Chinese Piano Prodigy Makes Collaboration Debut with Philadelphia Orchestra

Piano Prodigy Makes Collaboration Debut with Philadelphia Orchestra

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Chinese piano prodigy Lang Lang, made his collaboration debut with one of the world's leading orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra, on its centennial celebration tour in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday evening.

The 18-year-old Chinese pianist was the soloist for Mendelssohn 's Piano Concerto No.1 under the direction of Munich-born master conductor Wolfgang Sawalisch.

Sawalisch said before the performance at a press conference, " Mendelssohn's work is very demanding for the soloist. But we're sure that this promising young man will be able to handle it well. "

Lang Lang expressed excitement about performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra and said he would go all out for tonight's performance.

The engrossed young pianist's passion and skill carried away the audience of some 10,000, who applauded ardently for an encore. Lang Lang played two extra performances including one adapted from a Chinese folk song and again received massive ovations.

Saw Aifong, a Singaporean music lover said that she was impressed by Lang Lang's ability to keep the fast piece smooth all the way.

May Zhou, a former visiting journalist at Philadelphia Inquirer in 1994, was delighted to meet the Philadelphia orchestra tonight as "an old friend after long departure." She said, "It's amazing that this wonder child showed himself to be an artist of such maturity and depth well beyond his years."

First prize winner of the Second Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition at the age of 13, Lang Lang was accepted in 1997 into the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he currently studies with Gary Graffman, the Director of the Institute.

The Philadelphia Orchestra visited China for first time in 1973, the first western orchestra to do so, and was dubbed as the " symphony ambassador" by both Chinese and American politicians.

Their fourth visit to China on Friday night also marked the last performance in the 40-day-long "Meet in Beijing" Arts Festival. Besides the collaboration with Lang Lang, the Orchestra also played Dvorak's Scherzo Capriccisoso and Thcikovsky's Symphony No.4.

The orchestra now leave for Shanghai and perform in the Shanghai Great Theater tomorrow.