Avan Yu
Artistic and Executive Director
One of Canada’s most compelling pianists, critics have praised Avan Yu for his “glittering virtuosity” (West Australian) and his “astonishing sensitivity” (La Presse). He has performed extensively throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia and at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Philharmonie in Berlin, Salle Cortot in Paris, and Sydney Opera House.
As a sought-after guest soloist with orchestras around the world, he has performed over twenty-five different piano concertos with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Victoria Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Sydney Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Dresden Philharmonic, collaborating with conductors and musicians such as Jaap van Zweden, Pinchas Zukerman, Rafael Fruehbeck de Burgos, Bramwell Tovey, Christian Arming, Juanjo Mena, Yo-Yo Ma, and Johannes Moser. Recently, Yu performed in his native city Hong Kong as the featured soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden in the Season Opening concerts in 2021 and 2022.
Photo: Dovile Sermokas
Yu first achieved international recognition when he triumphed at the Sydney International Piano Competition, winning First Prize along with nine special awards. At age 17, he was the youngest competitor ever to win the Canadian Chopin Competition. He has also won the Silver Medal and Audience Prize at the Santander International Piano Competition.
His teachers include Horacio Gutiérrez, Klaus Hellwig, Kenneth Broadway, Ralph Markham, and Kut Kau Sum. He graduated from the Universität der Künste Berlin with a Konzertexamen degree and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. His doctoral thesis is on Hans Abrahamsen's Left, alone for piano left hand and orchestra, a work of which he gave the Canadian premiere with the Esprit Orchestra and Alex Pauk in Toronto.
His recording of Liszt's piano transcriptions of Schubert's Winterreise and Schwanengesang, released by Naxos, won glowing reviews from critics at Gramophone Magazine, American Record Guide, and Fono Forum.
As an educator, Dr. Avan Yu has recently been invited to serve on a number of juries, including the Canadian Registered Music Teachers’ Association National Competition and the Canadian Chopin Competition. In August 2024, he was appointed to be the Executive and Artistic Director of Muzewest Concerts Society in Vancouver, BC. He is actively engaged in community work, and has performed in fundraising galas for the National Arts Centre Foundation, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation, The Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, Health Arts Society of BC, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation among others. He was awarded the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award in 2016.