Are we at the beginning of a second golden age for the piano? It’s entirely probable, given that China has about 40 million children learning to play the instrument right now.
Three of the world’s most popular pianists are from China: the ebullient Lang Lang, the enigmatic Yundi, and dynamo-in-a-minidress Yuja Wang.
The BBC’s Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore tries to answer a few questions about what underlies the generation-old explosion of piano playing in a feature article here.
The issue of piano’s future comes down to what playing the instrument means. If it is seen as a ticket to international superstardom, today’s kids are in for huge disappointment tomorrow.
But if these kids actually end up loving music because of their lessons, then the future is brighter for everyone.
Or, as Keng Zhou, the dean of the piano academy at the Shanghai Conservatory told Sebag-Montefiore: “I think it is a very great, very bright future. Before [parents] wanted their kids to become Lang Lang or Yundi, to become a superstar. Parents have started to change this idea. Now they want their kids to just know classical music and to have the piano accompany their whole life. I hope more and more kids can love to play from their hearts.”
John Terauds