Pianist/Harpsichordist Christiana Lin  ~  A Musician Integrating Eastern and Western Cultures

Music is a language that can only rise from harmonized spirituality, passing from one generation to the next, and the most beautiful among all languages created by the humankind. ––– Christiana Lin

"Her talent and sensibility is expressed primarily in her cantabile music and exquisite playing."

── University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna Pianist Prof. Noel Flores

"She is a very gifted musician with genuine artistic qualities. She gleams with profound and unique characters."

── University of Music and Performing Arts Munich Pianist Prof. Claude-France Journes

"Christiana Lin can precisely grasp the core, style and background of the pieces and perform with the best interpretation of music."

── Wiener Urania Press

"She has a fully comprehensive musical soul."

── Steinway & Sons Piano Magazine

"Pianist Christiana Lin who had studied music in Vienna for sixteen years has learnt the essence of German and Austrian music by heart. The tempo of her music is calm and mature, and the rhythm clean and bright."

── Press release of the Hundred Years’ Memorial Hall of Peking University

Biography

Christiana Lin was born in Taipei. Chinese-Austrian pianist and harpsichordist. Steinway Artist. From 1978 to 1992, she studied in Vienna, Innsbruck and Munich and was conferred the Diplom Ausgezeichnet in piano performing from Universitat fur Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien where she studied piano under Prof. Noel Flores, and composition with Prof. Erich Urbanner. She was also conferred the Diplom Ausgezeichnet in harpsichord performing and music education from Tiroler Landeskonservatorium Innsbruck where she studied piano under Prof. Claude-France Journes, a renowned French-German pianist, and harpsichord under Prof. Michael Jaud, an Austrian harpsichordist and organist. For several times at the “Mozarteum International Summer Academy” in Salzburg, she studied piano with the legendary American pianist, Prof. Leon Fleisher. She also has been to the Moscow Conservatory several times studying with Prof. Monov and Prof. Natalie Trull.

Christiana Lin is piano and harpsichord professor at the colleges and graduate schools of Soochow University and National Taiwan University of Arts in Taipei.

Career

Christiana Lin was the first musician ever playing both harpsichord and piano in one recital.

In the past many years, she has been invited to perform around Europe and Asia, such as Vienna, Innsbruck, Munich, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Her elegance, cultivation and natural musicality appeal to many audiences. In 1989, she was invited by “Vienna Arts Festival” to give a piano recital at Wiener Urania concert hall. She also gave many piano and harpsichord recitals at Innsbruck Konservatorium Saal. In 1991, she worked with the renowned conductor Edgar Seipenbush and Innsbruck Symphoniker, performing R. Schumann’s Piano Concerto in a minor Op. 54. Illustrious conductors she has collaborated with in concerts include Edgar Seipenbush, Mark Graveson, Henry Mazer, Jaime Laredo, Nien-Fu David Liao, Wen-Hsien Chang, and Cheng-Tu Su. Orchestras and musical groups she performed with include Innsbruck Symphoniker, Innsbruck Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Sinfonietta & Philharmonic Orchestra, Taipei Chamber Orchestra, Pace Symphony Orchestra, Hua-Gang Symphony Orchestra, and Da-Guan Symphony Orchestra.

In 1995, Dr. Merton Miller, who won the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, visited Taiwan. Christiana Lin was the only musician invited to play in his welcoming party. Among all concerts, she was also invited to appear in “1997 Taipei International Music Festival” to perform with internationally-renowned artists such as conductor Jaime Laredo, cellist Yo-yo Ma and violinist Cho-Liang Lin. In 2008, she was invited by Taiwan National Palace Museum to perform in the documentary titled “Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum.” In the 2009 An Evening of Symphony concert, she performed L.v. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the renowned conductor Nien-Fu Liao and the Da-Guan Symphony Orchestra. She also composed the Cadenza herself, which was its international debut. In 2012, she was invited by Steinway & Sons Piano Center to hold “Beethoven Summer Festival – Christiana Lin Piano Master Class.”

In 2011, she held a concert titled From Vienna to Beijing - the Conversation between Piano and Guqin in the Multi-Function Hall of Peking University Centennial Memorial Hall, which was a concert blending Oriental and western artistries. 

Christiana initiated an International Concert Tour starting in 2013: Echo Aus Wien, piano duo at Klimt Villa in Vienna in late August; Wonderful Melody, cembalo and piano recital at Tianjin Concert Hall in Tianjin, China in October; Accolades To Classics, piano recital at the Central Music Conservatory Concert Hall in Beijing, China in November; Wonderful Melody, this time a piano recital at Bach Hall in Taipei, Taiwan in February 2014; Beauty of Classics From Vienna, piano recital at Minnan Grand Theater in Xiamen, China in April; and finally, The Charming Classics, piano recital at Shanghai Concert Hall in Shanghai, China in early July 2014. Altogether more than 4,000 people attended her performances of that concert tour.

