Chinese pianist CHEN Sa has established herself as one of the most charismatic pianists of her generation. She started earning critical acclaims at the Leeds, the Chopin and the Van Cliburn international piano competitions, and then began her professional performing career worldwide with her evocative virtuosity. CHEN Sa was invited to perform with many prestigious orchestras, to name a few, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and so on. The enthusiasm for chamber music has brought her to the stage of mainstream music festivals including the Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, the Salzburg Festival, the Dusznicki International Chopin Festival.
Highlights of CHEN Sa's recent seasons included her debut at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the opening performance at the 26th Singapore International Piano Festival in Victoria Concert Hall, and the performance at the gala concert to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the Pyeong-Chang Winter Olympic Game in Seoul. CHEN Sa was listed in the esteemed Tokyo series “The 100 Greatest Pianists”. She is the cover artist of the inaugural issue of the Gramophone's Chinese edition. She was also rated by the French magazine L’OFFICIEL as one of the “Top Ten Chinese Artists”. The Polish government honoured CHEN Sa with the "Frédéric Chopin" Passport, a symbol of an honorary citizenship in 2010, for her achievements in the interpretation of Chopin’s music.
Up till now CHEN Sa has released 10 audio albums. She has recorded three solo albums with JVC and IMC labels in Japan, published two live recordings from both Chopin and Van Cliburn competitions in collaboration with the Chopin Competition Warsaw and Harmonia Mundi, and made several albums with Pentatone in Neatherland, among which two feature Chopin piano concertos and one presents Russian solo works. Classic FM selected her Chopin album as the "Best CD of the Month" for her "soulful performance". She also recorded a album of Chinese compositions for BIS, playing piano concerti together with Chinese instruments, and it was described as “the most interesting and successful recording of new Chinese music so far” by BBC Music Magazine. To pursue more freedom in artistic creation and deepen the exploration of diversity, CHEN Sa and her office ATELIERSA China came together with recording producer Johannes Mueller and Neri & Hu Design and Research Office, for her latest solo album featuring the complete preludes by Claude Debussy with a special graphic design. A faithful supporter of contemporary works by Chinese composers, CHEN Sa has premiered the Piano Concerto (2006) by WANG Xilin with Basel Chamber Orchestra in 2013, and the piano concerto Piano Concerto on Chinese Themes (2016) by the Australia-based Chinese composer Julian Yu.
Aside from her regular performance schedule, CHEN Sa engages herself in charity activities as well. She was invited to be part of an environmental protection themed gala named "Call for a Green China" initiated and curated by China State Environmental Protection Administration (now called the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China), the World Bank and the Norwegian government, at which she premiered the multimedia piano concerto Call and then performed it throughout China. She alsoappeared at the “Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day”in Washington D.C. and performed to thousands of audiences as ambassador of promoting environmental protection programmes. In 2020, CHEN Sa attended the world's first offline forum of the UNESCO "ResiliArt". Since 2016 CHEN Sa has received invitations to act as a member of jury in such prestigious competitions as the 11th Sydney International Piano Competition, the 61st Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition, the 19th Leeds International Piano Competition, and the upcoming 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.
