Classical

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Transcendental Etude No. 10 in F Minor, S. 139/10, Franz Liszt - Martin Leung

Uploaded On:  Friday January 25, 2019

Martin Leung is widely recognized as a classical pianist and as his alter ego, Video Game Pianist (VGP). Martin holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) (student of Professor Paul Schenly and Professor Daniel Shapiro), Yale School of Music (student of Professor Claude Frank), and University of Southern California (USC) Thornton School of Music (Doctor of Musical Arts) (Professor Stewart Gordon). Martin currently studies with Myong-joo Lee. Martin soloed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Academic Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, USC Thornton Symphony, and the CIM Orchestra, among others. Heather Persson of Canada's The StarPhoenix hailed him as a "rising talent of the future." Martin won first place at the 2016 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition - Division VII. Concerto, first place at the 2012 USC Concerto Competition, shared first place at the 2011 Art of the Piano Liszt Competition, first place at the 2007 CIM Concerto Competition, and third place at the 2003 Oberlin International Piano Competition, among others. He was a semifinalist at the 2017 San Jose International Piano Competition. He performed at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Carnegie Hall Isaac Stern Auditorium, Steinway Hall, Heinz Hall, and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, among others. He participated in festivals including Pianofest in the Hamptons, Art of the Piano, Gilmore Keyboard Festival, and the American Liszt Society Festival. As VGP, Martin is one of the first musicians of the 'net generation to adapt game music to performance. Leo Cotterell of The Times of London noted him as a "brilliant pianist." Seth Schiesel of the New York Times mentioned his "signature blindfolded performance" in reference to a viral video of Martin playing Super Mario music. He performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Kennedy Center, Benaroya Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and Théâtre St-Denis, among others. His YouTube channel has over 86,000 subscribers, 19 million video views, and 46 years of watch time.