American pianist, Vivianne Cheng, is a Steinway Artist who has performed extensively throughout Europe and the United States. She was born in North Carolina, where she gave her first public performance at the age of six. Since then, Vivianne has made appearances in the most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall (New York), Het Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Musikverein (Vienna), Salle Cortot (Paris), Lincoln Center (USA), Wonderfeel Festival (Netherlands), Festival Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Verbier Festival (Switzerland). Highlights of her recent season included solo recitals in Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and USA; in addition to a radio broadcast on NPO Klassiek, a live-recorded recital for 24classics, and a television performance of Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 with members of Concertgebouworkest on Podium Klassiek.
As a laureate of numerous international piano competitions, Vivianne is a prizewinner of the Tureck International Bach Competition, New York International Piano Competition, Concurso Internacional de Piano CLaMo, Bartók-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition, Wideman International Piano Competition, Concours International de Piano de Lagny, Philadelphia Orchestra’s Albert M. Greenfield Concerto Competition, and the inaugural Arts Arena–Curtis Institute of Music Award. Vivianne has also been the recipient of the coveted Vladimir Horowitz Piano Scholarship, AHK Talent Grant, Jacques Vonk Fonds, David H. Springman Memorial Fellowship, and the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund Grant.
Featured on television and radio programs, her performances have been broadcast on PBS, The Classical Network (WWFM), Good Morning Television New Zealand, and in the acclaimed documentaries "On a Personal Note" (2010) and “Die Martins-Passion” (2004). As a chamber musician, Vivianne has performed alongside Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, Michael Gieler, Efe Baltacigil, and has studied with Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman, Pamela Frank, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Aaron Rosand, and Thomas Riebl, among others. In addition, she has premiered many new works written for solo piano and mixed ensembles, and has played for prominent composers such as William Bolcom and Ned Rorem.
Vivianne's studies have included the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Naum Grubert (Master Piano graduated with a 10), Mozarteum Salzburg with Andreas Groethuysen and Pavel Gililov (Postgraduate and Master Piano 'Solistenausbildung' with the highest honors), and Curtis Institute of Music with Gary Graffman and Leon Fleisher. Prior to Curtis, Vivianne studied at The Juilliard School where she was accepted at ten years old. Previous major teachers have included Ruth Slenczynska, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Nina Lelchuk, and Arkady Aronov. Furthermore, she has taken masterclasses with legendary pianists, including Alicia de Larrocha, György Sándor, Claude Frank, Earl Wild, Dmitri Bashkirov, Boris Berman, Richard Goode, Menahem Pressler, Ferenc Rados, and Arie Vardi.
Currently, Vivianne is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where she was granted a Steinway piano from the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds. In 2020, she was awarded a 'Heldenspeld' (Hero Pin) from the City of Amsterdam for creating a series of live concerts on a boat sailing through the Amsterdam canals during the pandemic. Vivianne teaches on the Piano Faculty of Mozarteum Salzburg in Austria and Utrechts Conservatorium in the Netherlands.
