Boost for young musicians

German youngsters perform at the Beijing concert. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

A concert gala of the second China Youth Music Competition, based on the format of a contest in Germany, has just been staged in Beijing. Chen Nan reports.

When he finished playing Claude Debussy's Toccata from Pour le Piano at a concert gala recently, 11-year-old Jiang Yicheng stood up and bowed to the audience, who gave him a long and warm round of applause.

"I enjoy playing the piano and I like playing with other musicians," says Jiang, who also performed Camille Saint-Saens' Oboe Sonata in D Major, Op 166, along with 12-year-old oboist Zhi Yi.

Jiang, a Beijing native born to parents who are athletes, started learning the piano when he was about 6 years old.

He was introduced to music by his grandfather, who was a big fan of Taiwan pop star Teresa Teng.

Three years ago, the boy started learning piano with renowned pianist and educator Li Qifang.

Jiang recently won three first prizes－one for solo piano performance and two for chamber music (stringed and wind instruments)－and the second prize for piano duet performance at the second China Youth Music Competition.

The competition's Hummingbird Music Award－which was also awarded to other prize winners－was presented to him at a concert gala at the Pudu Temple, a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) site, in Beijing on Sunday.