In a cover article in 2009, the international opera magazine Orpheus described Jimmy Chiang under the title, “Versatility comes through Hard Work, Discipline and Respect!” Chiang is a well-rounded musician who masters a great variety of musical skills. As a solo pianist, he “delves deeply into the music and loves each note as if it were his own” (Schorndorfer Nachrichten). As an orchestra and opera conductor, he “animate[s] the orchestra… and carrie[s] the singers as well as the choir in his hands” (Orpheus, 2011). He was the first prize winner of the 2007 “Lovro von Matacic” international conducting competition in Zagreb. In 2013, Chiang was appointed as Kapellmeister of the Vienna Boys’ Choir, becoming the first Hong Kong born Chinese conductor to ever hold this title in the choir’s 500 years of history. He also served as the associate artistic director of
this traditional Viennese Institution in the year of 2025. Starting Autumn of 2025,
Chiang is named Bösendorfer Ambassador.
From his origin in Hong Kong, to his education in the United States and in Vienna, to his travels around the world, and becoming Austrian citizen, Chiang represents the intersection of many cultures and styles. Having now lived in Vienna for the past 25 years, its language, culture, and music are Chiang’s own; without a doubt,“ one associates him with Vienna” (Lübecker Stadtzeitung). He masters an enormous musical repertoire, ranging from Gregorian to living contemporaries. He is fluent in German, Chinese, English, and is proficient in Italian as well.

Chiang was born to a family of musicians; his father was a flautist and his mother a mezzo-soprano and choir director. Chiang began piano lessons when he was four and already appeared on stage at age of 5. As a teenager, he studied violoncello and composition. At the age of 13, he made his first public appearance as a concert pianist with the Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, in which he was also a cellist from 1994 to 1996 and has been its principal conductor since 2008. He received his Fellows Diploma in piano performance from the Trinity College of Music London at 16. He then graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Baylor University in the USA, where he
studied with the renowned pianist Krassimira Jordan of the Russian piano school and the legendary Polish-born Jewish conductor, Daniel Sternberg. He continued his education and obtained the “Magister Artium” degree with distinction at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he was the last student of Austrian conductor Leopold Hager and studied with German pianist Wolfgang Watzinger. In 2003, he studied with Seiji Ozawa and appeared at the Rohm Music Festival in Kyoto, Japan upon the maestro’s invitation.
Chiang’s performing career as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and conductor has brought him to prestigious stages and festivals across the world. He has performed at the Wiener Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Komischen Oper Berlin, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, FACYL in Spain, and the Macao International Music Festival, among others. In 2016, he became the first artistic director of a newly founded Hong Kong-Vienna Music Festival. Chiang brought the festival to its climax by leading the top musicians from both metropoles in a stunning performance of Gustav Mahler’s 8th Symphony.
Chiang’s foremost passion is opera. From 2007 to 2009, he worked as assistant music director of the Wagner “Ring” cycle at Theater Lübeck; during the summer seasons, he was assistant music director of opera productions at the Eutin Festival. From 2009 to 2011, he was the principal conductor at Theater Freiburg. There, he directed numerous premiere productions, including a howling success of Ligeti’s opera Le Grand Macabre with stage director Calixto Bieito. Since 2021, Chiang became the principal guest conductor for the Taranto Opera Festival as well as starting summer of 2025 at the Piccolo Opera Festival in Gorizia, Italy.
Orchestras and Ensembles that Chiang has conducted include the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Imperial Chapel, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfonica Castilla e Leon, the Irkutsk Philhamronic, the Pori Sinfonietta, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and more. Chiang has led the Vienna Boys Choir in numerous productions with the Vienna Philharmonic under the directions of Riccardo Muti and Franz Welser-Möst. He appeared also in numerous CD albums under Deutsche Grammophon and DECCA.

Jimmy Chiang wurde in eine Musikerfamilie hineingeboren; sein Vater war Flötist, seine Mutter Mezzosopranistin und Chorleiterin. Chiang begann mit vier Jahren Klavier zu spielen und trat bereits mit fünf Jahren erstmals auf. Als Jugendlicher studierte er Violoncello und Komposition. Mit 13 Jahren gab er sein erstes öffentliches Konzert als Solopianist mit dem Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, in dem er von 1994 bis 1996 auch als Cellist tätig war und seit 2008 als Chefdirigent wirkt. Mit 16 erhielt er das Fellowship Diploma in Piano Performance des Trinity College of Music London.

Er schloss sein Bachelorstudium der Musik an der Baylor University (USA) ab, wo er bei der renommierten Pianistin Krassimira Jordan aus der russischen Klavierschule und dem legendären polnisch-jüdischen Dirigenten Daniel Sternberg studierte. Anschließend setzte er seine Ausbildung an der Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien fort und erhielt dort den akademischen Grad „Magister Artium“ mit Auszeichnung. Er war der letzte Schüler des österreichischen Dirigenten Leopold Hager und studierte Klavier bei Wolfgang Watzinger. 2003 studierte er bei Seiji Ozawa und trat auf dessen Einladung beim Rohm Music Festival in Kyoto, Japan, auf.

Chiangs Karriere als Solist, Kammermusiker und Dirigent führte ihn auf renommierte Bühnen und Festivals weltweit. Er trat unter anderem im Wiener Musikverein, in der Carnegie Hall, der Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, der Komischen Oper Berlin, der Suntory Hall in Tokio, beim Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, beim FACYL-Festival in Spanien und beim Macao International Music Festival auf.

2016 wurde er erster künstlerischer Leiter des neu gegründeten Hong Kong–Vienna Music Festival. Chiang führte das Festival zu seinem Höhepunkt, indem er Spitzenmusiker beider Metropolen in einer fulminanten Aufführung von Gustav Mahlers 8. Sinfonie vereinte.

Chiangs größte Leidenschaft gilt der Oper. Von 2007 bis 2009 arbeitete er als Assistent des musikalischen Leiters beim Wagner-Ring-Zyklus am Theater Lübeck; während der Sommermonate war er musikalischer Assistent bei Opernproduktionen der Eutiner Festspiele. Von 2009 bis 2011 war er Chefdirigent am Theater Freiburg, wo er zahlreiche Uraufführungen leitete – darunter einen vielbeachteten Erfolg von Ligetis Oper Le Grand Macabre in der Regie von Calixto Bieito.

Seit 2021 ist Chiang Erster Gastdirigent des Taranto Opera Festival sowie ab Sommer 2025 des Piccolo Opera Festival in Gorizia, Italien.

Zu den Orchestern und Ensembles, die Chiang dirigierte, zählen unter anderem das Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, das Wiener Kammerorchester, die Wiener Hofmusikkapelle, das Zagreber Philharmonische Orchester, die Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, die Irkutsker Philharmonie, die Pori Sinfonietta und das Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

Chiang leitete die Wiener Sängerknaben in zahlreichen Produktionen mit den Wiener Philharmonikern unter der Leitung von Riccardo Muti und Franz Welser-Möst. Er ist außerdem auf zahlreichen CD-Aufnahmen bei Deutsche Grammophon und DECCA zu hören.