Young pianist draws inspiration from Rachmaninoff
In 1897, Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff ’s Symphony No. 1 in D Minor was poorly received at its premier in St. Petersburg. The critical failure, as well as his relationship problems, made the composer doubt himself.
Over the following three years, Rachmaninoff wrote little or no music and fell into deep depression.
However, assisted by psychiatrist, Nikolay Dahl, his family and friends, the composer made a comeback with his Piano Concerto No. 2, which he dedicated to Dahl.
Rachmaninoff performed it in 1900 and 1901 where he played as soloist.
“This piece was a special one for the composer, and is one of my favorites,” says Chinese-Canadian pianist Zhang Haotian in Beijing.
On Dec 17, he will play Rachmaninoff ’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 III. Allegro scherzando, along with Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of British conducSeparately, tor James Judd, at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
It will be the first collaboration between the 24-year-old pianist and the orchestra, whose history goes back to 1701.
“I sent a concerto list to the conductor to discuss which one we were going to perform and I am glad that he chose this piece,” says Zhang, adding that he once performed the piece at the Lincoln Center when he was 16 during a school competition by Mannes College of Music, where he studied from 2008 to 2013.
at the end of December, the pianist will give a solo recital at Steinway Hall in Beijing.
The pianist, who was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, migrated to Canada with his family when he was 7.
Zhang was introduced to music by his mother, who studied music at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and started learning piano when he was 5 years old.
“I was not very interested in piano in the beginning because I had to practice for hours and couldn’t go out to play sports games with friends,” says Zhang.
But it was his teacher, Canadian pianist Sasha Starcevich, who Zhang studied with from 10 years old, that got the musical prodigy interested in his instrument.
“When I first played the waltz, I couldn’t understand it. Then my teacher would dance for me in the class,” says Zhang.
Like many young music learners, Zhang participated in and won many competitions, including the first prize at the Canadian Music Competition in 2006, the first prize at the 13th Annual Music Man Festival Piano Concerto Competition in Canada and the first prize at the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival in 2007.
At the age of 15, he was enrolled to study at Mannes College of Music in New York with a full scholarship.
In 2014, he obtained a master’s degree from the Royal Music College, and was awarded the title of Young Steinway Artist.
About a year and a half ago, Zhang returned to his home country to launch his music career by embarking on a 20-city tour across China.
The same year, he performed at Chinese universities, including at Tsinghua University’s Chopin: Magic Piano concert.
In 2016, he toured five cities, including Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou.
Though classically trained, Zhang is open to a variety of music styles, such as jazz and electronic music.
What he aims to do is to compose his own pieces and perform onstage, just like Rachmaninoff.
I was not very interested in piano in the beginning because I had to practice for hours and couldn’t go out to play sports games with friends.” Zhang Haotian,