Tseng Yu Chien Master Class in 2020 NTNU Music Festival
Exceptional violinist Tseng Yu Chien, a silver medal winner of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition is in Taiwan during the pandemic. A master class was held on July 17th in the music hall of NTNU. The Music Department of NTNU plays an important role in the higher education in music. It is home to many well-know musicians that lead the music culture and the growth of education.
Tseng Yu Chien studied with Professor C. Nanette Chen. At the age of thirteen when he was in Taiwan and he gained admittance to the renowned Curtis Institute. His talent of music was wide recognized when he was young. In 2012 he was fifth laureate in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, where he also won both the Musiq'3 and the Klara-Canvas prizes awarded by the public. In the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition held in 2015, Tseng, aged 21, won the 2nd prize in the violin contest, in which no first prize was awarded.
In the master class, Tseng shared his journey of pursuing the dream and how he interprets music. He instructed four students, 30 minutes each. They have prepared challenging pieces and Tseng shared his thoughts and even demonstrated his skills. He once said that it is important to listen to different versions of a piece and try to learn from the one that you like the most. As you grow, you will understand a piece in a more mature way. For example, he often ponders why the composer write the melody like this. He says when you first play a piece, you may not understand fully. Wait until a year or two, you can understand better.
Tseng thinks that 60 to 70 performances a year is a balanced arrangement. He is more focused in delivering a piece perfectly and arrange proper schedule. He emphasis that at school, the teacher will guide you. After school, you need to constantly practice and learn to get into the best shape.