Frederic Chiu performs in major venues on five continents, including Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, The Châtelet in Paris, and the Mozarteum in Buenos Aires, as well as on extensive tours to smaller and more unusual venues. He collaborates with classical music colleagues such as Joshua Bell, Pierre Amoyal, Gary Hoffman, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet, as well as with artists outside the classical realm, including jazz pianist Bob James, writer/storyteller David Gonzalez, Shakespearean actor Brian Bedford, and the clown Buffo, working to bring the vivid live concert experience to as many people as possible. He has performed under conductors such as Christoph Campestrini, John Nelson, Stefan Sanderling, Rodolfo Fischer, Susan Haig, Bernhard Klee, Xian Zhang, and Alexander Titov.
Among his recital programs, Frederic Chiu presents Classical Smackdown, an ongoing series where composers face off in head-to-head comparisons, with audiences voting for their favorite. After the initial success of Debussy vs. Prokofiev, he presented Bach vs. Philip Glass, with results tracked at ClassicalSmackdown.com. The latest installment features Young Geniuses: Mendelssohn vs. Chopin, before the age of 20.
Frederic Chiu has released over 30 recordings, including the most extensive complete piano works of Prokofiev, as well as works by Chopin, Liszt, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert, Rossini, and Grieg. He has also recorded Beethoven/Liszt’s Symphonies No. 5 and 7, and the solo piano version of Carnival of the Animals. His recent projects include Hymns and Dervishes (music of Gurdjieff/de Hartmann), Distant Voices: Piano Music of Claude Debussy & Gao Ping, and Schubert Fantasy for Violin and Piano with William Harvey. Chiu is a regular on St. Paul Sunday and Performance Today, and a favorite on public radio stations across the country.
Chiu’s teaching program, Deeper Piano Studies, a philosophical and holistic approach to piano playing, has been featured at the Juilliard School, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, the New England Conservatory, the Banff Centre, and most of the National Conservatories in China. He currently teaches at both Carnegie Mellon University and The Hartt School in Hartford, CT.
Together with his wife, Jeanine Esposito, Chiu is the co-founder and artistic director of Beechwood Arts and Innovation in Connecticut, which focuses on the intersection of art, innovation, and transformation. His advocacy for music aligns with his commitment to fostering peace and understanding, a mission recognized by a Senatorial Commendation from the United States Congress.
For over 35 years, Frederic Chiu has been a Yamaha Artist, exploring the full spectrum of their instruments, from the finest acoustic grands to cutting-edge digital pianos, and all the hybrid innovations in between.