Biography

Described as “fearless and uncompromising”, Aidan Chan is an Irish-Chinese pianist whose work primarily explores identity and social strucures through performance. He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the US (Carnegie Hall), UK (Wigmore Hall), Hong Kong, France, Switzerland , China and across Ireland. As a concerto soloist he has performed with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Budweis and the TUD Sinfonia. Aidan has been a frequent prizewinner in competitions in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Austria. He won top prize at the 2016 Fr Frank Maher Classical Music Awards, and was the recipient of the 2019 Trench Award and Audience Choice Prize in Ireland. In 2023, he was awarded both the Feis Ceoil Morris Grant Bursary for pianists and the RDS Music Bursaryt.

As a performer Aidan holds a particular affinity for the works of Chopin and Mozart, the latter whose keyboard music he has studied intensively with Dr. Robert Levin at the Salzburg Summer Academy and regularly improvises on in concerts. In addition to his reverence for the canonical works of the piano repertoire, he is passionate about performing music by contemporary composers, commissioning and premiering Knuckleduster and torn, to the ground, exhausted, sobbing by Alex Ho (2021; 2024), Polygon by Delyth Field (2022) and Reflections and Refractions by Philip Hammond (2023). Described as an “innovative programme planner”, he places a particular emphasis on exploring thematic concepts through performance. In 2021, his Bachelor graduation recital programme consisted of the complete Chopin Ballades interspersed and contrasted with works by composers of East Asian descent. In 2023, his Masters graduation recital programme examined the reconstruction and deconstruction of tradition, including elements of sean-nós singing, improvisation and poetry from Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictée.

Aidan obtained a Master of Music degree with distinction from the Royal College of Music in London under the tutelage of Professors Nigel Clayton and Andrew Zolinsky, having previously completed his undergraduate studies there with first class honours.

Recent projects include a live recorded Irish premiere of John Adams’ Eros Piano with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Upcoming engagements include performances of his Wagnerisms curation which will examine the consumption of Wagner in contemporary contexts, as well as a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada.

Updated April 2024

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