YAN (Francis) FANG BIO

Critical Acclaim 

Praised for his “mature and authoritative piano-artist” artistry by Jerome Lowenthal (former Chair of Piano at The Juilliard School and second-generation inheritor of Chopin) “A rich and tasteful musical feast!” by China News and commended by Dang Thai Son as possessing a “high level of professionalism, keen ear, and a rare sense of making the piano at times sing or speak, wonderful balance of reason and emotion, appealing artistic temperament combined with special musical sensibility.” Yan Fang is widely recognized as a pianist who embodies the spirit and soul of the “golden age.”

International Performances

Yan Fang has become one of the fastest-rising pianists of his generation. In recent years, Mr. Fang has performed extensively in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Hawaii, Kalamazoo, and Shreveport (USA); Munich, Italy, and Bulgaria (EU); Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladikavkaz, and Nizhniy Novgorod (Russia); as well as Shanghai, Nanjing, Harbin, Chengdu, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Quanzhou, Tainan, Taipei, and Kaohsiung (China), among other global locations.

March 2025 Highlights  

In March 2025, Yan Fang embarked on another remarkable series of engagements. On March 3, he gave his debut, performing alongside Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre in honor of the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth. He then gave a solo recital at the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall on March 9. Shortly thereafter, he traveled to the Mariinsky Theatre Alania for two performances with Zaurbek Gugkaev—a concerto on March 11, followed by a solo recital on March 13.

 

Apart from his engagements with the Mariinsky, he appeared with the Tyumen Philharmonic Orchestra under Yuri Medianik to perform the Yellow River Piano Concerto. On March 19, he gave a master class at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. He made his Chongqing, China debut on March 22 at the Chongqing Grand Theatre, where he performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Chongqing Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Haofu Chai.

Recent 

During the 2024–25 season, Mr. Fang toured across China performing with the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra with Haofu Chai, Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra and Liaoning Symphony Orchestra with Jiongjie Yin. He also performed in Korea with the Daegu Symphony Orchestra with Jin Hyoun Baek and in Russia with Leonid Korchmar and the Marrinsky Philharmonic at the Marrinsky Theatre Alania. Additionally, his solo recitals took place in New York, USA, Xiamen, China and in Russia (Moscow House of Culture, St. Petersburg Hermitage, Nizhniy Novgorod, Mariinsky Theatre Vladikavkaz).In the past years, Yan have also performed with Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra with Renchang Fu, Beijing Xinhua Symphony Orchestra with Feihu Jiao,China Russian Symphony Orchestra with Jinsong Lin ,Parzardjik Symphony Orchestra with Yuri Medianik. 

Residency and Affiliations 

Mr. Fang was appointed “Honorary Artist/Artist-in-Residence” at the International Piano Center(Xiamen Institute of Technology), joining a distinguished international team of musicians such as  Professor Mingsun Zhou (Central Conservatory of Music, China), Choi Sown Le (Chairman of the Hong Kong Piano Music Association), Kenneth Hamilton (Dean of Cardiff University’s School of Music, UK), Markus Groh (Professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin, Germany), Roman Zaslavsky (Professor at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, Austria), Red Canzion (National Artist of Italy), and Abisal Gergiev. This group is dedicated to advancing music performance, education, and international collaboration. 

Education 

Currently, Yan Fang is studying with Yefim Bronfman as the first piano Artist Diploma (AD) candidate in almost a decade at the Manhattan School of Music. The AD is the highest-level program in the U.S. conservatory system, admitting at most one candidate across all disciplines—sometimes none(MSM),. He also earned a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, studying with Jerome Lowenthal and Hung-Kuan Chen, and a Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory under Alexander Korsantia. He holds an Academy Diploma from The Colburn School where he study with Myong-joo Lee. Prior to that, Yan also studied under Chengzong Yin, Shuhua Chen, Ni Fang, Xiao Luo,  Weiming Li and Xiaoyu Wang. He has also worked with prominent figures such as Murray Perahia and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. 

Awards and Honors

Yan Fang was a 2024 Gilmore Festival Fellow and named 2019 Person of the Year for Public Welfare (Shoulder Action, China). A TEDxTalk Speaker (@HuizhanRd), he also G. Henle Verlag International Partner and was selected as one of “The Ten Pianists” for the G. Henle Murray Perahia Beethoven 250 celebration. In addition, he won the Honors Competition at the New England Conservatory.

Philanthropy and Vision

ClassicFM (Bulgaria) has praised Yan Fang, noting that “his career is connected with many noble initiatives.” In 2020, he launched a philanthropic collaboration with the Shoulder Action Foundation, hosting two annual events that drew support from 21 companies and 18 media outlets, including China News and China.com. Collectively, these efforts raised over $65,000, providing essential funding to more than 30 schools across China. Guided by his belief in music’s power to transcend boundaries, Yan Fang envisions a world in which music connects world together, fostering love, empathy, compassion, and a shared sense of humanity. 

Media Coverage 

Fang Yan’s accomplishments have been featured and closely reported by major media outlets, including People’s Daily, People.cn, VGTRK-1 (Russia’s Central Television), China Culture & Tourism, Music Weekly, China Art News, China-Russia Headlines, Southeast Net, Ganlan Classical Music, Xiamen Evening News, Xiamen Daily, Tencent News, Sohu News, Sina News, and others.

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