ABOUT
American pianist Daniel Hsu is lauded for performances that are “powerful, thoughtful, and sensitive… this deeply inquisitive artist’s inner probing brought fresh meaning to great warhorses, reaching well beyond his stunning mastery of technical difficulties” (Boston Musical Intelligencer).
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Daniel began taking piano lessons at age 6 with Larisa Kagan. He made his concerto debut with the Fremont Symphony Orchestra at age 8, and his recital debut at the Steinway Society of the Bay Area at age 9, before being accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 10, along with his two older siblings. He quickly gained international recognition and accolades: bronze medal at the 2015 Hamamatsu International Piano Competition, first prize at the 2015 CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition, 2016 Gilmore Young Artist, and bronze medal at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where he also took home prizes for best performance of both the commissioned work and chamber music.
He has made his debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall (CAG Winners Series), and appeared in recitals at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Vancouver Recital Society, and Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, as well as in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, Pittsburgh, and New York. A sensitive and keen collaborator, Daniel has performed with the Tokyo, North Carolina, Grand Rapids, Anchorage, New Haven, and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras, working alongside conductors Leonard Slatkin, Nicholas McGegan, Cristian Măcelaru, Ruth Reinhardt, Marcelo Lehninger, Eugene Tzigane, and Stilian Kirov. Recent and upcoming highlights include his debuts with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra with Hannu Lintu, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra with Gemma New, and Jacksonville Symphony with Courtney Lewis, and Pacific Symphony with Carl St. Clair.
He has joined Curtis on Tour throughout Europe, performs regularly with the Verona Quartet and in duo piano with his brother, Andrew, and appears frequently in chamber music festivals. Ever curious and eager to explore, Daniel worked with rapper Lou Charle$ and singer-songwriter-guitarist Averi Burke to develop and release the single “Free”—which they brought to SXSW in spring 2022—and worked with harpist Bridget Kibbey to provide commentary as a correspondent for the 2022 Cliburn Competition webcast.
Decca Gold released Daniel’s first album featuring live recordings from the Cliburn Competition of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata, op. 110, as well as his award-winning performance of Marc-André Hamelin’s Toccata on “L’homme armé.” He has also been featured in interviews and performances for WQXR, APM’s Performance Today, and Colorado Public Radio, and was profiled as one to watch by International Piano magazine.
Now 25 years old, Daniel graduated from Curtis in spring 2019, where he studied with Gary Graffman, Robert McDonald, and Eleanor Sokoloff. He is a Marvel film buff and enjoys programming—he contributed to the creation of Workflow (now known as Siri Shortcuts), which won the 2015 Apple Design Award and was acquired by the tech giant in 2017.
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