Vienna Teng

She shares her name with the Austrian home of Mozart and Beethoven. And she herself studied classical piano from the age of five. But there's nothing old-world about the music of Vienna Teng, whose Zoë/Rounder Records debut brings to mind artists as diverse as Tori Amos, Simon & Garfunkel and Radiohead. At 27, Teng has already released two critically acclaimed independent albums, 2002's Waking Hour and 2004's Warm Strangers, which landed on three Billboard album charts and reached #2 on Amazon's best-seller list. She's appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and toured widely, opening for such artists as Shawn Colvin, Joan Osborne, Patty Griffin, Joan Baez and the Indigo Girls. Before all that, in another life, Teng was a Stanford University computer science graduate who worked at Cisco Systems as a software engineer. Not a typical background for a musician. But that was then, this is now. These days, Teng is a rising star, winning accolades as much for her soprano ("smooth and sophisticated," says the Washington Times) as for her lyrics ("smart and introspective," observes the Philadelphia Daily News). Meanwhile, the San Jose Mercury News calls Teng "a child of Chopin and Sarah McLachlan." With songs as powerful as the stirring folk ballad "Whatever You Want" and the gorgeous, string-laden "Now Three," it's easy to see why. Chamber folk or classically-influenced pop, Vienna Teng's music is simply one of the most enchanting new sounds around.