - La Musica Festival". lamusicafestival.org. La Musica Festival. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
  2. ^ "Performers Archive". The Cliburn. Retrieved 2025-03-19.
  3. ^ "Wu Han Full Biography". artistled.com. Archived from the original on 2007-05-19.
  4. ^ a b "David Finckel (Cello) - Short Biography". mail.bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b "MusicalAmerica - The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's April 2019 Concerts". www.musicalamerica.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  6. ^ "David Finckel & Wu Han Renew at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center | WQXR | New York's Classical Music Radio Station". WQXR. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  7. ^ "Aspen Music Festival and School".
  8. ^ "Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Signs Up Its Artistic Directors Through 2022". mobile.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  9. ^ "It's all about the music at Menlo". The Mercury News. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  10. ^ "Tchaikovsky; Rachmaninov; Scriabin; …: Tchaikovsky: The Seasons; Rachmaninov: … (Wu Han) | Classical music review from Classical-Music.com". www.classical-music.com. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  11. ^ "The Extremity of Love: Wu Han and David Finckel's Chamber Music Odyssey (Part 1)". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  12. ^ "Concerti Magazine". myemail.constantcontact.com. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  13. ^ "Chamber Music Duo a Triple Threat". Music Matters. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  14. ^ "MusicalAmerica - Musicians of the Year". www.musicalamerica.com. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  15. ^ The Chamber Music Society at SPAC | AHA! A House for Arts | PBS, retrieved 2017-11-30
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