Tribute, Remembrance, and Reverence - Chi Feng Piano Recital

Chi Feng - Award winner of International Piano Competition returns to the stage on Saturday, 15 February 2025, at St. Matthew’s in the City for a deeply moving recital titled Tribute, Remembrance, and Reverence. Drawing inspiration from the phrase "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in," Chi will explore themes of memory and healing through Brahms’ Op.118 Six Piano Pieces and Schubert’s monumental Sonata D960. As an internationally awarded pianist, Chi Feng is celebrated for her emotive depth and technical brilliance. This performance promises to be a profound musical experience, inviting audiences to reflect and find light through the cracks of life.

Concert Program:
• Brahms Op.118 (Six Piano Pieces)
• Schubert Sonata D960 (All movements)

Brahms' Op.118 consists of six piano pieces, including a ballade, a romance, and four intermezzi. These works exhibit the composer's late style and technique. Brahms, deeply influenced by classicism, maintained a classical rationality even during the Romantic period. He used this rationality to temper romantic emotions, a style clearly reflected in his Piano Works Op.118. Brahms' music does not rely on flashy techniques; instead, the six pieces in Op.118 vary in style, with intricate structures and complex parts. They demand high technical skill and deep musical understanding from the performer, evoking a profound and sincere resonance with the audience through their depth, sincerity, and simplicity.

Schubert's D960 is the last piano sonata he composed and is considered the pinnacle of his sonata works. It represents Schubert's outstanding contribution to Romantic music, displaying both technical mastery and rich emotional expression. This piece demonstrates the full breadth and depth of Schubert's late musical style. Its four movements showcase a balance of classical formality and romantic emotional richness— "Serenity and reflection, longing and hope for life, freedom and idealism"— making it a masterpiece of early Romantic music.

Chi Feng, a Chinese New Zealand pianist, is a distinguished alumni of the Piano Department at the China Central Conservatory of Music. She began studying piano at age four with Professor Yunxian Chen from the Tianjin Conservatory. By six, she was recognised as a "piano prodigy" after her debut at the "China Future" International Children's Art Festival. In 1995, she joined the Central Conservatory of Music's primary school, later excelling at its high school, winning numerous national and international awards. In 2003, she entered the Conservatory’s Piano Department as the top student in her class. After graduating in 2007, she furthered her studies in France before teaching piano in China, with many of her students admitted to top music schools.

Chi’s performance career spans across China and beyond, with notable performances in large theaters and music festivals, including the Beijing International Film Music Festival and Music Acoustic - Beijing. She has collaborated with serveral esteemed Chinese composers.

After relocating to New Zealand in 2019, Chi continued her concert work, performing at venues such as the Living Waters Church and Epsom Girls Grammar School in Auckland. In February 2022, she performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Orchestra Auckland at St. Matthew-in-the-city, followed by a performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor later that year.

Her latest piano recital, titled "A Night of Sonata," featured a chronologically arranged program designed to guide the audience on a journey through the evolution of classical sonatas, offering an immersive experience of the sonata form's timeless appeal.

Chi’s artistry continues to resonate with audiences across New Zealand, where her performances have been met with high praise, including recognition from Don Brash, a classical music enthusiast who commented her as "an extremely accomplished pianist."