Chengzong Yin
is one of the world's leading pianists of our time. He was born in 1941
on China’s "Piano Island" of Gulangyu in Xiamen, Fujian. As a
child prodigy, Yin gave his first recital at age nine. He was subsequently trained
at Shanghai Conservatory, at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing,
and at the Leningrad Conservatory under the famed Tatiana Kravchenko.
He received international acclaim as the second-prize winner of the
International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1962 (Vladimir Askkenazy took
first prize that year), and since that time he has garnered numerous honors and awards. In May of 1967 Yin risked his life by defiantly performing an upright piano for three days in the middle of Beijing's Tiananmen Square just a year after the Red Guard had confiscated and destroyed every piano it could find. According to Daniel Powers, "By the clever act of hauling his piano into the fields and playing revolutionary songs for the masses,
Yin
established the 'bourgeois' piano as an instrument acceptable within
the musical pantheon of the Cultural Revolution." This stratagem
redeemed the piano in the eyes of militant young supporters of Mao
Zedong's Cultural Revolution (1966-76), who otherwise sought to
eradicate every vestige of Western influence as they even attacked
China's own great cultural heritage. Yin made his debut in New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1983 and has returned five times as a soloist. The New York Times has called him "China's best pianist." Throughout his career Mr. Yin has touched millions of souls with his music. Bernard Holland of the New York Times wrote that he demonstrated an "absolutely beautiful command of piano colors."
Through out the years, Mr. Yin concertized worldwide: He performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Claudio Abbado, with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra under Kirill Kondrashin , and with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent. He has also appeared in Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, and at Lincoln Center. His numerous interviews were featured on China's Central Television and CBS Sunday Morning.
Mr. Yin is not only a virtuoso interpreter of Western masters, he is also a composer of highly renowned piano pieces. His piano arrangements and interpretations of traditional Beijing opera and other classic Chinese music, combined with his contribution to the Yellow River Concerto have made him a household name in China. His recording of the latter piece received a Gold Record award, which has already over 3 million copies sold. He has become a legend in the music world and is one of four Chinese musicians who are listed in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, published in 1980.
Mr. Yin has released more than 20 albums, among them recent releases of an all-Chopin CD and a recording of Debussy's Preludes, super CDs of The Seasons by Tchaikovsky, and various Chinese ancient and traditional pieces arranged by Mr. Yin and others. His recordings of the Yellow River Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic will soon be released.
In autumn of 2002, Mr. Yin brought the prestigious Fourth Tchaikovsky
International
Competition for Young Musicians to his hometown, Xiamen, China, where
he served as the Head Chairman of the Competition. He also served on
the jury of the Third China International Piano Competition in 2004.2005 marks the 55th anniversary of Mr. Yin’s musical career. Extensive tour of North American and Chinese cities includes Atlanta, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Xiamen, Guangzhou, etc. In September and October, Mr. Yin performed the "Yellow River" Concerto, which he worked on as one of the primary composers and premiered, at Beijing’s Minzu Theater New York's Carnegie Hall respectively, marking the 35th anniversary of this work.
Formerly a professor and artist-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Mr. Yin now lives in New York City.