"He clearly," a critic with the Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote of the pianist Sean Chen in 2014, "has the flash, substance, looks and hair to have a significant career in a crowded field." Curious praise that is, but perhaps they once said the same type of thing about young Mozart, whose hair was the best powdered wig money could buy. Of course, the showy Chen, 28, is no Mozart. But the field is indeed crowded these days, and the Juilliard graduate and third-prize winner at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition does get himself noticed. When he's not composing video-game scores, Chen arranges orchestral works for the piano. That aptitude will be on display Tuesday evening for a Music Toronto recital at the Jane Mallett Theatre, where interpretations of Bach, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Ravel, Wagner and Mozart are possibilities for Chen's local debut. Come for the flash, and hope for the substance. The hair is a given.
Sean Chen performs Jan. 10, 8 p.m. $10 to $55. Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front St. E., 416-366-7723 or music-toronto.com/piano/seanchen.htm
Brad Wheeler