From Belgium, with love

Belgian self-confessed sports fan and pianist Jean-Francois Maljean has released a piano piece to commemorate the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which kicked off with a grand opening ceremony held at the National Stadium on Feb 4.

Titled For Beijing Olympics, the piano piece, which is about 3 minutes, was commissioned by the Chinese embassy in Belgium, with the aim of celebrating Chinese New Year and to welcome the Winter Olympics.

"I loved the idea of composing a musical piece for this spectacular winter gathering. I am very glad that the Winter Olympics can happen, even when the situation (COVID-19 pandemic) is still a bit problematic. Congratulations to China for presenting this event," says the pianist, adding that he is a big fan of sports, such as running, swimming, football and table tennis.

He had planned to compose a song and English author Robert Murray, the pianist's friend, even started to write the lyrics about the Olympic Games. However, due to the short time, Maljean ended up just composing a piano piece, which was later released in the form of a music video featuring images of winter sports.

"I think that a piano piece works even better than a song. Since winter sports mainly give an impression of speed, I composed a mostly very fast piece, though there are some slower moments. And it works very well," says Maljean, 68, who recorded the piece at his own studio in Belgium.

Beijing is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. In 2008, when Beijing held the Summer Olympics, Maljean recalls that he visited the capital and spent some time in China, where he was featured in a documentary for Belgian television. He traveled to many places in China, including Changchun in Jilin province, Guizhou province and Shanghai, and landed in Beijing to visit Olympic sites.

Born in Verviers, Belgium, Maljean started to learn the piano at age 6. At about 12, the classically trained pianist became interested in a diverse range of musical genres, especially pop music like that of The Beatles. He went to the United States to learn jazz at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and, when he returned to Belgium, the pianist, then 23, eventually launched a career as a professional musician.

Maljean initially started studying medicine following the advice of his parents, but, after two years, he quit to concentrate on music, "which has been my true passion since childhood", he says.

The musician visited China for the first time in 2002 and has been a frequent visitor since then. His music, as he describes it, is full of hope and peace. He has recorded a number of piano solo albums and instrumental albums, most of which have been released in China.

The pianist also combines musical elements of Chinese ethnic groups with his original materials.

For example, he traveled to Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, and North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, to experience local music.

In early 2020, he wrote a song, titled Chime of the Dawn Bells, which was performed by his daughter, Noemie, dedicated to China and its people and expressing his support for the country's fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. The song went viral and has accumulated 100 million views online. Beyond his expectations, Maljean received lots of messages from his friends in China. In the same year, he released an album, titled Chor, which was inspired by the warm feedback of the song, Chime of the Dawn Bells. The album saw Maljean combining Chinese bianzhong (chime bells) with piano. An image of the woodcut painting of Wuhan's landmark building, the Yellow Crane Tower, is featured on the album's cover, which is the work of Wuhan artist Li Fulu.

At the end of last year, when Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, faced a tough time fighting against a COVID-19 outbreak, Maljean composed a song, titled Frozen City, also performed by Noemie, paying tribute to frontline workers, and encouraging people to defeat the pandemic.

Maljean says he heard a lot about Xi'an, though he has never been to the ancient city.

"It's one of the few cities I have not visited in China. I have received an invitation from Xi'an to give a concert there. I hope that it will happen in March. I am missing China and my friends there so much."