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Feature
Interview with Violinist Paul Huang: The Virtue in 'Virtuosity'
When violinist Paul Huang looks at the word "virtuoso," he sees the word "virtue."
"I think that's where the meaning of the word 'virtuosity' comes from," Paul said. "We tend to get bogged down with the idea that 'virtuosity' is all about showing off, and showmanship, but I think there is a greater meaning."
Paul, who received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2015 and Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists in 2017, officially lives in New York but also spends much of his time in his native Taiwan - and on the road. For 10 years he has been playing the 1742 "ex-Wieniawski" Guarneri del Gesù, on loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago. Just this month Paul appeared on the cover for Strings Magazine, and October 6 is the release of Kaleidoscope, his first recording in a series of six recordings that he will do for the French label Naive Records.
Laurie NilesViolinist.com
11 September 2023

Feature
Love at First Sight
Violinist Paul Huang wants the world to love the violin as much as he does. Born in Taiwan and raised by parents he describes as "not musical," Huang was unconditionally supported early in his fascination with the violin, an instrument he first encountered at the age of seven when attending a music recital in his hometown. "I was completely captivated by this little wooden box that created such beautiful sounds," he says. "The idea of being onstage, playing such an instrument, was something I became instantly fascinated with. I told my parents that was what I wanted to do with my life, they said yes, and I have never thought of doing anything else since. I am still madly in love with the violin and with sharing the gift of this beautiful music."
David TempletonStrings Magazine
01 September 2023

A Most Satisfying Rockport Recital
Huang and Rabinovich gave what was one of the most satisfying chamber music performances we have heard in years. Their expression, phrasing, dynamics and all else were so well attuned to one another you would guess they have been working on this material extensively. In so thinking, you’d be only half right.
Vance R. KovenThe Boston Musical Intelligencer
10 July 2023

Review
Paul Huang and Helen Huang in Singapore Recital Debut
"๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ [๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ช ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ด] ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ถ๐ญ’๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ช๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ’๐ด ๐ฑ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ, ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ข๐จ๐ญ๐ช๐ข, ๐ข ๐ต๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ญ๐บ-๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ท๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.โฃ
Chang Tou LiangThe Straits Times
24 June 2023

Review
Paul Huang (violin) Taiwan Philharmonic/Jun Mรคrkl
At times it was unclear which was more impressive: Huang’s nonchalance in the face of a virtuosic score, or the immense fun he was having with the music and the orchestra – which was a delight. Huang’s dolce playing in the third movement was enchanting, with seamless lines and tender emotion. The brilliant double-stopped runs at the start of the finale were tossed off with aplomb, humour and precision; His facility was consistently impressive.
Leah HollingsworthThe Strad Magazine
21 June 2023

Review
Taiwan Philharmonic, Paul Huang: Music of Mendelssohn, Bruch, Debussy,and Chen.
Paul Huang brought an ideal sweet, silvery tone to the Prelude. He proceeded to display a remarkable strong double-stop and chordal technique. Even in the quicker, higher passages, his sound cut distinctly through the orchestra. The Andante was especially affirming, affecting- really just beautiful.
In the Finale, Huang maintained a graceful touch even at maximum attack, with wondrous fluidity on the rapid runs, chromatic and otherwise, fingers flying almost too fast to see. After an ovation he returned with Corigliano’s Red Violin Caprices as a solo encore.
Jon SobelBlog critics.org
27 April 2023

Review
Amid worries at home, Taiwan Philharmonic makes strong showing in historic D.C.
Huang displayed both intensity and accuracy, culminating in some serene high E string playing […]. Huang’s superlative technique sparked the Finale with an edge of excitement. Huang played the encore, Kreisler’s Scherzo, with consummate panache.
Charles DowneyWashington Classical Review
20 April 2023

Review
Cleveland Chamber Music Society: Huang, Um & Yang (Feb. 21)
Every once in a while, a concertgoer is treated to an evening where all of the hoped-for elements are in place: the playing is first-rate, the performers exude warmth and ease, the audience is engaged, the program is a mix of familiar and unusual — in other words, a concert with Carnegie Hall electricity but summer festival Gemütlichkeit, even if it’s still February. Violinists Paul Huang and Danbi Um and pianist Amy Yang presented just such a concert to the Cleveland Chamber Music Society audience at Disciples Christian Church on February 21.
Kevin McLaughlinCleveland Classical
28 February 2023

Review
Violinist Paul Huang with Camerata Pacifica
Paul Huang is truly a special violinist, and last Thursday I once again had the chance to enjoy his artistry[…]Paul has been in the news lately - earlier this month he signed with Naïve Records as an exclusive recording artist[…] Playing with pianist Gilles Vonsattel, Huang achieved that delicate shimmer unique to Prokofiev's first violin sonata[…] Huang and Vonsattel were beautifully aligned when the music was parallel in both parts, and they played together like clockwork when the musical wheels spun in many directions.
Laurie NilesViolinist.com
22 February 2023

Review
Concert review: Paul Huang (violin) Anne-Marie McDermott (piano)
Violinist Paul Huang opened his recital with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott with unbelievably controlled playing in Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, a characteristic that proved to be a theme of the entire programme. His impressive bow control led to expansive, timeless phrases and it seemed as if the audience held its breath for the entire ten minutes, so pristine and mesmerising.
Leah HollingsworthThe Strad Magazine
25 January 2023

Review
Violinist Huang conveys wartime violence and reflection in Wolf Trap program
Violinist Paul Huang has given some striking ensemble performances over recent years on Wolf Trap’s chamber music series. Friday night in the Barns, a large audience had the chance to hear him in a solo recital, accompanied adroitly by pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. The challenging program, carefully selected to highlight connections among pieces, elicited both startling virtuosity and lyrical beauty from both musicians.
Charles T. DowneyWashington Classical Review
12 November 2022

