An official Steinway artist, Fung, 30, is widely recognized for playing that is elegant and refined, yet deeply poetic and intensely expressive. His performance of Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 5 at Weill Recital Hall in New York was described in December 2011 as “stylish and articulate” by the New York Times.

A native of Australia, he has appeared internationally as a guest soloist with orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the San Diego Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and the Xiamen Philharmonic.

His Franco Center debut comes just one week following his performance with the San Francisco Symphony in the West Coast premiere of Chen Qigang’s Piano Concerto “Er Huang,” with guest conductor Lan Shui leading the orchestra’s traditional Chinese New Year celebration.

Recognized for his keyboard talents at an early age – he received the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year Award as a teenager in 2002 – he first embarked on medical studies at the University of New South Wales before deciding to move to California to study piano with John Perry at the Colburn Conservatory, becoming the first pianist to graduate from that new school. He went on to receive master’s and doctoral degrees from the Yale School of Music.

Fung is a frequent guest artist in concert series and festivals worldwide, including the Aspen Music Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Ravinia Festival, and the Bari Music Festival in Italy, for which he serves as Artistic Director.

The recipient of prizes at some of the most prestigious national and international competitions, Fung garnered recent attention as a laureate of the 2013 Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition, Brussels. He was a prizewinner at the 2008 Arthur Rubinstein Piano International Masters Competition in Tel Aviv, where he also received awards for Best Classical Concerto and Best Performance of Chamber Music.

Fung has recorded for the ABC Classics, Naxos and Yarlung labels, presenting music of Liszt, Bach and Ravel on his debut album and featuring works by composers ranging from Mozart to Tan Dun on later solo releases.

Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors and free for students. They may be purchased at www.francocenter.org, 207-689-2000, or in person at the box office, 46 Cedar St., between noon and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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