John Chen returns to play rachmaninov

The combination of Auckland pianist John Chen and romantic Russian repertoire is proving to be a winning one for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra with its Romantic Masterpieces concert on Thursday 3rd April being its fastest-selling of the year.



Romantic Masterpieces will be John’s fourth concerti performance with the APO. He will perform Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 for the first time in New Zealand with the APO and German conductor Johannes Fritzsch as part of the APO’s APN News & Media Premier Series in the Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE.



John made his debut with the APO aged just 18 in 2004 performing Prokofiev’s first piano concerto. He returned in 2005 to perform Prokofiev’s third piano concerto and last year played Tchaikovsky, securing his place in the APO audience’s hearts.



“Last year Auckland gave John Chen a standing ovation following his remarkable performance of Tchaikovsky’s second piano concerto under Maestro Oleg Caetani,” says APO Chief Executive, Barbara Glaser. “We are delighted to welcome John back home and are certain that his performance of Rachmaninov’s beloved second concerto will be one to remember.”

In 2004 John became the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious Sydney International Piano Competition. This followed his win in the third Lev Vlassenko Australasian Piano Competition in Brisbane in 2003, where he swept all the special prizes.

Debuts in 2006 included the Adelaide, Tasmanian, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, and the Singapore International Piano Festival. He completed a 14-city tour of New Zealand with Chamber Music New Zealand and a tour of more than 30 Australian cities, as well as performing in Germany and New York.

This year he returns to Germany for a series of recitals and to participate in the Bochum Festival with the Jena Orchestra. He has been re-invited to several orchestras in New Zealand and Australia, and makes his Musica Viva Australian recital tour debut with violinist Feng Ning. He has also been chosen as one of only 42 competitors in the Arthur Rubinstein International Master Piano Competition which takes place in Tel Aviv this month (SUBS: March).

John is currently based in Los Angeles, where he studies at the Colburn School of Performing Arts under Professor John Perry.

Ms. Glaser says people wanting to see and hear John on his home turf should be quick as this concert has been the fastest-selling in the APO’s 12-concert APN News & Media Premier Series. Tickets are still available but this concert will sell out.



The APO is also giving audiences the opportunity to see John in recital in August when he will perform with award-winning Chinese violinist Feng Ning – another APO audience favourite – as part of its Lion Foundation Twilight Series.



Meanwhile the Romantic Masterpieces concert on Thursday 3rd April will open with Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan & Ludmila and close with Brahms’s lyrical second symphony.



Single tickets (limited number still available) to Romantic Masterpieces (from $20-$110) and tickets to the Lion Foundation Twilight Series 3: Feng Ning & John Chen (August 18th - $55) are available from Ticketek, Ph 09 307 5139, www.ticketek.co.nz.