One of Australia’s leading pianists, Kristian Chong has performed throughout Australia and the UK, and in China, France, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA, and Zimbabwe. His wide-ranging performance schedule finds him equally at home as concerto soloist, chamber musician and recitalist.
As concerto soloist he has appeared with the Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland, Sydney and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, and orchestras in the UK, New Zealand and China with conductors such as Werner Andreas Albert, Andrey Boreyko, Nicholas Braithwaite, Jessica Cottis, Fabian Russell, Roy Goodman, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Nicholas Milton, Benjamin Northey, Tuomas Hannikainen, Marcus Stenz, Arvo Volmer and Marco Zuccarini. Highlights have included Rachmaninoff 3rd with the Sydney Symphony, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in Beijing and Canberra, and Britten with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. More recent concerto highlights include Shostakovich 2nd, Chopin 2nd, Rachmaninoff 3rd, Beethoven’s Emperor in Melbourne, Ravel’s Left Hand concerto in Melbourne (Australian Youth Orchestra) and Dunedin (Dunedin Symphony Orchestra) and Saint-Saëns 2nd and Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Rhapsody with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Described by The Age as ‘a true chamber musician at work’, Kristian is highly sought after with extensive collaborations with ensembles such as the Tinalley and Australian String Quartets, cellist Li-Wei Qin, flautist Megan Sterling and baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes, with whom he has recorded with ABC-Classics. Other collaborations include violinists Ilya Konovalov, (concertmaster Israel Philharmonic), Vadim Gluzman, Rebecca Chan, Sophie Rowell, Dale Barltrop, Daniel Dodds, Jack Liebeck, Natsuko Yoshimoto and Satu Vänskä, violists Christopher Moore and Caroline Henbest, and clarinettists Michael Collins and Philip Arkinstall amongst many others. His festival appearances include the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Adelaide Festival, Huntington Estate Music Festival, Mimir Chamber Music Festival and the Bangalow Festival.
Other recent solo and chamber highlights include the Xing Hai Festival in Guangzhou, Australian Music Week on Gulangyu Island (Xiamen) with the Melbourne Symphony, Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, and the complete Beethoven Piano & Violin Sonatas as part of the ‘Kristian Chong and Friends’ series at the Melbourne Recital Centre, which is in its eighth year in 2021.
Kristian studied at the Royal Academy of Music (London) with Piers Lane and Christopher Elton, and earlier with Stephen McIntyre at the University of Melbourne where Kristian currently teaches piano and chamber music. His competition successes include the Symphony Australia Young Performers Award (keyboard) and the Australian National Piano Award.