Frederic Chiu portrait © Chris Craymer
Frederic Chiu NB2 © Chris Craymer
Frederic Chiu 4 © Chris Craymer
Frederic Chiu 25 Yamaha 25th
Frederic Chiu 26 Yamaha 25th
Frederic Chiu NB1 © Chris Craymer
After studies at Indiana University, the Juilliard School in New York and the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, Frederic Chiu began his career in Europe then in the USA, South America and in Asia, performing in Recital as well as Chamber Music and with Orchestra.
He plays in the most well known halls in the world, such as the Wigmore Hall in London, or Lincoln Center in NY. His concerts take him to Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa.
In France he has played at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Salle Gaveau, Chatelet and the Cite de la Musique, the Opera of Lyon, the Corum of Montpellier and the Palais des Congres in Strasbourg – but also in smaller and unusual spaces – the Bouffes du Nord, the Cirque d’Hiver, the Salle Cortot, the Chateau de la Verrerie. He is a favorite of festival such as the Roque d’Antheron, Montpellier or the Chopin Festival.
In Chamber Music, he plays with Pierre Amoyal and Joshua Bell, Christian Ivaldi, Gary Hoffman, Michel Lethiec, the Daedalus, Shanghai and St. Lawrence Quartets. His interests take him outside of the traditional domain of Classical Music, in collaboration with the writer/clown Howard Buten/Buffo, or the actors Sami Frey, Richard Sammel and Marie Christine Barrault, always looking for ways to expand the audience for Classical piano music.
His discography contains more than 25 recordings, including the complete piano works of Sergei Prokofiev, which has become the reference, with a boxed set of 10 CDs. He has also performed the Russian composer’s Concerti with the Estonia National Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony and gave three acclaimed recitals at the prestigious Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam, as well as the complete Sonatas in one evening in Paris, an unprecedented event.
Other recordings include works of Chopin, Transcriptions, Mendelssohn, Rossini. An album of Ravel/Decaux/Schoenberg is an example of his eclecticism. His album of Schubert’s Schwanengesang, in the piano solo transcription by Liszt, was a turning point in the discography of this repertoire.
The first Classical artist to record for Yamaha Entertainment Group, his first recording came out in 2015: Debussy and Gao Ping (“Distant Voices”), exploring the vast color palette and expressive nuances of the instrument in the service of the musical colors of Debussy and the innovative piano writing of Gao Ping.
The album Hymns & Dervishes (2016 Centaur) presented the music of Gurdjieff/De Hartmann, where Chiu explored the philosophic impact of special tunings on the piano.
A highly sought-after teacher, his “Deeper Piano Studies” workshop introduce the participants to a philosophical and deep psychological approach to practicing, interpretation and the life of an artist. He is a regular visitor to the nine National Conservatories of China, as well as other major institutions around the world: The Juilliard School, Indiana University, The Banff Centre, Seoul National University.