Poetry & Brillance - angelinchang.com - Angelin Chang - pianist - News

Angelin Chang in Chile (El DÃa La Serena)

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Shanghai Tatler Magazine

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Noteworthy Achievement (Ohio Magazine)

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Noteworthy Achievement

Cleveland State University Professor and Grammy Award-winner Angelin Chang credits a beloved mentor for her success.

Author:Linda Feagler

Related Categories: Music/Concerts; NORTHEAST
January 2008 Issue

As she settled into the seat next to her parents at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last February for the 49th annual Grammy Awards, Chang pinched herself in disbelief. The Cleveland State University associate professor of music had spent the weekend hobnobbing with recording artists ranging from soul-music legend Ike Turner to alternative-rock star Imogen Heap.

Now, the moment she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about for two months had arrived: the announcement of the Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra. Her piano presentation of Olivier Messiaen’s Oiseaux Exotiques (Exotic Birds), recorded with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, was among the nominees.

“Throughout the evening, I was engaged in a tangled mental tug-of-war,” Chang recalls today. “First, I’d think, ”˜It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s just great to be here,’ followed by ”˜What if it does happen?’ followed by ”˜It probably won’t happen,’ followed by ”˜Don’t get your hopes up,’ followed by ”˜Oh no. If I win, I’ll have to say something.’”

She did receive the coveted prize —— and the speech that followed was heartfelt.

To Chang, composer Messiaen was not only a groundbreaking musician who incorporated the sounds of nature into his works before his death in 1992. He was also a beloved mentor who taught her how to embrace the beauty of music.

“I would have to say that being able to pay tribute to your professor —— the person who has given you so much —— really means a lot,” Chang says softly. She’s perched on a stool next to the Steinway grand piano that, along with a Yamaha, occupies half her office space at CSU. “It’s really beyond words to me.”

Chang’s introduction to the piano was, she says, clearly a diversionary tactic devised by her parents to quiet their 4-year-old daughter. The Muncie, Indiana, family was attending a formal dinner party, and as the adults conversed and childhood boredom set in, Chang wandered off to explore the host’s house.

When she entered the music room, fate intervened.

“I was fascinated by this big black thing I had never seen before,” she recalls with a smile. “Our host’s wife was a musician and she started playing, and then taught me a little something.

“For the rest of the night, I was a really good girl, an angel. And so my parents thought, ”˜Oh, OK, that’s what she was looking for. This will keep her out of trouble. Little did they know ”¦,” she laughs.

What followed were formative years filled with music lessons at Ball State University, where her father taught international relations. Unlike many children who must be cajoled into practicing, Chang couldn’t tear herself away from the piano. She credits her parents and teachers with nurturing her talent by encouraging individual creativity, a pay-it-forward process she engages in with her own students.

“I’ve been so fortunate to have great people in my life who have shared their love of music with me,” Chang says. “They believed in giving knowledge, yet not stifling talent.”

That philosophy, now an integral part of all of Chang’s lesson plans, has stood the thirtysomething professor in good stead throughout her musical career, which includes helping launch the Performing Arts for Everyone series of free music and dance programs at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and acceptance to the renowned Paris Conservatoire in 1987, where she was one of 300 piano students vying for admittance.

Competition was fierce, with only a dozen spots open on the class roster. Candidates were given three weeks to produce a program filled with music most had never played, much less heard before. For Chang, that included Beethoven’s final sonata, Opus 111, which she describes as one of the most difficult works she ever attempted.

“I knew,” Chang admits, “that the chances of getting in were slim.”

But it happened, she adds, “as if by magic.”

And it was there that she met the couple who would help her fine-tune her musical style and serve as the inspiration for her Grammy success: composer Olivier Messiaen, whom Chang ranks in stature with Debussy and Ravel, and his wife, Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, who became her piano teacher.

Chang recalls that even though there is strict adherence at the Conservatoire to how music should be performed, Loriod-Messiaen wouldn’t hesitate to make corrections to her husband’s scores. The teacher often used her arms and fists to evoke emotion, and it was not uncommon for her to play with more than one finger on a key.

