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Pianist offers sage advice
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Song Yingwen
LOCAL piano wonder Li Yundi not only made Shenzhen proud by winning the prestigious Chopin Piano Competition last year; he also sparked a passion in the city for classical music, especially as interpreted by international soloists. Among these is Deng Thai Son, who was the first Asian winner of the Chopin competition back in 1980.
This talented and captivating Vietnamese recently spoke to Shenzhen Daily while he visited the city as part of his tour of China, which includes Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
“To hold piano concerts in China has always been my dream. But I couldn't find a proper channel to arrange concerts in China until I met a Chinese friend last year at the Chopin Piano Competition,” Deng said after his concert at the Shenzhen Grand Theatre on Monday.
Deng has a very high opinion of his young colleague Li Yundi: “Li is a very talented young man of rich experience in performing. His interpretation of Chopin during the contest showed that he is a pianist of high professional level,” Deng remarked.
After several private meetings with Li, Deng said that he found the lad to be very clever as well. “I understand that he's decided to go abroad to further his study in music. It's a very wise decision,” he said.
Actually, Deng himself offered Li advice on his future. “I wasted a lot of time on publicity and attending concerts after winning the prize 20 years ago because there was no one around who could provide me proper guidance. I don't want to see young talents repeating my mistakes.”
According to Deng, Li is much luckier than himself. Born in Vietnam during the war, Deng didn't have a good environment for learning music even though he was born into a musical family. “We don't have pianos or textbooks. I spent most of my childhood listening to masterpieces and learning them by heart,” Deng said. But he claimed that this experience was vital for his winning the prize and establishing his fame for his accurate understanding of the deep beauty of music: “I learned to play music with my heart,” he said.
When asked to give advice to parents who eagerly want their children to copy Li Yundi's success, Deng smiled: “Children shouldn't be forced to accept music. Instead they should be taught to appreciate music with their heart. Talent is the most important thing that makes one a successful pianist.”
Deng left Shenzhen for Fuzhou, his last stop in China, yesterday.
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