Biography
Chiyan Wong first drew widespread attention through his inventive reworking of demanding keyboard literature. With a focus on the output of Busoni and Liszt, the pianist has applied his own compositional background to produce new realizations, among them a reimagined version of Busoni’s treatment of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, issued by Linn in 2021.
Born in Hong Kong on November 13, 1988, Wong received his initial piano instruction locally before relocating to England at age twelve. He enrolled at Chetham’s School of Music for studies with Norma Fisher, then continued at the Royal Academy of Music under Christopher Elton. Additional training included composition lessons from Thomas Adès at the Prussia Cove International Musicians’ Seminar and counterpoint instruction with Naji Hakim in Paris. He also participated in the International Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria, where he earned a prize. Early in 2021 he was finishing a doctoral degree at the Royal Academy of Music, centered on Busoni’s music, while already attracting notice through appearances as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and recording artist. Performances at the International Music Festival in Dinard, France, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and the Singapore International Piano Festival helped secure further engagements, including an all-Liszt program at London’s Wigmore Hall. He was scheduled to appear with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in the 2020-2021 season and, at that time, maintained his residence in Berlin.
Wong’s recordings appear on the Linn label. His first release, in 2017, was Liszt Transfigured: Operatic Fantasies for Piano, featuring transcriptions and arrangements of his own devising. In 2020 he collaborated with Jonathan Freeman-Attood on Richard Strauss and the Viennese Trumpet. The following year he issued Bach-Busoni: Goldberg Variations and other works.
Born in Hong Kong on November 13, 1988, Wong received his initial piano instruction locally before relocating to England at age twelve. He enrolled at Chetham’s School of Music for studies with Norma Fisher, then continued at the Royal Academy of Music under Christopher Elton. Additional training included composition lessons from Thomas Adès at the Prussia Cove International Musicians’ Seminar and counterpoint instruction with Naji Hakim in Paris. He also participated in the International Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria, where he earned a prize. Early in 2021 he was finishing a doctoral degree at the Royal Academy of Music, centered on Busoni’s music, while already attracting notice through appearances as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and recording artist. Performances at the International Music Festival in Dinard, France, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and the Singapore International Piano Festival helped secure further engagements, including an all-Liszt program at London’s Wigmore Hall. He was scheduled to appear with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in the 2020-2021 season and, at that time, maintained his residence in Berlin.
Wong’s recordings appear on the Linn label. His first release, in 2017, was Liszt Transfigured: Operatic Fantasies for Piano, featuring transcriptions and arrangements of his own devising. In 2020 he collaborated with Jonathan Freeman-Attood on Richard Strauss and the Viennese Trumpet. The following year he issued Bach-Busoni: Goldberg Variations and other works.
Albums
Swing!: Tsfasman x Ravel
2023
Bach - Busoni: Goldberg Variations & Other Works
2021
Richard Strauss and the Viennese Trumpet
2020
Liszt Transfigured: Operatic Fantasies for Piano
2017
Singles
