After two hours of exciting and intense rehearsals last Friday, Liwei Qin, 27-year-old Chinese-Australian cellist, looked tired.
But not surprisingly.
Since winning the Naumburg competition in America in 2001, his life has been one long whirl of performing, teaching and traveling.
"I enjoyed the rehearsal, but as soon as I arrive at my hotel I will fall sleep," he said.
Flying from London, with a brief stop in Shanghai, and arriving in Beijing that morning, Qin was in need of a good rest.
But the young cellist graciously agreed to be interviewed, saying he has adapted himself to a hectic schedule of frequent tours.
Qin, here for his second concert with the China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), divides his time between London, Shanghai, Australia and the United States.
"More and more I have realized that a cellist must be international, as each orchestra only invites one or two cellists a year as opposed to about five violinists and several pianists," he said.
Shanghai-born Qin moved to Australia with his family in 1989 where he accepted a scholarship to study with Ralph Kirschbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music in London in 1995.
Qin's list of musical achievements and accolades is long. He won the first prize in the 2001 Naumberg International Cello Competition and the Silver Medal in the 11th Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1998. In 1993 he was named ABC Young Musician of the Year and in 2001 BBC Young Musician of the Year.
Immediately after winning the Naumburg competition, he was offered a recital tour of the main US cities. The New York Times critic described his playing as having "a meltingly beautiful tone, flawlessly centered intonation and an ironclad technique."
But fame has not sullied Qin who remains level-headed and modest. Asked about the remarks by Paul Cutts in Strad magazine, who described Qin as "the most gifted young cellist I have heard," he said: "I did appreciate hearing that but it was praise for that one concert. Success of a single concert does not mean you are a good musician."
Qin is currently the youngest teacher at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music. He also gives lessons at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Experience of teaching benefits him a lot, although performing remains what he most loves to do.
"It's not so easy to express clearly to the students how to play, even though you can handle it well."
Qin is not only passing on to his students musical techniques, but also the philosophy behind being a musician and helping to guide them in their career moves.
"Music is far from just playing the score. Expressing your passion, merging your experience and understanding of life into you playing are more vital," he explained. "It's not all about music, it's the whole personality that permeates your music."
Although he has won many competitions, Qin said education should not be competition-orientated.
"It's good to learn some pieces in a limited time and play under great pressure, but competition just tests your achievement and talent at that particular time and in that situation. To some degree, whether you win or fail, it is up to the taste of juries," he said.
"So don't be too proud of winning a competition, neither too depressed by losing."
Countless concerts, coupled with teaching experience have combined to make Qin mature, not only in his music, but in his mind.
"I have been a much calmer person compared to my teenage years. When I first performed in Beijing five years ago, I was a young man full of dreams. I had ambitions to give 100 concerts a year, to be established in Australia, Europe, the United States, China and everywhere in the world. But now, although I will not say I have no dreams, I have realized the career is hard one.
"It's an embarrassing age. I am no longer a prodigy younger than 20, neither a master in his 40s or 50s, but I have to compete with them both. So, I try to avoid unhealthy competition. I compete with myself and face the competition at ease."
Although his rise in the past decade has been rapid, he is adamant that every young musician should progress at their own differing pace.
"I was lucky to meet great directors, get many opportunities, enter the right competitions and be encouraged by the audiences and critics, so I have developed smoothly. But it does not mean the next 20 or 30 years will be the same," he said.
Qin said he is always excited to be able to perform in his homeland of China. He recalled once in 1999 he played Elgar's cello concerto with a British orchestra under the baton of Chinese conductor Shao En in England. Several months later, he and Shao co-operated on the same work in Beijing but with a Chinese orchestra. During the second concert, he saw that Shao was in tears.
"Suddenly I felt something in my heart. Instead of performing with a British orchestra for the British audiences, the two of us were performing the same piece, but with our own orchestra and for Chinese audiences," said Qin.
"Ever since, I have been specially happy to perform in China. I wish my arms could be long enough to embrace the orchestra into one so as to present the best concert for the audiences at home," he said.
Compared to the violin or piano, the cello has less concertos, but Qin still tries for more variety in the range of works. In his last CD, he plays The Moon Reflected in the Second Spring, a traditional Chinese piece and The Moon Represents My Heart, rearranged from a pop song.
Next year he will play Alan Bush's new composition and Elegy (beige), a concerto by Yang Liqing, president of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music with an orchestra from Manchester, England.
(China Daily July 1, 2003)
