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Hong Kong Standard March 5 1999
To be remembered as a composer
Posterity: Tian Jiang would like to be thought of, as Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev are, as an outstanding pianist – and composer – of his time. By Sernice Chan
HIS fingers seem to float lightly over the piano keys but the sound they create is grand enough to make you sit up and take notice.
The 34-year-old was in Hong Kong for a brief stay. Jiang admits to being a showman who enjoys performing in front of crowds. "The magic starts when I walk onto the stage," he says. "The show doesn’t start when you play. The way you look at the audience is also an art. "I don’t like playing to a small audience; the more the better." Then he adds with a smile: "As soon as I start playing, the audience disappears."
Born in Shanghai during the turbulent 1960s, Jiang started playing the piano at age four, thanks to the encouragement of his Western opera singer father and his dentist mother.
"She had always wanted to become a concert pianist, and so this was instilled in me from the very beginning," the pianist says. He remembers having to make friends with his neighbors and play the piano very quietly out of fear that someone might report him to the authorities, who had banned Western influences during the Cultural Revolution.
When he was 11, his parents sent him to study at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, a period in his life which he describes as memorable. "The school was out in the countryside where there were trees and rivers," he recalls. "That scene helped me use my imagination and it is the basis of my composition Shanghai Dream."
His first public performance was at age 13 during the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival.
"The stage was so large that it took me one minute to walk to the piano. I played in front of 20,000 people. It was exciting and nerve-racking at the same time."
That led to his first trip to the United States in 1981, when as a 16-year-old he represented the mainland in a cultural exchange program. The next year he took part in a competition in Los Angeles and won first prize.
In 1983, shortly after he returned to the mainland to finish his studies, he won the National Piano Competition. The feat gave him the opportunity to go to New York to study at the Manhattan School of’Music and the famous Julliard institution.
Jiang’s lucky streak continued and he won 10 more intentional and all-China competitions between 1985 and 1992. But his big break came in 1989 after his debut in Carnegie Hall.
He later performed on CBS’ This Morning with Paula Zahn from then on has dazzled audiences around the world.
The pianist, who was in Shanghai recently to perform for his hometown, paid a whirlwind visit to Hong Kong before proceeding on a two-week tour of California. He is expected to be back in New York later this month.
Performing comes naturally to Jiang who also enjoys composing his brand of music.
"The melody comes easily to me. When I play the melody I can create a beautiful phrase to form a mature composition."
When asked about his source of inspiration, he brightens up: "It’s a culmination of experiences, living in China, the West, life experiences, happiness, disappointment, struggle, success, love – you have to be honest with your own feelings."
Jiang’s CD Shanghai Dream, which was released this year in Hong Kong, is easy to listen to. "I have a grounding in traditional classical harmony, whereas thc melody is from my imagination. It is unique because it has an Eastern influence ... You can call it contemporary classical music, or classical crossover." He would like to perform more of his own works.
"Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev were pianists and composers," he says. "They were known as pianists first and after they died, people couldn’t listen to them any more so they became famous for their compositions."
Without saying it, Jiang hopes to emulate his predecessors and to be remembered not only for his brilliance at the keyboard, but also for his fusion of East and West – a statement of his life and ideas.