Jenny Q Chai | Divine Art Recordings

The latest signing among 20 new artists joining the Divine Art Recordings roster this year is the brilliant, radical, and forward-looking Chinese pianist Jenny Q Chai, whose new recording of Schumann, Bach and Ives is scheduled for release in February.

Described as ‘an artist of singular vision’ Jenny Q Chai is widely renowned for her ability to illuminate music of many centuries. Whilst thoroughly grounded in core repertoire (and a special affinity for the works of Scarlatti, Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Debussy and Ravel) she has developed a strong expertise in new, groundbreaking and experimental music and techniques, working with many contemporary composers including Jarosław Kapuściński, Cindy Cox, Andy Akiho, and György Kurtág. She is also a noted interpreter of the works of Cage, Messiaen and Ligeti.

Jenny is also a leading champion of the synchronous-score-following software Antescofo and was instrumental in testing and honing the program which offers a real-time computerised animation response to live performance elements, enabling performers to create sophisticated, fluent and relevant multimedia presentations. Jenny has toured internationally with the software giving multimedia performances in Shanghai, New York, Havana and several other cities.

Ms Chai made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2012, Wigmore Hall in 2018 and she has given lectures and recitals in many countries. In 2019 she became a piano faculty member at University of California Berkeley, an alumni mentor at the Curtis Institute of Music, and an official career mentor at the Manhattan School of Music. Her studies took place at Manhattan, at Shanghai Music Conservatory, Curtis Institute and Cologne University of Music and Dance. She has previously recorded for Naxos, MSR, ArpaViva and Duetschlandfunk and she has been the recipient of a number of competition prizes and awards.

Proving that an artist working so much at the cutting-edge of experimental media can still be an astoundingly good interpreter of core repertoire, Jenny Q Chai presents this album as a special tribute to her teacher and mentor Seymour Lipkin. Born and raised in China, Jenny was accepted at the age of 12 into the Curtis Institute of Music to study under Seymour Lipkin for seven years. She credits Lipkin with giving her a wide and solid musical understanding. At 18, Lipkin introduced her to Schumann’s Kreisleriana, which she performed at her graduation. The work has ‘lived inside of me’ as the pianist puts it, and this new recording of the work is devoted to the man that Jenny calls her ‘music grandpa’.

(a more detailed biography and ‘dedication’ statement are available and will be included in the album booklet)