Claire Huangci

The American pianist Claire Huangci gained international acclaim by winning first prize as well as the Mozart Prize at the 2018 Concours Géza Anda, as well as receiving accolades in other prestigious competitions, including both Chopin competitions in Europe and the USA, the ARD International Music Competition, and the Grand Prix of the Orchestre Chambre de Paris Play-Direct Academy.

As a solo recitalist and partner to international orchestras, Claire Huangci has performed in prestigious concert halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Philharmonie de Paris, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Prinzregententheater Munich, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie Berlin, Wiener Konzerthaus, and Festspielhaus Salzburg. She is a welcome guest at renowned festivals, including the Lucerne Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, and the Ruhr Piano Festival. Her esteemed musical partners include the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Munich and Basel Chamber Orchestras, and conductors such as Carl St. Clair, Elim Chan, Michael Francis, Howard Griffiths, Pietari Inkinen, Jun Märkl, Cornelius Meister, Sir Roger Norrington, Eva Ollikainen, Alexander Shelley, and Mario Venzago.

Born in Rochester, New York, Claire showed an early affinity for the piano and was invited to the White House in 1999 at the age of nine. She studied with Gary Graffman and Eleanor Sokoloff at the Curtis Institute of Music before continuing her studies with Arie Vardi in Hannover where she graduated with honours in 2016. Claire is a proud ambassador for the Henle publishing house and serves as the artistic director of the Erbach Chamber Concerts.