BY Patrick Wells 28 Aug 2026
For pianist and harpsichordist Anyi Cai, Bach is far more than an 18th century composer on the program. It is a pivotal figure that brings the modern piano, and the harpsichord, these two related, yet completely distinctive instruments into close conversation. The modern piano offers a wide spectrum of color, resonance, and sustained sound; whereas the harpsichord asks for a more exposed kind of precision, in which articulation, timing, and the release of every note carry important weight. Cais work across both mediums has made this contrast central to her artistic identity.
That dual focus came into sharp relief at the 2026 Bach International Music Competition. Cai received the Absolute Winner in Harpsichord category for her performance of the J. S. Bachs Toccata in D major, BWV 912. At the same competition, she also earned First Prize with Special Mention in the chamber music category for her collaboration with violinist Chaewon Kim of their performance of J.S. Bachs Sonata for Harpsichord and Violin in C minor, BWV 1017.
The two works illuminate different sides of Cais musicianship. In the Toccata, Cai shows a secure command of the works changing rhetoric. Cai opened the beginning improvisatory prelude with striving percussiveness of consecutive statements of the D major motif from the high end of the harpsichord before gradually stepping downwards which then imperceptively melted into smooth, sweeping gestures of long, lushing descending scale spanning the whole keyboard gliding down to the bass. The fantasia-like opening immediately captured listeners attention. The whole thing was felt within one take of a deep breath. The careful release of the last D major chord in the bass leaving the harpsichord of its lush reverberation in the afterglow. This came out of maintaining a good elasticity of pulse and an instinct timing supported by incredible technical ability. The contrapuntal section that follows was shown with clean attacks, fine balance among voices, and deep harmonic awareness to keep the long line audible beneath the brilliance of the passagework. Bachs masterwork of counterpoint was brought into reality.
Cai fuses imaginative musicality with absolute technical control. Her own ornamentations, stylishly executed, were tastefully embedded upon rapid figuration, retaining a feeling of spontaneity, yet the larger architecture never loosened: entries are precisely executed, cadences have weight, the brilliance of registration changes for different effects and characters, unfold with a compelling sense of direction. In the Sonata for Harpsichord and Violin in C minor, she demonstrated a different but equally important skill: musical collaboration. Rather than treating the harpsichord line as an accompaniment given tradition, within such a unique work, Cai shaped it as an active musical voice, conversing with violins lines, creating true partnership and conversations with the violin. Cai led the violin at cadential arrivals with great care, sustained a flexible shared pulse. The swapping of dance-like motifs in counterpoint with the violin in the fast movement uplifted the whole atmosphere into a buoyant showcase. Internationally renowned harpsichordist and pedagogue Arthur Haas, commented after hearing the performance: That was the best version of the sonata I have ever heard! The two Bach performances reveal complementary strengthsvirtuosic clarity and structural command in the Toccata, and alert, expressive collaboration in the sonatathat are reflected in her 2026 awards in both solo and chamber-music categories.
These artistic values extend directly into her pedagogy. In her own belief, harpsichord playing can deepen a pianists awareness of articulation and finger control. Without the pianos sustaining pedal and variable attack, the harpsichord makes the beginning and ending of each sound unmistakable. For a performer, that condition is not merely a limitation; it becomes a means of clarifying musical phrases, rhythm, character, harmonic direction, and ultimately its music rhetoric.
Before her doctoral study at the Stony Brook University, Cai served at Yale University as a secondary harpsichord instructor and Teaching Artist, where she had the opportunity to show many talented pianists a new musical language, introducing them to historical performance practice. From exploring the broad historical literacy, the baroque style, diving into the various baroque dance types and musical forms, to the different national styles of keyboard playing among France, English, German and Italy in the 17th to 18th century, students were able to witness the evolution of keyboard and its culture, embrace the baroque styles and further advance their keyboard techniques on the harpsichord, ultimately transforming into a versatile, well-informed musician.
My mission is to empower my students to develop their own styles of playing, to become a close listener of themselves with the instrument on the stage, while always keeping curious in music in any ways. Cai says. The art of continuo playing (harpsichord accompanying as a bass instrument in chamber music) is also one of Cais core curriculum.
She has maintained being an advocate of early music and harpsichord education to modern piano students. After Yale, Cai is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in harpsichord performance at Stony Brook University, where she conducts weekly harpsichord lessons as a teaching assistant and helps maintain the universitys collection of five harpsichords and one virginal. The instrument maintenance work that she is in charge includes stringing, voicing, and regulating. The craftsmanship and artistry are closely connected: knowing the mechanism that allows a quill to pluck the string, how the differences in thickness of a quill in millimeter can affect the quality of a note produced, how the humidity of soundboard affect the condition of the whole instrument and its projection, all these knowledge gives the performer a different perspective to listen to their playing. The responsibilities are closely connected: performing and teaching early music at an advanced level requires not only musical preparation, but also familiarity with the physical and historical realities of the instruments themselves.
From Viennas prestigious Musikverein Wien, to the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall in San Francisco, to the Millennium Stage at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to the recent Bach competition results, Cais music career continues to roar. Her record of awards across both piano and harpsichord, concert appearances across continents, the specialized hands-on work with historical instruments, and her profound dedication to music education trace a sustained professional life in todays classical music realm. She has established herself as a musician of high professional distinction in the field. The 2026 Bach International Music Competition results are therefore not an isolated breakthrough, but a recent confirmation of work developed over many years: solo piano and harpsichord craftsmanship, music collaboration skill, music cultures and literatures in the past, and the ability to pass these knowledges to the younger musicians. Rather than treating the piano and harpsichord as competing identities, Cai uses their differences to push audiences to hear Bachand the keyboard itselfwith greater clarity, detail, and imagination.