“To Madame Loriod, it was all about breaking rules when they need to be broken, and remembering to read between the lines,” Chang says.
It’s a technique, she explains, that’s particularly apparent in Oiseaux Exotiques. As avid ornithologists, the Messiaens traveled the world to not only view birds but to hear them, transforming the sounds they produced into musical notations.

“To me, this not only demonstrated their passion, but also their musicianship —— to be able to replicate nature sounds to the nth degree,” she says.

Chang was so impressed with his opus to nature that she wrote her dissertation about Messiaen while earning her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Peabody Institute-Johns Hopkins University, and vowed to record the composition. It’s now part of a burgeoning discography, which includes music by Schumann, Chopin and Shostakovich.

Kudos have come from around the globe, including Britain’s Gramophone magazine, which called Chang’s artistry “alternately prismatic and pointed.”

Chang smiles at the attention.

“It’s great to have recognition and confirmation of your work,” she says simply. “But the true satisfaction comes in being able to see how the music touches people’s hearts.”

For information about recordings and upcoming concerts, visit www.angelinchang.com.

How many other universities have a Grammy winner on the faculty?

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Grammy Artist Performs At Local School

Wed, 23 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Grammy Artist Performs At Local School

Wed, May 23, 2007. 05:24 PM

By: Kathryn Snodgrass
Students at McIntire Munson were treated to a special concert today for their efforts in helping victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Grammy award winning artist Angelin Chang, won the Grammy this past February for best instrumental soloist performance with an orchestra. She played the piano for the students and answered questions about the musical profession today as a reward for their donations to the charity organization called Musicares.

“I want to leave them with a sincere sense of appreciation that one person, a few people can make a huge difference in the world whether that be through music or through their efforts, it was really touching and I want them to know that they’re really appreciated,” explained Chang.

Jamie Smith, a sixth grader at McIntire Munson came up with the idea to have a bake sale to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

“I researched the Musicares and we sold Little Debbie snacks and had a jug that we asked for donations for during lunch and that’s what we did,” said Smith.

Students raised $200 for musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.

http://www.whizamfmtv.com/video.php?articleId=17991

History In The Making

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

http://www.epitomemag.com/arts_music.htm

Arts: Music

History In The Making
Renowned CSU Pianist Wins Grammy Award

by Abigail Zemrock

Dr. Angelin Chang, internationally acclaimed concert pianist and an assistant professor of piano at Cleveland State University, has won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra.

She was the only North American among the five musicians nominated in this category. The 49th annual Grammy Award winners were announced on February 11 in a live telecast from Los Angeles.

Dr. Chang won for her piano solo performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Oiseaux Exotiques (Exotic Birds) with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, conducted by John McLaughlin Williams, who also won the Grammy. The piece, from the sixth volume of the Symphony’s Music That Dares to Explore series, was performed in Cleveland State’s Waetjen Auditorium and was recorded and engineered by Cleveland State audio engineer David Yost.

The Grammy nominating committee told conductor Williams that the recording quality was one of the best ever submitted in the classical category.

Dr. Chang has been head of keyboard studies and a faculty member at Cleveland State since 2001. She also is the coordinator for chamber music. At the time of the recording, the world—renown Cleveland Chamber Symphony had been in residence at Cleveland State University for 24 years.

Even before receiving the coveted Grammy nomination, her rendition of Oiseaux Exotiques won wide critical acclaim. The Gramophone (U.K.) noted her “alternately prismatic and pointed artistry” and found it “invariably excellent.” State Magazine characterized her performance as “dazzlingly pyrotechnic,” and the Plain Dealer called her a “vibrant soloist [who] managed the death—defying writing with equal dash and subtlety.”

