Tour Dates: 9 Jul - 21 Jul, 2008

"Wong plays the popular waltzes with an astonishing ease and brilliance. At the same time, the Nocturnes are being played with meditative devotion, like it is being recited. Chopin inspired by a Far Eastern Culture - a truly exciting affair! |
- André Scheurer, Classic Highlight, Radiomagazin, 17 November, 2005

See Siang Wong

Described by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung as a "sophisticated sound painter”, the Chinese pianist See Siang Wong was born in Holland in 1979, and makes his home in Switzerland today. He has made his debut at the mere age of twelve with the Dutch Radio Orchestra, performing Mozart’s Piano concerto No. 8, KV 246. Over the years See Siang Wong has been awarded numerous prizes and has quickly advanced to become an internationally sought after soloist, chamber musician and accompanist.

See Siang Wong has given concerts throughout Europe (Holland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, United Kingdom, Hungary, Poland, Albania), Russia and South America (Ecuador, Colombia). He has performed at the major concert halls in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), London (St. Martin-in-the-Fields), Leipzig (Mendelssohnhaus), Zurich (Tonhalle), Lucerne (KKL), Paris (Salle Olivier Messiaen), Helsinki (Aino Ackte), Budapest (Marmor Hall), Prague (Villa Bertramka), St. Petersburg (Philharmonic Hall) and Bogotá (Luis Ángel Arango). He has also appeared at leading international music festivals in Paris (Présences), Bourges (Synthèse), Fribourg (Schubertiade), Lucerne (Lucerne Festival), Zurich (Contemporary Music Days, Mozart Festival Zurich, Frank Martin Festival), Budapest (Autumn Festival), St.-Petersburg (Festival "From the Avant-garde to the present day"), Ostrów Wielkopolski (Chanterelle Festival) and Tirana (Autumn Festival).

Milestones of his career include performances with high-calibre conductors like Pierre Boulez (Webern “Concerto”, Berio “ O King”, Boulez “Dérive I” at the Lucerne Festival), Ralf Weikert (Mozart Piano concerto No. 23, KV 488 at the Tonhalle Zurich), Howard Griffiths (Mozart Piano concerto No. 12, KV 414 with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra) and Gunhard Mattes (Beethoven Piano concerto No. 3, Op. 37). As an interpreter of contemporary music he has collaborated with many leading composers, including Emmanuel Nunes, Marco Stroppa, James Dillon and Rudolf Kelterborn. A set of Rudolf Kelterborn's piano pieces has been dedicated to him.

See Siang Wong has recorded for Radio Netherlands, Radio France, Hungarian Radio and Swiss Radio DRS. Numerous CDs has been released. In 2005 he recorded exclusively for DECCA a Chopin solo-album. This recording (DECCA 476 307-5) earned him the "Classic Highlight" of the Swiss Radio Magazine. His second album (Claude Debussy: "Early piano works", DECCA 476 312-2) was released in 2006 and has been highly praised by music critics as well. His recording of the “Valse romantique” by Claude Debussy has been released on Deutsche Grammophon.

Upcoming releases will include recordings of the “Oiseaux Exotiques” piano concerto of Olivier Messiaen, the complete piano solo works of Emmanuel Nunes, the piano pieces of Rudolf Kelterborn, and the piano sonatas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

As an artist, See Siang Wong is supported by the Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation, The Friedl-Wald Foundation, Migros Kulturprozent, The Marguerite Meister Foundation and the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. In 2006, See Siang Wong joined a distinguished list of concert pianists when he was recognized as a “Steinway Artist” by the venerable piano maker Steinway & Sons.

See Siang Wong has been teaching at the Zurich University of Arts since 2002. He is also a regular guest professor at the Lucerne Music Academy in Switzerland and at the Academy of Arts in Arnhem, Enschede and Zwolle in Holland.

See Siang Wong studied piano in Holland with Marjès Benoist, and in Switzerland with Homero Francesch and Bruno Canino. He also studied piano accompaniment with Irwin Gage, Hans Adolfsen and Daniel Fueter. The composer Felix Baumann greatly influenced his understanding of contemporary music.

Reviews

"See Siang Wong explores his ancestral roots to Asian philosophies through the music of Claude Debussy. A new perspective that should be followed."
- 24heures, Jukebox de la semaine, 2 June,2006

"Young Dutch pianist See Siang Wong approaches Debussy with a clear sonority, with delicate colours and an obvious empathy for this beautiful music."
- Tribune de Genève, 22 March, 2006

"See Siang Wong's playing is quick, so quick that it feels like you're nearing the abyss. But at the same time it is so light, that the menacing abyss never looks menacing at all."
- Frank Gerber, Berner Zeitung, 27 November, 2005

"See Siang Wong is a master of the elegant and brilliant-pearling piano play. Confidently, he stylistically brings eight waltzes of Frederic Chopin to the representation, and for the following six Nocturnes, his play also captures the pensive-darker sound nuances of the Nocturnes. "
- Swiss Radio DRS2, 23 October, 2005