Frank Huang

Frank Huang (born c. 1978) is a Chinese-born American violinist. He has won several international music competitions, most notably the 2003 Naumburg Competition. Huang has concertized widely as a soloist and has made several critically acclaimed recordings.

Early life and musical training

Frank Huang was born in Beijing and moved to the United States with his family when he was 7. As a child in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, Texas, he began violin lessons with his mother, then commenced study with Fredell Lack in Houston. He first soloed with orchestra at 9. At 10 he received eight curtain calls for his solo performance of Wieniawski's Scherzo Tarantelle with the Houston Youth Symphony Philharmonia Orchestra. At 11 Huang was a soloist with the Houston Symphony in a nationally broadcast performance. At 16 he enrolled in the pre-college program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Donald Weilerstein; he continued studies with Weilerstein in college. Subsequently he attended the Juilliard School in New York City, studying violin with Robert Mann.

Career

Frank Huang has performed as a soloist with the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Genoa Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the NDR-Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Hanover, and others. He has appeared on American Morning (CNN), Good Morning America (ABC), and Performance Today (National Public Radio). He has performed at many of the most prestigious music festivals in the U.S., including the Caramoor Festival, the Marlboro Music Festival, and Ravinia, and has been slated to participate in The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMS II program.

Awards and distinctions

• 3rd prize, 1999 Ima Hogg National Young Artist Competition, Houston
• 2nd prize, 1999 Premio Paganini International Violin Competition, Genoa, Italy
• 1st prize, Kingsville International Competition
• 1st prize, 1999 Irving M. Klein International String Competition, San Francisco, California
• 1st prize, 2000 D’Angelo International Competition, Erie, Pennsylvania
• 1st prize, 2000 Hannover International Violin Competition
• 4th place laureate, 2002 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis
• 1st prize, 2003 Naumburg International Violin Competition, New York City

Reviews and commentary

• "Huang made everything he played seem easy. . . . In the end, what impressed most was Huang’s total grasp of each musical idiom he addressed and his ability to communicate such a variety of styles with force and immediacy. A debut recital of this quality used to be an automatic passport to a major career." —"Sweet Sounds" by Peter J. Davis in New York magazine, 2 February 2004
• "One had a right to expect technical competence. . . . But Huang had much more than that on offer. He is a sensational musician. . . . a musician of elegance and impeccable taste. . . . There were simply no flaws." —"Fine Fiddling" by Heuwell Tircuit at SFCV.org (San Francisco Classical Voice), 1 December 2003
• "[An] important artist." —San Francisco Chronicle

Discography

Violin Recital. With Dina Vainstein, piano. "Fantasies" by Schubert, Ernst, Schoenberg, and Waxman. Naxos 8.557121. (recorded 2002; released 2003)

Sources

• Huang's biography at Hannover International Violin Competition website
• Huang's biography at Naxos website
• Irving M. Klein International String Competition website
• "Local violinist honored" by Charles Ward. Houston Chronicle, 27 June 2003.
• "Youth Symphony offers peek at musical future" by Betty Ewing. Houston Chronicle, 24 May 1989.