Pianist Junyan Chen Signs With Askonas Holt Management

Chen, who came second in the recent Leeds competition, has signed with the Askonas Holt agency for worldwide general management 

The Chinese pianist Junyan Chen has joined the roster of the London-based agency Askonas Holt for global management, where she will be represented by Alison Nethsingha and Holly Cartwright.

At the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition, Chen’s successes included the Marion Thorpe Silver Medal, the inaugural Alexandra Dariescu Award for outstanding performance of a work by a female composer, and the Yaltah Menuhin Award for exceptional performance of chamber music. 

She won second place in the finals with her performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and conductor Domingo Hindoyan. 

Chen’s upcoming projects include a collaboration with the Manchester Collective, and solo recitals at the Leeds International Piano Series, Wigmore Hall, and the Harrogate International Sunday Series.

A champion of contemporary music, Chen has performed Hans Abrahamsen’s Piano Concerto with the Manson Ensemble, plus has worked with composers Mark Anthony-Turnage and Dominic Muldowney.

In 2022, Chen released her debut solo album, “It’s Time,” on Linn Records, which explores cultural identity through different musical genres and art forms with works by Fazil Say, Unsuk Chin, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Eleanor Alberga. 

A graduate of the Shanghai Conservatoire, Chen holds a fellowship with the Royal Academy of Music, where she recently completed her Master’s degree with first-class honors.

Additionally, she has been a prizewinner at the 2018 City of Vigo International Piano Competition and the 2016 Osaka International Music Competition, where she won the prestigious Osaka Prefecture Governor’s Award and the University of Music and Performing Arts in the Vienna Awards.

A short video of Chen’s rendition of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.4 at the Leeds International Piano Competition can be viewed below.