Review
Opening of 2022-2023 Philharmonic season
Huang has much in common with Jascha Heifetz, who was also known for this concerto and who played with a unique sweetness that contrasted with some dazzling playing as well [...] Huang effectively captured the intensity of this concerto. It was a "dream performance" that really moved those who heard his playing. [...] Yes, Huang ensured that the violin really sang in this music. He is very expressive and conveys moments of joy as well as deep feeling. Little wonder that the audience, prompted by the orchestra, gave Huang a tremendous standing ovation that led to rhythmic applause, the traditional European insistence on an encored.
Rob NylundClassical Connection
26 October 2022

Review
Violinist finally makes Tucson debut, and it was worth the wait
Watching him tease out those somber melodies and frenetically scale the fingerboard to keep up with Shostakovich's furious note changes was worth the delay. His performance Friday night — the first of two this weekend — kinda felt like a prayer for Ukraine. His extended solo turn where fast-paced urgency melted into near silence with notes that whispered as they left his bow captured the imagination of not only us in the audience but the musicians on stage with him. The violin section and its leader sat mesmerized as he played.
Cathalena BurchArizona Daily Star
19 March 2022

Review
KSO Is โFantastiqueโ; Violinist Paul Huang Exhilarates in Bruch
If there was a word that combined “exhilaration” with “exuberance,” we would surely be using it today to describe the October installments of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks concerts this past Thursday and Friday evenings at the Tennessee Theatre. Tapping that subtle richness was violinist Paul Huang, who last intrigued Knoxville audiences in 2017 with the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Huang played the Bruch with stunning precision and control of intricate bow strokes, but what marked the performance was his amazing range of dynamic contrasts within passages, all intelligently and articulately positioned. This was romantic musical sculpting at a most impressive degree, sculpting that was also being mirrored with solidity by Demirjian and the orchestra.
Alan SherrodArtsKnoxville
23 October 2021

Feature
Classical Notes: Powerful pair to play Chatham
Violinist Paul Huang and pianist Helen Huang are highly lauded soloists who happen to share a last name that’s common in their native Taiwan. But they aren’t brother and sister, nor are they married. A few times a year they come together as a powerhouse duo and their next appearance, only the second since the pandemic began, is taking place on Saturday evening, Sept. 18, for Tannery Pond Concerts at St. James Church in Chatham. They’ll perform a 90-minute program of sonatas by Mendelssohn, Corigliano and Franck.
Joseph DaltonTimes Union
13 September 2021

Review
Huang duoโs fantastic collaboration opens Kent Blossom season
The duo’s teamwork seems to come as natural as breathing. Their phrasing and tempo changes were effortless, and their unison passages were always impressive, maintaining great clarity and evenness even at the fastest tempos.
Stephanie ManningClevelandClassical.com
18 July 2021

Review
Huang Duo perform on People's Symphony Concerts series in New York.
Violinist Paul Huang, a recipient of a 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, gave a stellar performance in the beautiful auditorium of Washington Irving High School. Mendelssohn’s F major Violin Sonata opened the programme, and Huang immediately demonstrated his amazing bow control and ability to use vibrato to colour sound in varied ways.
Leah HollingsworthThe Strad Magazine
27 March 2020

Review
Taipei Symphony makes Strathmore Debut with Pride and Passion
Featuring Taiwan-born, U.S.-based violinist Paul Huang and Taiwanese American cellist Felix Fan — for whom the concerto was written — the orchestra supported the interplay between the violin’s sweet musings and the cello’s frenetic machinations in the opening “Drifting Shadow.” The two musicians complemented each other well, with Fan’s butterscotch tone and Huang’s lyrical lines flowing with ease. Their meandering melodies in “A Flowering Sacrifice” were beautiful yet unsettling, thanks in part to the ghostly glissandos in the strings, the sounds of paper crumpling and slowly ripping, a bass drum beating like a heart and water pouring and swirling in bowls. Ling threaded these effects gently beneath the soloists, adding to the movement’s primordial quality. Spirited runs in the orchestra heralded “In Expectation,” which evolved into a whimsical waltz. The musicians dove into “Yearning: A Sweet Torture” with operatic verve. Their runs and riffs propelled the soloists to a peak where violin and cello traded emphatic statements before agreeing on a joyous ending.
Grace JeanWashington Post
16 November 2019

Review
Violinist Paul Huang Brings del Gesรน Violin to Life
When your performance receives vigorous applause and unanimous standing ovations with three callbacks until you play an encore, you can be pretty sure the audience enjoyed it. On Saturday night violinist Paul Huang earned all that for his performance of Antonin Dvorák’s Violin Concerto in A minor with the Long Beach Symphony - but there was more. He consistently played with precision, artistry and control, as well as a many-faceted vibrato and gift for timing.
Laurie NilesViolinist.com
03 October 2019

Review
Ligeti, Dvoลรกk, and Tchaikovsky open LBSO's 85th Season
Mr. Huang’s solo entry, only five measures in, sounded vigorously authoritative without any audible gear-change from the slow opening.[...] Fine though this was, the Allegro giocoso Finale was even more memorable, dancingly airborne from start to finish, but with Mr. Huang’s perfectly focused intonation never compromised despite the speeds. The audience cheered this magnificent performance to the Terrace Theater’s rafters, and after being called back several times Mr. Huang obliged with a richly elaborated encore that had me unsuccessfully scratching my memory, but which my knowledgeable spouse informed me was The Red Violin Caprices.