Canadian Pianist Performs Chopin: China Shanghai Int'l Arts Festival spring program in full swing

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02:07

Canadian pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin has performed a Chopin recital at He Luting Concert Hall in Shanghai. The show was part of the 2nd China Shanghai International Arts Festival's spring program that will run until June 14th. Huang Yuanqing reports.

Performing in Shanghai for the first time, Hamelin played more than 10 Chopin songs, including "Nocturne No. 20 in C Sharp Minor", "Four Impromptus" and "Four Ballades" to give the audience a taste of the late composer's style.

CHARLES RICHARD-HAMELIN PIANIST "Well I want to remain true to the intentions of Chopin, of course. I think that's the main thing. I'm just the vessel, vehicle for the music of Chopin. But I think what people will get from it is how much I love it because his music speaks to me in a very deep and personal way and I look forward to sharing that with the audience here."

Hamelin was a silver medalist and laureate of the Krystian Zimerman award for the best sonata at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015. His solo concert was a part of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival's spring program, which is an extension of the "Rising Art Works" program. Established in 2017, the idea is to give more opportunities to emerging artists.

CAO JIANSHEN, GENERAL MANAGER SHANGHAI CULTURAL EXCHANGE AGENCY "I think art programs won't last long if they haven't experienced market competition, so we created this 'spring' program to showcase works that have a deep foundation in artistic skill that has also been warmly received by the public."

Attendance for the show was nearly 700, or 90 percent of the concert hall's capacity. Hamelin will now perform in Japan until the mid of June.