Biography
Pianist Rachel Cheung is hailed as “a poet, but also a dramatist” displaying “the most sophisticated and compelling music-making” (The Dallas Morning News). She won over audiences and critics alike as a finalist at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition with “stunningly imaginative” (Musical America) interpretations marked by “flights of both beauty and virtuosity” (Theater Jones) and was awarded the Audience Prize by online vote. Also a Young Steinway Artist, she continues to build a reputation for a sparkling stage presence and elegant performances across three continents.
Rachel has appeared with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Sydney Symphony, London Chamber, and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras, collaborating with conductors including Edo de Waart, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jaap van Zweden, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Mark Elder, Christopher Warren-Green, and Nicholas McGegan. She conducted and played Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris at the 2017 Play-Direct Academy led by Stephen Kovacevich, where she was awarded the Prix du Jury at the closing concert. Enthusiastic about that experience, Rachel play/conducted the same concerto with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2019 and was invited to return to the Play-Direct Academy as a member of the jury in September 2019.
She has performed in recital at the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Steinway Hall in London, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto, the Philharmonie de Paris, and in other cities across the United States, Europe, and Asia. As an active chamber musician, Rachel has worked with world-renowned musicians including violinists Latica Honda-Rosenberg and Ning Feng, violist Vladimir Mendelssohn, cellists Jan-Erik Gustafasson and Trey Lee, mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänsen, clarinetist Michel Lethiec, the Brentano String Quartet, and Quatuor Leonis. Rachel also enjoys participating in outreach and educational events, which allow her to “connect and communicate with different walks of life and to experience the beauty and joy of music-making with my audience and students in a more interactive and personal way.”
Highlights of the 2019–2020 season include concerto performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden and a tour of China, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong with the Asian Youth Orchestra. Last season saw recitals throughout Europe and the United States, concerto performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and National Philharmonic of Ukraine, appearances at the Princeton and Rockport Chamber Music Festivals, and residencies with RTHK Radio 4 and the Chamber Music Academy Heidelberger Frühling.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rachel graduated with first class honors at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the tutelage of Eleanor Wong, and later studied with Peter Frankl at the Yale School of Music, where she was awarded the Elizabeth Parisot Prize for outstanding pianists. Additional competition honors include prizes at the Leeds, Chopin, Horowitz, Gina Bachauer, and Geneva International Piano Competitions. Her first concert DVD was released by VAIMUSIC in 2007, and her first CD, under the Alpha Omega Sound label of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong, was released in 2009. In 2019, Rachel was awarded Artist of the Year (Music) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Rachel is also an amateur photographer; she documents her travels with her analog camera, particularly enjoying the ability to capture the character and feeling of each moment.
