About

Hong Kong violist Yat Lee has appeared across Europe, the United States, Asia, and the Middle East, performing at major venues including the Musikverein Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus, Berlin Konzerthaus, Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Victoria Hall Geneva, Opera de Monte-Carlo, KKL Luzern.

An avid chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as Maxim Vengerov, Nobuko Imai, Renaud Capuçon, Gérard Caussé, Clemens Hagen, Antonio Lysy, and Gilbert Kalish, and has appeared at festivals including Wien Modern, Prussia Cove, Pablo Casals, Gstaad Menuhin, Megeve, Bellerive, Kuhmo, Music@Menlo, and Beare’s Premiere Music Festival.

A prizewinner of the Kreisler Institute Competition (Vienna) and Ruth Widder Competition (New York), he has served as principal violist with Menuhin Soloists, Klangforum Bern, Webern Symphony, and Hong Kong String Orchestra.

Lee currently studies at the Manhattan School of Music under Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec.

Music

I am deeply rooted in the Central European musical tradition, and much of the music I play reflects this lineage. Bach stands at the center of my musical life; during my studies in Vienna, I also trained in historical performance and baroque viola for two years, which shaped my understanding of articulation, harmony, and expressive rhetoric. His music continues to ground me artistically and spiritually.

I am equally drawn to the Romantic tradition, especially Brahms and Robert & Clara Schumann. Their music speaks to me through its emotional intimacy, inner dialogue, and human vulnerability.

Chamber music is also central to my identity. Through works spanning Mozart and Beethoven to Schoenberg, Shostakovich, and Bartók, I am inspired by the shared exploration and trust that chamber music demands. It is where imagination, communication, and collective expression meet—and where I feel most connected to the essence of music-making.

Videos

Past groupmuses (2)