HUI-YING LIU-TAWASTSTJERNA (Helsinki University of the Arts Sibelius Academy)
12 October @14.00-17.00

Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna was born in Taiwan and has lived permanently in Finland since 1982, having previously resided in several other countries. She holds a Doctor of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy and a Master’s degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers included Emane Wu, Martin Canin, and Konrad Wolff, and she also studied with Leon Fleisher, Pierre Sancan, Karl Ulrich Schnabel, and Rosa Sabater.

Hui-Ying won her first piano competition in Taipei at the age of 13. Further competition successes were followed by her recital debut in Buenos Aires at the age of 15 and her orchestral debut in New York at 17. After making her Carnegie Recital Hall debut as a winner of the Artists International Management auditions, she went on to perform on five continents as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist.

She has worked with distinguished conductors including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Okko Kamu, and Eri Klas, and performed with musicians such as Steven Isserlis, Paul Tortelier, Patrick Gallois, and Jean-Jacques Kantorow. She also performs regularly as a piano duo with her husband, Erik T. Tawaststjerna. Her recordings have been released by Finlandia Records and the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. Her repertoire ranges from Bach to Magnus Lindberg and includes an extensive selection of solo piano and chamber works by Sibelius, Beethoven, Chopin, and Debussy.

Hui-Ying has been a faculty member of the Sibelius Academy since 1984. Her students have included distinguished pianists and competition prize-winners such as Antti Siirala, Juho Pohjonen, and Irina Zahharenkova. She has also given masterclasses, workshops, and lectures across Europe, the United States, and Taiwan, including in Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. From 2004 to 2008, she served as Head of the Piano Department. She is also co-author of the piano method Piano Key.

As President of the Chopin Society of Finland, Hui-Ying is actively involved in promoting young musicians, classical music, and the performing arts. She has played a key role in developing musical initiatives including Baltic-Nordic Crossing Keyboards, the Young Chopin Festival, and MusicPlus concerts. In 2006, she was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Order of the White Rose of Finland by the President of Finland.