Dr. Chang studied with Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod—Messiaen in Paris and was awarded First Prizes in both piano and chamber music during the same year from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (Paris Conservatoire). While earning her Doctor of Musical Arts from Peabody Institute—Johns Hopkins University, she wrote her dissertation on Messiaen.

Recognized for her sense of poetry and technical brilliance, Dr. Chang performs in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Her concert tours have included the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Severance Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Beijing Concert Hall, and the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

As the first Artist-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center, Dr. Chang participated in developing and launching the Arts for Everyone initiative. She has performed at the U.S. Department of State, for the United Nations Women’s Organization and before the Royal Family of Nepal. An active chamber musician, she performs regularly with the legendary violist Joseph de Pasquale, the de Pasquale String Quartet, and with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra.

Dr. Chang has always pursued excellence, especially in education. Besides her Doctor of Musical Arts, she earned her Premier Prix-Piano and Premier Prix-Musique de Chambre from the Paris Conservatoire, Master of Music and Distinguished Performer Certificate from Indiana University, BA in French and Bachelor of Music from Ball State University, and highest honors upon graduation from the Interlochen Arts Academy.

Enriching the community through the arts is also important to Dr. Chang. She serves as the North America representative for the Festival Afro-Asiatique Mondial des Oeuvres de Solidarité (FAMOUS), and president of the Panafrican Music and Arts Festival/Piano Division. She is a member of the board of trustees for the Great Lakes Theater Festival, co-president of the Ohio Music Teachers Association Northeast District, and state coordinator for the Music Teachers National Association Young Artists Competition and Chamber Music Competition.

With her impressive talent, education and initiative, Dr. Angelin Chang is definitely a woman making history!

Visit www.angelinchang.com for a listing of her scheduled performances and to purchase her CDs.

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

CSU professor Angelin Chang is a remarkable pianist in all the various aspects of her instrument. This award--[Category 100--Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)]--shared with fellow-Clevelander John McLaughlin Williams, conductor of Cleveland Chamber Symphony, recognizes their amazing collaboration for Olivier Messiaen's "Oiseaux Exotiques" (Exotic Birds).

Kelly Ferjutz
http://www.furious.com/perfect/zappacleveland.html

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49th Grammy Awards Nominees for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Category 100
Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)

Brahms: The Piano Concertos
Nelson Freire;
Riccardo Chailly, conductor; (Gewandhausorchester)
[Decca]

Henze: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 And 3
Peter Sheppard Skaerved;
Christopher Lyndon-Gee, conductor; (SaarbrÃ¼cken Radio Symphony Orchestra)
[Naxos]

Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques (Exotic Birds)
Angelin Chang;
John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; (Cleveland Chamber Symphony)
Track from: Cleveland Chamber Symphony: Music That Dares To Explore, Vol. 6
[TNC]

Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 1 & 2
Leif Ove Andsnes;
Antonio Pappano, conductor; (Berliner Philharmoniker)
[EMI Classics]

Schmidt: Concertos
Ulla Miilmann;
Ole Schmidt, conductor; (Danish National Symphony Orchestra / DR)
[Dacapo Records]

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WCPN Interview - Around Noon

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

http://www.wcpn.org/podcast/audio/2007/03/0302an.mp3

March 2, 2007
Live
Interview with Dee Perry,
Around Noon
WCPN 90.3FM

IU Jacobs School of Music scores at Grammys

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

http://info.music.indiana.edu/web/page/normal/4986.html

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music intended to make some noise at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on February 11, and make some noise it did. At least five Jacobs alumni and one former faculty member brought home the coveted golden gramophone on "music's biggest night."

Internationally acclaimed concert pianist and alumna Angelin Chang, won this year's Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra for her piano solo performance of Olivier Messiaen's Oiseaux Exotiques (Exotic Birds) with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, conducted by John McLaughlin Williams, who also won the Grammy. Born and raised in Muncie, IN, and now an assistant professor of piano at Cleveland State University, Chang was the only American nominated in that category this year. She studied with Menahem Pressler and GyÃ¶rgy SebÃ¶k while at IU.