Yibai Chen (born 2001, Chinese: 陈亦柏) is a Chinese cellist based in Berlin who has established himself as one of the most compelling young soloists of his generation. He took second prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2022, having previously won prizes at the Lutosławski (2018), Enescu (2018) and Tchaikovsky (2019) competitions. He studied under Professor Danjulo Ishizaka at the Universität der Künste Berlin and the Music Academy Basel, where he now serves as Ishizaka's teaching assistant. He performs on a Giuseppe Guadagnini cello (c. 1780), on loan from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben Hamburg.
Yibai Chen was selected as a BBC New Generation Artist for the period 2026-2028 and from September 2026 will perform with BBC orchestras throughout Great Britain.
Classic FM agency included Yibai Chen among its Rising Stars of 2026.
Live recordings from a concert in November 2024, at which Chen performed with violinist Lisa Rieder and pianist Alessandro Tardinem, were released.
Chen performed both Shostakovich cello concertos over two evenings with the China NCPA orchestra and conductor Lawrence Fosterem in Beijing.
Yibai Chen joined the Only Stage Management agency.
