黃心芸，是台灣第一位以中提琴獲得世界四大音樂比賽之一—「慕尼黑國際音樂比賽」大獎的演奏家。1988年她打破紀錄，以十七歲最年輕之參賽者年齡，奪得英國第三屆Lionel Tertis中提琴國際大賽的金牌，並因此成為 Strad雜誌的封面人物；1993於慕尼黑國際大賽中拿下首獎。擁有如此傲人的成績，使其演出邀約不斷，曾於慕尼黑與巴伐利亞廣播交響樂團協奏演出，並由電視台轉播。其他合作過的樂團包括Zagreb獨奏家合奏團、東京愛樂管絃樂團、柏林廣播交響樂團、俄羅斯國家愛樂交響樂團、台北愛樂管絃樂團、國家交響樂團、台北市立交響樂團、長榮管絃樂團等。

黃心芸目前定居紐約，致力於中提琴教育推廣，任教於費城寇提斯音樂院及紐約茱麗亞音樂院，並致力於中提琴教育推廣。 於2017年成立VivaViola黃心芸國際中提琴音樂節，匯集亞洲優秀中提琴家及學員，藉由短期、密集、精緻的課程，帶來具有啟發性的學習工作坊。多年來參與國際無數音樂節、演出，與世界各地國際知名音樂家合作。黃心芸有聲出版作品高達20張專輯，包括獨奏、室內樂、管弦樂團協奏等，也曾與多位現代作曲家合作出版專輯。此FantaC (C弦的幻想)專輯，希望呈現的，是中提琴最真實、最真的聲音紀錄。整張專輯在C弦展開，但也是最終的幻想 。期待大家盡情的享受FantaC！以最優質的演奏及錄音，傳承中提琴之美。

Hsin-Yun Huang has forged a career as one of the leading violists of her generation, performing on international concert stages, commissioning and recording new works, and nurturing young musicians. Ms. Huang has been soloist with the Berlin Radio Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Bogotá Philharmonic, the NCPA Orchestra in Beijing, Zagreb Soloists, International Contemporary Ensemble, the London Sinfonia, and the Brazil Youth Orchestra, and has performed the complete Hindemith viola concertos with the Taipei City Symphony. She is a regular presence at festivals including Marlboro, Santa Fe, Rome, Spoleto USA, Moritzburg, Music@Menlo, and the Seoul Spring Festival, among many others. She tours extensively with the Brentano String Quartet, most notably including performances of the complete Mozart string quintets at Carnegie Hall.

Ms. Huang has in recent years embarked on a series of major commissioning projects for solo viola and chamber ensemble. To date, these works include compositions from Shih-Hui Chen (Shu Shon Key, which Ms. Chen also arranged for orchestra) and Steven Mackey (Groundswell), which premiered at the Aspen Festival. Ms. Huang’s 2012 recording, titled “Viola Viola,” for Bridge Records, included those works along with compositions by Elliott Carter, Poul Ruders, and George Benjamin; the CD has won accolades from Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine. Her most recent release is the complete Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach, in partnership with violist Misha Amory.

A native of Taiwan and an alumna of Young Concert Artists, Ms. Huang received degrees from The Juilliard School and The Curtis Institute of Music. She has given master classes at the Guildhall School in London, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the San Francisco Conservatory, Yong Sie Tow Conservatory in Singapore, and the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. She served on the jury of the 2011 Banff International String Quartet Competition.

Ms. Huang first came to international attention as the gold medalist and the youngest competitor in the 1988 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. In 1993 she was the top prize winner in the ARD International Competition in Munich, and was awarded the highly prestigious Bunkamura Orchard Hall Award. Ms. Huang was a member of the Borromeo String Quartet from 1994 to 2000.

She is currently on the Viola Faculty at the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music and most grateful for her teachers David Takeno, Peter Norris, Michael Tree and Samuel Rhodes. She is married to Misha Amory, violist of the Brentano String Quartet. They live in New York City and have two children Lucas and Leah. She plays on a 1735 Testore Viola.


About FantaC
The program FantaC has lived in my head for a year.  It started with my dream of incorporating the Ligeti work into a choreographed project with dance.  Then I reflected that if I was able to build more around it, it could become a “program” and stand on its own.  In another sense, this is a celebration of wonderful viola movements and pieces from many fabulous composer-violists — Paul Hindemith, Garth Knox, Kenji Bunch and perhaps Bach in his day with a viola d’Amore. 

The C-string (the lowest string on the viola) is a wonderful string for obvious reasons. Many composers, when writing for the viola, gravitate towards the haunting, warm and chocolatey timbre of this special string. Our program starts with the sunny and familiar C major Prelude from Bach`s 3rd suite, the curtain opens with a melodic journey that is rich and unstoppable. followed by a Romanian Dance Hora Lungå by Ligeti, who employs a “natural" intonation system (microtonal for certain notes, it will seem “out of tune” by today’s tuning aesthetics).  This movement stretches the C string’s range almost to the breaking point, resulting in a sound of great expressivity, depth and power.  The haunting state of silence at the end of this piece is then shattered by the explosion of the 4th movement from Hindemith’s Solo Sonata Op. 25 No.1, the ultimate wild C-string fantasy.  This short 1-minute movement leaves us breathless and in awe.  Vieuxtemps’ Capriccio is exactly the solace one needs after the confrontation of these two movements.  9 Fingers by Garth Knox, himself a brilliant violist, explores various uses of almost all the fingers in fun and imaginative ways.  I decided to add Joan Tower`s Wild Purple, which in my opinion is the truest “fantasy” in its structure and flow. 

Now we release the viola into other realms of sonority with scordatura tuning and explore further what the viola could do. When top A string goes down to a G, it created an opportunity to experience one of the most profound sorrows in the hands of the greatest master J.S. Bach in his Saraband of the 5th suite for Violoncello senza Basso. Returning to 250 years earlier, the stark emptiness yet aching connections between notes evoke a new listening experience. The Gigue in minor communicates such mixed emotions. A typically joyful last dance becomes hesitant and halting. Finally we release the C string down to a low G! It loosens up with Kenji Bunch’s 3 Gs. This rock-inspired short movement leads us to jive with the performer. The entire program evaporates in G, but perhaps that is the ultimate fantasy — it is up to the listener`s imagination to bring it back from dominant to tonic! Enjoy FantaC!