GRAMMY-nominated Pianist Han Chen on classical music

31 Mar 2026 · 2 min

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This content was created by The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song. This content was uploaded by The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song. This is a YouTube episode titled "GRAMMY-nominated Pianist Han Chen on classical music" (published 2026-03-31). The excerpt is from an interview on The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song featuring pianist Han Chen. Han Chen discusses views on making classical music accessible to new audiences, references an Evan Schneider New York Times piece arguing classical music shouldn't change, and reflects on balancing tradition and outreach. The excerpt ends with a promotional sign-off from The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song directing listeners to the full episode on YouTube and podcast platforms.

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I feel that classical music can reach more people if it gives the chance. I recently came across with an article, I think it's a hot take, but Evan Schneider, a very, very great pianist and podcaster, you probably know that he had this article on New York Times about how classical music shouldn't change. That's saying that maybe an orchestra shouldn't give out non-classical music to goers or stuff like that. It's a really hot take, but I kind of like that because I am so privileged in New York. We have all this new music audience. I do crazy stuff. I can play 2 and a half hours new music and people come to listen to it. It's not the mainstream. I understand that. I'm also in love with classical music, of course. So whenever I do classical music, I just keep asking myself, like, why they had to listen to this? And for me, the answer is very easy because I cannot live without it. But for people who never, who never, you know, listen to classical music, I feel they, they need a chance to get into this. Maybe a friend who listens to classical music, or maybe a podcast, a great podcast, people talk about classical music, or maybe a movie about classical music, or maybe something. But classical music itself is perfect. It doesn't need to change. It doesn't need to become viral. It doesn't need to become a 15-second thing, or it doesn't need to become— I don't know, just like to change the form itself, I think it's not necessary. So that's the hot take. But how that can really, you know, build into the future, I don't know. But I try myself to really deliver the best I could, and I just hope that people would see the value in it.
In case you missed our latest episode featuring Grammy-nominated concert pianist Han Chen, you can watch the entire conversation on our YouTube channel or listen on your favorite podcast platforms. Follow and subscribe to The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with tradition meets innovation.