Concert is triumph of technique

The Poem of Ecstasy, a concert by the China National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Lin Daye, was staged at Beijing Concert Hall on Saturday.

Marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the concert featured pianist Luo Wei, playing the Russian pianist and composer's Piano Concerto No 3 in D Minor, Op 30.

This concerto, famously known as one of the most difficult and physically demanding works for pianists, premiered in 1909 in New York with the composer as soloist.

"I broke my piano strings many times when I practiced this piano concerto, which stands as the ultimate challenge for pianists," says Luo, 24, referring to the piano concerto's technical demands, titanic scale and emotional richness.

"For the audience, it's also an emotional experience because this piano concerto has about 45 minutes duration and showcases a full command of the instrument," the pianist adds. "I spent a long time working on how to build up the emotion through my interpretation. It not only requires solid technique but also brings fire and passion to a performance."

Born and raised in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Luo started to learn to play piano at the age of 5 and gave her debut recital in Hong Kong when she was 6. A winner of numerous competitions in China, she also claimed first prize in the 11th Chopin International Competition for Young Pianists in Poland and the 2nd Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Frankfurt, both in 2010. In 2012, at age 13, she was accepted to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied with Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald.

At 16, Luo was signed by Decca Gold, a label of the Universal Music Group, and in 2019, she released her eponymous debut album, featuring music by Maurice Ravel, Dmitri Shostakovich, Joseph Haydn, and Sergey Prokofiev.

This summer, Luo released her latest album, Gazing, featuring music works, such as Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz's Iberia, Book I (T 105), and Russian composer Mily Balakirev's Islamey, Oriental Fantasy. In support of this new album, she has launched a nationwide tour.