Young pianist to celebrate homecoming at Opera House

Home sweet home: Pianist Trinh Mai Trang is returning after eight years abroad and will perform at the Ha Noi Opera House. — File Photo

"When I came back, I was told that my music might be difficult for audiences to understand," said Trang. "The thought of that scared me. So, I wanted to put together a concert to show people that piano and classical music are not alien."

The programme she selected will include pieces by Mendelssohn, Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Debussy, each chosen to express the emotions of different stages in a man's life.

For an artist, Trang said, the most painful thing was not finding the sympathy of her audience, so she thought of new ways to make her music accessible. There, her concert will be accompanied by elements from other media, including film and photographs that Trang hopes would help bring her music closer to the audience.

"I will perform with my heart and I expect that the audience will open their minds and hearts," she said.

Trang is also celebrating her recovery from an injury in 2009 that temporarily prevented her from playing piano. She wasn't allowed to touch the piano keys and felt a door had closed in front of her eyes. But, with an unstoppable passion for music, she placed a mirror beside her piano and played on the imaginary keys reflected in the mirror.

As her hands recovered, she had to resume practicing as if she were a beginner.

Trang was born in 1986 and began her musical training at the age of four. She received a scholarship to study at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London in 2004. As a soloist, Trang has won many awards, including the top prize at the Paganini Festival, second prize in the Beethoven Competition in London, and the Jacque Samuel Competition's Mozart Prize. She has also performed in festivals in Austria, Italy, the UK, Hungary and Spain. — VNS