陳毓襄 Gwhyneth Chen

鋼琴家陳毓襄，1993年陳毓襄以最年輕的參賽者及卓越琴藝勇奪『波哥雷里奇國際鋼琴大賽』桂冠，榮獲十萬美獎的獎金（世界最高獎金的鋼琴大賽）。賽後，波哥雷里奇還盛讚她的才華 “She is too good to be true”。美國CNN電視也在國際間轉播了此成績。近年陳毓襄常與波哥雷里奇共同舉行音樂會演出。

陳毓襄是史坦威藝術家，2017 年拍了史坦威全球廣告。2018 年在北京史坦威165週年慶祝晚宴演出。

陳毓襄出生於台灣，九歲赴美求學，在洛衫磯跟隨 Robert Turner, 和 Aube Tzerko 學習.。隨後進入茱莉亞音樂學院取得學士與碩士。在紐約期間跟隨 Martin Canin, Byron Janis 和 殷承宗 學習。

1983 年陳毓襄獲全美國教師協會舉辦的全美五十州鋼琴比賽 (MTNA) 少年組冠軍，1986 年又榮獲高中組冠軍，創下同一人獲得美國該比賽少年組與青年組冠軍的紀錄。高中時期她更跨組至大學參加國際鋼琴錄音比賽並贏得首獎，1986 年在 Bullocks 全美鋼琴大賽獲首獎，1988年在全美青少年鍵盤藝術家比賽獲首獎及一台演奏鋼琴，成為全美國鋼琴比賽的五冠王。

1990 年，陳毓襄在『柴可夫斯基國際鋼琴大賽』以唯一的女鋼琴家進入決賽，榮獲最佳女性獎。比賽後連續七年受邀到莫斯科音樂院大廳 (Bolshoi Zal) 演出。1992年在俄國聖彼得堡『普羅高菲夫國際鋼琴大賽』獲得銅牌。1991年在紐約Thomas Richner 國際鋼琴大賽獲得首獎。1999 年在國際網路音樂大賽首獎。

1995年陳毓襄獲選為美國一百位頂尖華人代表。1997 年受李登輝總統邀請至總統府參加『介壽館音樂會』演出。2002年受台灣總統夫人吳淑珍女士訪美，陳毓襄受邀至華府雙橡園演出。2008年受邀於馬英九總統就職國宴演出。2008年，陳毓襄以『台灣之光』代表參加北京奧運運慶祝音樂會，和台北市立交響樂團於北京國家大劇院合作演出。2018 年，陳毓襄再次代表台灣在洛杉磯迪士尼音樂廳，和國立台灣交響樂團演奏蕭泰然鋼琴協奏曲。

2011 年陳毓襄的專輯“珍愛的蕭邦”獲得金曲獎最佳演奏獎。

經常投入慈善演出的陳毓襄，2011年受邀為日本地震海嘯的募款音樂會演出，也參與美國癌症協會慈善義演。在2017年，在加拿大卡加利為北美最大的遊民中心舉辦募款音樂會，成為了卡加利榮譽市民。2013年，陳毓襄榮獲了第一屆宣化基金會的人道精神奬，2014 年得榮獲了中華孝道協會的孝道獎，2018 年在洛杉磯音樂中心的 Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 擔任洛杉磯藝術高中的 Commencement Speaker。

2020-2021 在世界疫情期間，陳毓襄在臺灣和各大樂團演奏了九首鋼琴協奏曲，被國家兩廳院表演藝術雑誌選為 “2021 年度人物“    

Ms Gwhyneth Chen (陳毓襄) is a Taiwanese-American pianist who in 1993, won the biggest cash prize in the history of piano competitions, ($100,000.00.) Ms. Chen, then a young woman of 23, was the youngest contestant at the Ivo Pogorelich International Piano Competition. Subsequent to the award, Mr. Pogorelich himself said of her talent, "She is too good to be true." Immediately recognized as one of the foremost pianists of her generation, the victory was broadcast internationally on CNN television. In recent years she has played joint concerts with Ivo Pogorelich in Switzerland and in Taiwan.

Born in Taiwan, Ms Chen emigrated to the United States with her family in 1980, where she continued her musical studies with Robert Turner and Aube Tzerko in Los Angeles where she attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School. While in New York, her teachers were Martin Canin, Byron Janis and Yin Cheng-Zong.

At the age of 12, she was the first prize winner of the 50-state National Piano Competition, by the Music Teacher's National Association. Three years later she won the National Competition again, setting a record by winning both Junior High and the Senior High Competitions. She continued by winning Grand Prize in the international recording piano competition, competing in the college division when she was only in high school.