Education and Playing style

“Music is a language that can only rise from harmonized spirituality, passing from one generation to the next, and the most beautiful among all languages created by the humankind. ─ Christiana Lin”In addition to performing, Christiana Lin has devoted years to music education. She is an avid speaker and frequently invited to give speeches and teach master classes. In 1994, she founded “Cantabile Piano Music Group” in the spirit of “I play, we play”. As the Artistic Director, she has held three “Christiana Lin’s Piano Education Seminar and Master Class” and 17 “Cantabile Piano Master Class Concerts” in order to create a stage for aspiring young artists to present their talent. Among all the master class concerts, the eleventh one was “2008 Cantabile Piano German Master Class” in that she took the role of artistic director. She invited Chancellor of the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Hamburg, pianist and Prof. Dr. Siegfried Mauser, French-German pianist, Prof. Claude-France Journes, and vocalist, Prof. Ingrid Kremling to teach master classes in Taipei.

Writings

In 2001, specifically for writing the book “J.S. Bach Sechs Partiten BWV 825–830 Analysis und Interpretation”, Christiana Lin went to do research at the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Germany. This is the first book on the subject written in Chinese. She has devoted years to Bach studies and earned her authoritative status in interpreting Bach.

In 2003, she compiled her past speeches and her unique personal teaching experiences, and had them published in three books: “The Glory of Baroque Keyboard Music”, “Enlightenment in Your Capacity for Understanding Music”, and “Understanding the Humanism in Music”.

In the 1998 “Wu San-Lien Memorial Concert,” she collaborated with famous conductor Cheng-Tu Su and Pace Symphony Orchestra in performing Mr. Chi-yuan Kuo’s Concertino, the final piece of the concert.

In 2008, she founded the National Taiwan University 2008 Cantabile Piano German Master Class.  She took the role of artistic director and interpreted German lectures into Chinese in the classes.  She invited pianist and Chancellor of the University of Music Munich, Dr. Siegfried Mauser, French-German pianist, Prof. Claude-France Journès, and vocalist, Prof. Ingrid Kremling to teach master classes in Taiwan.  It is the first international music camp hosted by National Taiwan University.

In the 2009 “Wonderful Melody. A special concert dedicated to Mother’s day--Christiana Lin Harpsichord/Piano Recital,” she debuted her composition “Fantasy.”  For providing music-loving audience with ever richer musical feast, and for creating brand new artistic expression, she ventured a harpsichord/piano recital rarely seen anywhere else in the world. She played two instruments separately for the first and the second half of the recital.  Taking tremendous skills and outstanding stamina to do so, Christiana Lin demonstrated her uniqueness as a pianist.

In the 2009 “An Evening of Symphony” concert, she performed L.v. Beethoven‘s Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 C Dur with renowned conductor Nien-Fu Liao (the first conductor winning the National Award for Arts) and the Da-Guan Symphony Orchestra.  She also composed the Cadenza herself. This is its international debut. 

In 2011, she held a concert titled “From Vienna to Beijing - the Conversation between Piano and Guqin” in the Multi-Function Hall of Peking University Hundred-year Memorial Hall.

Christiana Lin taught at Städtlich Musikschule Favoriten Ost in Vienna and now teaches piano and harpsichord performance at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at Soochow University and National Taiwan University of Arts in Taipei.  During her career so far she also appeared in the music programs of many radio broadcasting stations such as ORF (Österreicher Rundfunk), Taipei Philharmonic station, China Broadcasting, Han-seng Broadcasting, and The Voice of Education.

She is an avid speaker and has been invited to speak at numerous academic lectures and symposiums such as the ones in Chinese Culture University (“the Music History Lecture Series”), Taipei Normal University, Tainan Normal University, and Taoyuan Music Teachers Symposium etc. Since 2009, she has been invited to give annual speeches and teach master classes to celebrate anniversaries of great classical composers at Steinway Piano Center.

Among her many other credentials, Ms. Lin was the first ever Chinese artist to participate in EPTA (European Piano teachers Association) in 1987.  She has also devoted years to Bach studies and earned her authoritative stature in interpreting Bach.  In 2001, for writing the book, she did research with the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Germany, and was officially admitted to the association as a life member.

Collaboration with pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy