Program
| Composer | Work | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Schumann | Arabeske, Op. 18 | 1839 |
| Franz Schubert | Piano Sonata in A major, D. 959 | 1828 |
| Intermission | ||
| Frédéric Chopin | Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 | 1835 |
| Mazurkas, Op. 24 | 1835 | |
| Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 | 1842 |
About the Artist
Kuok-Wai Lio
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, pianist Lio Kuok-Wai is a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant administered by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Career Advancement Award given by the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia, and a Scholarship award by the Feltsman Piano Foundation.
Praised by the Vancouver Sun as a “musician’s musician,” for his “sensitive playing” by The New York Times, and his “hypnotic” effect by The Boston Musical Intelligencer, the Macau-born pianist is active as a soloist and chamber musician worldwide. He has performed at venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Tonhalle Zürich, Herkulessaal in Munich, Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Daiichi Semei Hall in Tokyo. He has given recitals at the Ravinia Festival, Gilmore Rising Stars, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Amelia Island Music Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, Kissinger Sommer, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Hong Kong Arts Festival, and Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts in Boston. Kuok-Wai was chosen to step in for the legendary pianist, Radu Lupu, for a recital in Town Hall, New York to critical acclaim.
As a concerto soloist, Kuok-Wai has performed with orchestras that include the China Philharmonic, Macau Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg, Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra and conductors Li Xin-Cao, Edo de Waart, Francois Xavier-Roth, and Michael Stern. A frequent participant in the Marlboro Music Festival and Marlboro on Tour, Kuok-Wai has performed with musicians such as Kim Kashkashian, Pamela Frank, Harvey de Souza, Cho-Liang Lin, Christoph Richter, Hsin-Yun Huang, and the Shanghai Quartet, among others. In May 2023, he was featured in the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Kuok-Wai has studied under Gabriel Kwok, Gary Graffman, Claude Frank, Peter Frankl, Boris Berman, Jack Winerock, among others. He was invited by Sir András Schiff to take part in many of his masterclasses in Europe and by Leon Fleisher to attend a mentorship program at Caramoor Rising Stars in upstate New York. He is currently a student of Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University.