RAY CHEN is a violinist who redefines what it is to be a classical musician in the 21st Century. With a media presence that enhances and inspires the classical audience, reaching out to millions through his unprecedented online following, Ray Chen’s remarkable musicianship transmits to a global audience that is reflected in his engagements with the foremost orchestras and concert halls around the world. Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Chen was invited to play solo with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight. He was also invited to perform at the opening celebration concert of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Ray was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age 15, where he studied with Aaron Rosand. As the winner of the New York International Young Artist Competition (2008-2009), Ray Chen was awarded the right to play the Stradivarius’ 1721 Macmillan Violin. His performances impressed with their technical virtuosity and maturity of interpellation, and the Chicago Tribune called him “an exceptional talent.”
Initially coming to attention via the Yehudi Menuhin (2008) and Queen Elizabeth (2009) Competitions, of which he was First Prize winner, performing the Mendelsohn’s E Minor Concerto and the Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto.
His premiere album Virtuoso, released worldwide on Sony Classical received an ECHO Klassik Award and glowing reviews from a range of major publications. Following the success of this recording, Ray Chen was profiled by The Strad and Gramophone magazines as “the one to watch”.
Two more Sony Classical albums followed, and in 2017 he signed with Decca Classics for his first album with the London Philharmonic.
“Ray has proven himself to be a very pure musician with great qualities such as a beautiful youthful tone, vitality and lightness. He has all the skills of a truly musical interpreter,” said his friend and mentor Maxim Vengerov.
Ray Chen has appeared with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra Nazionale della Santa Cecilia, Spanish National Orchestra, Israeli Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and upcoming debuts include the SWR Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, and Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra.
He has performed at Nobel Prize concert in Stokholm with Royal Philharmonic under the batton of Christoph Eschenbach. He works with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Vladimir Jurowski, Sakari Oramo, Manfred Honeck, Daniele Gatti, Kirill Petrenko, Krystof Urbanski, Juraj Valcuha and many others. From 2012-2015 he was resident at the Dortmund Konzerthaus.
His presence on social media makes Ray Chen a pioneer in an artist’s interaction with their audience, utilizing the new opportunities of modern technology. His appearances and interactions with music and musicians are instantly disseminated to a new public in a contemporary and relatable way. He is the first musician to be invited to write a lifestyle blog for largest Italian publishing house, RCS Rizzoli (Corriere della Sera, Gazzetta dello Sport, Max). He has been featured in Vogue magazine and is currently releasing his own design of violin case for the industry manufacturer GEWA.
His commitment to music education is paramount, and inspires the younger generation of music students with his series of self-produced videos combining comedy and music. Through his online promotions his appearances regularly sell out and draw an entirely new demographic to the concert hall.
His profile has grown to encompass his featuring in the Forbes list of 30 most influential Asians under 30, appearing in major online TV series “Mozart in the Jungle”, a multi-year partnership with Giorgio Armani (who designed the cover of his Mozart album with Christoph Eschenbach) and performing at major media events such as France’s Bastille Day (live to 800,000 people), and the BBC Proms.
He plays the 1735 “Samazeuilh” Stradivarius violin on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. This instrument was once owned by the famed American violinist Mischa Elman, (1891-1967). Ray Chen can do pretty much anything he wants on the violin. (Anne Midgette, The Washington Post).