Playing of remarkable clarity and architectural understanding with an extraordinary technical command of the keyboard that allowed him to play quite fearlessly some of the most demanding works of the piano repertoire.

Immediately the opening Shostakovich Prelude had the resonance of an organ with long held pedal notes giving a very full fluid sound. It contrasted with the complete clarity of the fugue that was played with scintillating energy and remarkable character.

There was clarity too in the Clementi Sonata which flowed so beautifully and was shaped with great finesse. A beautifully poised slow movement was immediately contrasted with the rhythmic drive of the presto finale.

It was the Dante Sonata that showed the real artistry of this twenty one year old pianist. An architectural understanding of a work that can so often seem episodic. A quite remarkable technical command which allowed him to throw off the most demanding passages with clarity and ease. Nowhere more than in the final pages where the treacherous skips were not only mastered but also given a musical shape that is rare indeed. In the slower passages he missed the flow and romantic sweep and his breathtaking pyrotechnics could have had more passionate abandon and sense of colour but it was performance remarkable for it’s absolute clarity and commanding authority.

Hats off to Neo for including six of Liszt’s transcriptions of Schubert Songs (there are over 50 to choose from !). These transcriptions are the meeting of the mellifluous genius of Schubert and the total mastery of the piano of Liszt. A mastery that can turn the piano into an orchestra with a sense of colour and balance by use of the sustaining pedal. In fact it was Anton Rubinstein, a pupil of Liszt ,who called the pedal the soul of the piano. It was Liszt and Thalberg who exploited this newly created device to turn the piano into an instrument that could roar like a lion or sing like the greatest of bel canto singers. Neo played these six beautiful songs rather literally sacrificing the subtle beauty and inflections of Schubert for a quite extraordinary clarity and digital mastery. I wondered whether he had actually listened to the songs and discovered the real meaning of the poetry that had inspired them.

The Scriabin Sonata was played with a quite extraordinary sense of balance where the beautiful first movement was allowed to sing with ravishing beauty and simplicity.The second movement was played with quite remarkable clarity but the ‘star’ could have shone with more timeless passion and sumptuous richness.

The theme and variations from Beethoven’s Sonata op 109 was the encore that Neo so generously offered. It was in fact the finest performance of the recital, with the theme beautifully shaped with poise and delicacy.The variations were allowed to unfold with aristocratic nobility and beauty and the return of the theme hovered over a cloud of sounds with quite extraordinary mastery and poetic understanding.

Neo Hung started his first piano lesson at the age of six in Hong Kong and gave his first solo piano recital at 13. He studied at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from 2018 to 2021 under Julie Kuok. He currently studies piano with Dina Parakhina at the Royal College of Music with a full scholarship awarded by the HKSAR government. He has been supported by the Keyboard Charitable Trust since 2024, and Talent Unlimited since 2023.  

Neo made his concerto debut in Music Fest Perugia with Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.1 under Alessandro Alonzi in 2023. He has also performed internationally in the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Malaga International Piano Festival, RCM Keyboard Festival, Yale University, Hong Kong City Hall and Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Recently, he has embarked on a tour with solo recitals in a variety of venues across England, such as Bath Abbey, Ely Cathedral, Wakefield Cathedral, St Mary’s Perivale Church, St James’s Piccadilly Church, University Church Oxford and Westminster Music Library, among many other venues. He made his debut as a Keyboard Charitable Trust Artist in September 2024 at Erin Arts Centre on the Isle of Man. In 2023, Neo won prizes in the Liszt Society Piano Competition, chaired by the renowned pianist Leslie Howard. https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/11/27/liszt-in-perivale-the-universal-genius-the-voyage-of-discovery-continues/

Neo has gained inspiration in masterclasses by artists such as Sofya Gulyak, Niel Immelman, Ian Jones,  Juan Lago, Marina Lomazov, Gabriel Kwok, Alexandre Moutouzkine, Jerome Rose, Eleanor Wong and Jerome Lowenthal, who lauded him as “an outstanding pianist”.  

On 28th September, Neo Hung, a top prize winner of the Liszt Competition UK, gave a masterclass and concert for the Erin Arts Centre on the Isle of Man for the Keyboard Trust.

‘What a lovely, easy-going young man and such a fantastic pianist. The masterclass was detailed and informative and the recital was absolute dynamite. Everybody was fully engaged throughout the show and all shook his hand afterwards (there were about 60 of them!) and thanked him for coming. Once again thank you to you and the Keyboard Trust for finding ANOTHER exceptional young talent; we’re really happy to help give them a foothold’ – Pip Rolfe, Erin Arts Centre.

And from Neo: ‘I had a most unforgettable experience performing at the wonderful Erin Arts Centre on Isle of Man on 28th September 2024 in addition to presenting my first ever masterclass! First and foremost, I would like to thank the artistic directors of the Keyboard Trust for offering me this unique opportunity which has increased my exposure to a wider audience. I had a most unforgettable time performing for such an enthusiastic and warm audience who reacted positively as I shook hands with one by one post-concert. Thank you to everyone who has come to either or both of my masterclass and recital that day with such attentiveness and passion. It has been an absolutely fantastic day! ‘https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2024/12/25/point-and-counterpoint-2024-a-personal-view-by-christopher-axworthy/