Keying into success

Wang Xiaohan, a veteran pianist and teacher at Tianjin Juilliard, says it takes courage to find one's own voice when playing the piano.

Pianists should be able to bring creative ideas and approaches to the music they perform while staying loyal to the intentions of composers.

"Why does an audience pay for a ticket to watch a pianist's performance? When you are seated in a concert hall to witness a piano performance, the fulfilling and heartwarming experience is a great feeling. The pianist is skilled and the actual tune of the piece needs to be maintained and must reach the listeners ears. The pianist intrigues the audience with a playing style and creates a unique artistic presence and ambience," says Wang, a prizewinner of international music competitions such as the ARD International Music Competition and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

He now chairs pre-college piano studies at Tianjin Juilliard.

Wang looked for such qualities in pianists before he co-initiated the inaugural Tianjin Juilliard Piano Festival, which will be held in Binhai, a coastal area in Tianjin, where the school is located, from July 30 to Aug 13. The festival, organized by the school, will have master classes, workshops, lectures, concerts and public events.

Applicants — young artists and junior participants — will have the opportunity to perform concertos with orchestras and prominent conductors.

Wang, along with Yoheved Kaplinsky, the well-known pianist who is currently the chair of the piano department at the Juilliard School in New York, will serve as co-artistic director of the piano festival in Tianjin.

"We have been discussing the idea of holding the piano festival for several years," says He Wei, CEO and artistic director of Tianjin Juilliard.

"Since we are music educators, our intention is to provide participants with invaluable experience, working alongside internationally renowned pianists and teachers.

"It's our mission to develop talented young musicians as artist citizens and to bridge cultures through music," He adds.

"Our school opened amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a longtime wish for us to welcome people living in Binhai and outside the area to visit our campus and enjoy music. This piano festival will be a great celebration of music this summer."