At the age of 19, she was a finalist in the 1990 Tschaikovsky International Piano Competition. She was also awarded the “Best Lady Prize” for being the only female finalist. In 1992, she was the bronze medalist, this time in the Prokofieff International Piano Competition, in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1991 Gwhyneth was the first prize winner in the Thomas Richner International Piano Competition in New York. She was the grand prize winner of the International Web Concert Hall Competition in 1999 in New York. As the Grand Prize winner of  the Young Keyboard Artists National Piano Competition during her senior year of high school she won a grand piano.

A leading Chinese musical figure, Gwhyneth Chen was included in the 1995 edition of the One Hundred Most Successful Chinese People and appeared in a nationally televised gala concert at the Presidential Palace in the presence of President Lee of Taiwan. In 2002, she was invited to perform and speak in Washington DC during the First Lady Wu Shu-chen's, Peace Journey to the United States. In 2008 she performed at the inaugural festivities for the newly elected President of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou.

Ms. Chen recently performed at the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles as a soloist with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She has also represented her country with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, as "the Pride of Taiwan" in the opening concert at the National Grand Theatre ("Steel Egg") in Beijing, China, to celebrate the 2008 Olympics.

Ms. Chen's CD on the Chimei label, "Gwhyneth Chen: Chopin Favorites," celebrating Chopin's 200th anniversary, won "Best Performance" in the Golden Melody Awards in 2011.

Ms Chen has appeared as a soloist with a number of orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Moscow Radio Symphony, Greenville Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Kyushu Symphony of Japan, Taiwan National Orchestra, Shanghai Symphonic, Moscow State Philharmonic, Pasadena Symphony, Pacific Symphonic, Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, Taipei City Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Orchestre Fresnes, Zagreb Philharmonic, and Lake Placid Symphonietta. She was engaged to play with the Miami Symphony for six consecutive seasons. Ms Chen has collaborated with David Atherton and the Hong Kong Philharmonic on a tour of the United States and Canada, with Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony throughout North America and Mexico, and completed a tour of Taiwan with the Russian Philharmonic under Vladimir Ponkin. For the extravagant debut of the New Colorado Symphony, she was chosen as the first soloist performing the Tschaikovsky First Piano Concerto before a crowd of 15,000 at the McNichols Stadium.

In 1994, Gwhyneth Chen made her recital debut in Munich at Herkulessal, followed by a recital tour of Croatia and Spain. That same year, she played the opening concert of the season in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Russian National Orchestra under Mikhail Pletnev performing the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto. In 1999, she made her New York debut at Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center.

A popular figure at international festivals, Ms Chen has frequented the Aspen Music Festival, Montreal Music Festival, Pogorelich Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, Chopin Festival in Majorca, Chopin Festival in Poland, Chopin Festival in Hanover, Chopin Festival in Vienna, and the Lake Placid Music Festival. In 2010, she performed the complete Chopin Nocturnes at the Chopin Festival in Taiwan, commemorating Chopin's 200th Anniversary. In 2011 she performed the twelve Transcendental Etudes of Liszt, for Liszt's 200th anniversary.

Her extensive concertizing career has thrilled audiences in halls such as the Kennedy Center, San Francisco's Davies Hall, the Los Angeles Music Center, Vancouver's Royal Theater, Victoria's Orpheum Theatre, the National Concert Hall in Taiwan, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Arts In Mexico City, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Tschaikovsky Hall of Moscow, and Debussy Hall in Cannes. She conducted a solo recital tour of Estonia in the Eduard Tubin Music Festival.

A frequent benefactor of charitable events, Ms. Chen performed a successful benefit concert for the 2011 Japan Disaster Relief in collaboration with Buddhist Tzu Chi Organization of Northern California. She has donated her talents to concerts for the Fountain Project of Northern California, the American Cancer Society and the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association's branches.

She has been a jury member in the Taiwan Chopin Piano Competition in 2005 and 1999, the 2003 First Taiwan International Piano Competition, the 2003 Asian Division of the 6th Monopoli International Piano Competition, and the 1998 Taiwan Young Artists International Competition. She was on the faculty for the Perugia Music Festival in Italy in 2010.

In 2013 Gwhyneth was the recipient of the inaugural Distinguished Humanitarian Award, presented by the Hsuan Hua Foundation of Taiwan. She was cited for her contribution to integration of Arts and Spirituality. In 2014 she was awarded the Filiality Award given by Taiwan’s Filiality Association, which names annually one exemplar of the highest expression of traditional Chinese culture.

Gwhyneth Chen is a Steinway Artist and was recently featured by Steinway & Sons in the global promotional video for the innovative Steinway SPIRIO, the world’s finest high resolution player piano.

Gwhyneth is a vegetarian, and since 1993, has integrated aspects of Buddhist spirituality into her musical training.

2021/22