Fei-Ping Hsu

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Fei-Ping Hsu (July 20, 1952 - November 27, 2001) was a pianist.

Fei-Ping Hsu was born on the island of Gulangyu in southeast China, the youngest son of a Christian pastor whose conversion to Christianity had resulted in the loss of his government job and the family's subsequent poverty. As a child he demonstrated a remarkable facility for playing by ear. When he was eight years old, he had a rare opportunity to meet Professor Ji-sen Fan, the head of the piano department of the Shanghai Conservatory, and recognized as a child prodigy. By the time he was twelve years old, he already played the complete Chopin etudes and had performed with the Shanghai Philharmonic.

At this time he was invited to perform by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who was so impressed with his talent that she personally invited Mr. Hsu to study and perform in Europe. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to accept this invitation because of the advent of the Cultural Revolution in China, during which he was forced to watch the cruel beatings of many friends and of his own teacher, Professor Fan. After a spell of labour in the countryside, he was pressed into service as a pianist, performing the only piano piece considered morally clean, the Yellow River Concerto. Playing this virtuosic piece hundreds of times on demand, with no warm-up facilities, he developed repetition strain injury. When he was no longer “useful,” the administration cut his already meager wages to the equivalent of four dollars a month.

In 1979, Fei-Ping Hsu finally received permission to study in the United States. He first entered the Eastman School of Music, and then the Juilliard School of Music under the tutelage of Sascha Gorodnitzki.

As well as being an exponent of Western classical music, Hsu will also be remembered as a champion of the music of Huang An-Lun.

He was killed in a road accident while on tour in China.