Sweet on Chopin

Hong Kong's 15-year-old Wong Wai Yin will make her Israeli debut playing the concerto that earned her a handful of international awards.

By MAXIM REIDER
piano playing 88 224 (photo credit: Courtesy )
piano playing 88 224
(photo credit: Courtesy )
Wong Wai Yin, a 15-year-old pianist from Hong Kong, is regarded as a rising star in the classical music world. She makes her Israeli debut next week at the opening concert of the New Haifa Symphony on October 26, playing Chopin's Concerto No 1. This piece holds a special place in the young musician's heart. Despite her age, Wong has already won numerous prizes in several important competitions. In April 2007, she became the youngest Gold Medal winner in the Intermediate Group of the VII International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz held in Ukraine. The jury members were so impressed with her playing of Chopin's concerto, which was lauded for its combination of sophistication and emotional sensitivity, that they gave her the "Young Talent" award - together with five Special Prizes, including Special Character and Creativity in Playing and Best Performance with Orchestra, plus an invitation to perform in the opening solo recital at the prestigious Newport International Festival in the US and a recital at Salle Alfred Cortot of Paris. Her other awards include the first prize at the 60th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, the third prize at the 10th Ettlingen International Piano Competition in Germany, the first prize in the Junior Group of the third Asian Youth Music Competition in Shanghai and the Gold Prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Japan in 2005. She also took the first prizes in the piano concerto categories at the Asia Piano Open Competition in Hong Kong. Speaking over the phone from her Hong Kong home, Wong said that she was not currently considering entering any new competitions, as she was far too busy performing in recitals and as a soloist with symphony orchestras throughout the US, Canada and Asia. She began playing piano at the tender age of four. "There already was a piano [in the house] - my parents love music and it could always be heard in our home." Her mother, who is not a professional musician, was her first teacher. "They said I have a talent for music and I should learn," she explained shyly. With her career already flourishing, she cannot imagine for herself any future other than being a professional musician. She equally enjoys playing solo parts in concertos, recitals and chamber music. Wong confided to The Jerusalem Post that Argentinean-born pianist Martha Argerich was her favorite musician, and that though she liked music written by various composers, she appreciated Chopin above all. Still, important as it is, music does not take up all her time. Wong likes writing and reading, both in Chinese and in English. Wong will perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 at a festive performance on October 26 at the Haifa Auditorium at 8:30 p.m. The program also features "Visions" for Flute, String Orchestra and Piano by Partos, with flutist Adi Menczel, and Symphony No. 5, by Prokofiev. Noam Sheriff conducts. Wong will also play the day before at Haifa's Krieger Center for the Performing Arts and on the 27th back at the Haifa Auditorium.