“Dynamic performance with virtuoso work. His Bach was worthy to stand with Mr Shaham's performance”
“A thrilling high-wire act with harmonics, octaves and arpeggios all laser-beamed to the target”
“Once experienced, never forgotten. An exquisite, alluring voice of faultless taste.”
“Another magical reinvention with beautifully poised playing”
Yu-Chien (Benny) Tseng is an internationally acclaimed violinist, celebrated for his grace, poise, and blistering virtuosity as one of the most compelling concert soloists of his generation.
Winner of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015, he has since given major debuts with the London Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, and Czech Philharmonic. Signed to Deutsche Grammophon in 2016, he recorded his second album with Maestro Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra, featuring the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and other works by the composer. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Aaron Rosand and Ida Kavafian, he had already won first prize at the Singapore International Violin Competition, the Sarasate International Violin Competition, and the Isang Yun International Violin Competition in Korea.
After his German debut with the Saarbrücken Radio Orchestra, a critic wrote of his Beethoven Violin Concerto:
“Classically balanced without showing off; Sensitive, discreet nuances; Highly cultured sound; graceful and playful, relaxed elegance without attitude — Exemplary!”
As a soloist he has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, London Philharmonia Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Belgium, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan Philharmonic, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and many others, under conductors including Valery Gergiev, Jiří Bělohlávek, Mikhail Pletnev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo Vänskä, Jacek Kaspszyk, and Lan Shui.
Recent seasons have brought debuts with the Tonkunstler Orchestra in Vienna (Vincenzo Milletari), the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Tamás Vásáry), the Czech Philharmonic (Kahchun Wong), and the Tokyo Philharmonic (Mikhail Pletnev), as well as a performance of Penderecki’s First Violin Concerto at Warsaw Philharmonic Hall for the composer’s 85th birthday and a guest residency at Schloss Elmau during the Verbier Festival. During the pandemic he gave 31 sold-out concerts in Taiwan.
Born in Taipei, Yu-Chien entered the Curtis Institute of Music at 13. He plays the “ex Jules Massenet” 1735 Nicolò Gagliano, on generous loan from a private collector.
