Media Credit: Travis Brown/East Tennessean Pianist Chu-Fang Huang tickles the ivories and the audience in Mathes Hall auditorium. On Saturday, Nov. 10 the Powell Piano Series featured a recital by renowned pianist Chu-Fang Huang. Every seat was filled in the Mathes Hall auditorium where the concert was held Saturday night. Huang played pieces by Schumann, Ravel, Haydn and Prokofiev, and floored the audience with her passionate performance.

At the age of seven, while most of us are getting rid of our training wheels and learning how to swim, Huang began studying piano. Now at the age of 23, she has performed in numerous concert halls around the world, including Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House. “I think she is a fantastic performer,” said ETSU assistant professor of piano Dr. Chi-long Hu.

“I think it was a very touching and effective concert.” Hu actually met Huang when they competed against each other a few years ago in China. “Unfortunately she beat me,” Hu said. “She’s basically unbeatable.” Huang won first prize at the prestigious Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2006, which made her the first Chinese pianist ever to do so. In April of 2007, the New York Times gave her a fantastic review of her performance in the Irene Diamond Concert.

“Playing a repertory staple like the Grieg concerto takes some daring, since it is hard to distinguish yourself in the piece. But throughout the performance by the Chinese-born Huang, you sensed the excitement of a young pianist who could hardly wait to get her turn at it,” said New York Times critic, Anthony Tommasini. Huang studied under Frank Claude, a German-born pianist who studied in Paris, while enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music.