The American pianist Claire Huangci has successfully transcended a child prodigy's career through a long period of training in Germany, where she made her first recordings and has concertized extensively. Huangci attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia as a high school student, followed by piano study in Germany. A breakthrough came with a first prize at the European Chopin Piano Competition in 2009. Huangci made her first recording, of Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky ballet transcriptions, for Berlin Classics in 2012. Praised for having "the fastest fingers in the world" by pianist Vladimir Krainev, Huangci expressed a desire to have audiences remember her performances for their beauty, not just for their speed. ~ James Manheim