Kapustin: Concert Etude No. 1 Op. 40
on the stage
A devoted chamber musician and imaginative soloist, pianist Yvonne Chen has been pushing the limits for pianists of the 21st century. Her experience playing in orchestras and varying chamber ensembles have made her adept as a collaborative musician. Meanwhile her wide array of interests within the broad solo piano repertoire makes her a versatile interpreter of music across the centuries. Pushing towards the outer limits of piano field, she continually explores the timbral possibilities on keyboard instruments like the harpsichord, fortepiano, toy piano, and celesta.
Recent collaborators include Grand Teton Music Festival, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Musiqa, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Music in Context, DACAMERA, WindSync, and Monarch Chamber Players. She is co-founder and pianist of Pipe and Key, an organ and piano duo whose performances have been featured at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival (Charleston, SC) and Music at Midday (Washington, DC).
As a soloist and creative director, she enjoys presenting unique programs such as Murakami Music, a music and literature crossover featuring the musical works mentioned in the novels of Japanese novelist, Haruki Murakami. As a recipient of a Let Creativity Happen! Grant from Houston Arts Alliance, she organized Bach/Berio at the Silos, a walking tour through Houston’s iconic Success Rice Silos for passersby to experience solo masterpieces in a resonant and intimate setting. A 2016 Graduate Presser Awardee, Yvonne founded Houston-based contemporary music ensemble Loop38. She organized and performed in Murder Mystery Madness, a dramatic semi-staged immersive event at Galveston Artist Residency using the music of Simon Holt and Salvatore Sciarrino. With Rothko Chapel, she organized and performed Music in Darkness, a performance of Georg Friedrich Haas’ in vain for 24 musicians, in the darkened space.
Under the tutelage of Brian Connelly, Yvonne earned both master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University following the completion of her dissertation on Lutoslawski’s Piano Concerto. Prior to that, she received her undergraduate bachelor’s degree at The Juilliard School, where she studied with Matti Raekallio. She has participated in festivals at Banff, Aspen, the International Holland Music Sessions, and Orford, and in masterclasses led by Yoheved Kaplinsky, Emanuel Ax, Jeremy Denk, Julian Martin, and Arie Vardi, and now extends her knowledge and experience to piano students at St. John’s School.
Rhapsody in Blue with WindSync. Photo by Monica Hindmarsh.
In rehearsal with the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra
Mendelssohn trio with Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra
Performing with EEG brain caps for Performing Arts Houston. Photo by Melissa Taylor.
John Luther Adams' In a Treeless Place, Only Snow at Rothko Chapel
Violin and Piano recital at the Menil Collection presented by DACAMERA with Boson Mo, violin.
Performing Schubert Grand Duo on an early 1800s fortepiano presented by CONTEXT
Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra rehearsal for the 2014 East Coast Tour
A performance of Ravel's Violin Sonata No. 2 with violinist, Boson Mo at Duncan Recital Hall. Photo by David Engel.
Collaborative concert by Musiqa and HBII. Photo by Lynn Lane.
Bowing a piano in John Cage's Five at the Menil Collection
Performance in Seattle, WA with Living Music Project
Videos
Bach: Prelude from Partita No. 1
www.pianistyvonnechen.com Yvonne Chen, piano MADNESS: Doctoral Solo Recital I Duncan Recital Hall, Rice University (Houston) March 24, 2015 Alexey Stanchinsky (Russia, 1888-1914) began his formal studies as a pianist and composer traveling from the village of Logachyovo to Moscow for lessons with Josef Lhévinne, Konstantin Eiges, Nikolai Zhilyayev, and Alexander Grechaninov before finally studying with Sergey Taneyev and Konstantin Igumnov at the Moscow Conservatory in 1907.
In the Media
Feature in Arts and Culture TX “Texas Studio: Listening Intently with Yvonne Chen” (Feb 2025)
Feature in Houston CityBook’s “Music Makes the People Come Together” (April 2019)
Interview with Houston Matters “How Do You Perform Music That Doesn’t Look Like Music?” (October 2018)
Click HERE for her performance of Shostakovich’s 5 Pieces for Two Violins and Piano (August 2025)