[Watch] Local Piano Star Melody Quah Returns Home For Chopin Festival

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From performing at the Commonwealth Games to gracing stages at Carnegie Hall, celebrated Malaysian pianist Melody Quah is coming home to showcase her world-class talent at the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra’s (MPO) Chopin Festival.

Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Quah has established a notable presence on the international classical music scene.

The Canadian newspaper, Vancouver Sun, famously described her as “a poet with titanium fingers who delivers with dazzling intensity”—and that’s precisely the kind of artistry Malaysian audiences will witness on 16 August at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP) in KLCC.

Quah’s journey from local stages to world-renowned concert halls is genuinely inspiring.

She has performed on stages across Hungary, Canada, England, Australia, Japan, and the USA, collaborating with prestigious orchestras such as the Vancouver Symphony and the Richmond Philharmonic.

On that Saturday evening, Quah returns to her roots to perform the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin’s iconic Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor with the MPO.

This romantic and melancholic masterpiece—first performed when Chopin was just 21—is perfect for showcasing Quah’s emotional depth and technical brilliance.

“It’s always special performing at home,” says the accomplished pianist, who now teaches at Penn State University in the USA.

Her impressive credentials include degrees from the Juilliard School in New York, Yale School of Music (a graduate professional school within Yale University), and a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute, the first conservatory in the United States.

The evening also features Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich’s powerful Symphony No.5 after intermission, conducted by MPO Music Director Junichi Hirokami.

It’s part of a two-concert Chopin Festival, with the second performance on 11 October featuring pianist Martin Garcia Garcia.

Tickets range from RM229 to RM379, with premium suite options available.

For a homegrown talent who’s conquered international stages, this is your chance to see world-class artistry right here in KL.

Visit www.mpo.com.my for tickets.

Trust us—watching a local girl who made it big perform the classics is something every Malaysian music lover shouldn’t miss.

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