Robert Chen

Robert Chen (b. 1969) is an American-Taiwanese violinist who serves as a concertmaster of The Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1999. He was born in Taipei and began violin studies at the age of seven. In 1979, Chen family moved to Los Angeles where Robert continued his education with Robert Lipsett and attended Jascha Heifetz's master classes. When he was twelve, Chen debuted with Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He received BMus and MMus degrees from the Juilliard School after studying with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. As a soloist, Robert Chen has been performing with various prestigious ensembles, including LA Phil, Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Orchester Der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Radio-Philharmonie Hannover Des NDR, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He appeared on stage with Myung-Whun Chung, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Manfred Honeck, Pavel Kogan, Andreas Delfs and other notable conductors. In 2000, Chen debuted with CSO and Maestro Daniel Barenboim. During his tenure at the orchestra, the musician participated in the premieres of György Ligeti's and Elliott Carter's Violin Concertos, Witold Lutoslawski's Chain Two, as well as the world premiere of Astral Canticle by Augusta Read Thomas. Robert was a featured soloist with Riccardo Muti, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Christoph Eschenbach, Charles Dutoit, Ton Koopman, Osmo Vänskä, Vasily Petrenko, Nicholas Kraemer and James Conlon. He collaborated with Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma and other chamber musicians, participating in Marlboro Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and multiple international events. Chen won several high-profile awards, including the top prize at the Hanover International Violin Competition (1994), Taipei International Violin Competition (1988), the National Young Musicians Foundation Debut Competition (1984), and Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition (1986).