Rueibin Chen, renowned Chinese-Austrian pianist, performed a Rachmaninoff piece, "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," in Beijing on April 24, showcasing his world-class skills flared with classical Russian touch.
The pianist played with the China National Symphony Orchestra at the National Center for the Performing Arts. With his passionate performance, Chen was able to captivate the hearts of his audience.
Chen is the only Asian student of the legendary Russian pianist Lazar Berman. Berman was a student of Alexander Goldenweiser, a classmate and friend of Rachmaninoff.
Chen hails from Tainan and was born to a family of an elementary school music instructor. He first went to Austria to study when he was only 13 years old.
In 1984, the pianist won the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition in Italy, becoming the youngest person to receive the tilt.
Chen's piece during the April 24 show was one of the most famous works by Rachmaninoff. The 1980 film "Somewhere in Time" popularized the 18th variation of the rhapsody's melody.
One of the movie's stars, Jane Seymour, was part of the crowd who watched Chen's performance back in Los Angeles.
According to a China Network Television report, Chen stated that "the piece has so many different levels you can savor--passion, as well as serenity," adding that the rhapsody was Rachmaninoff's "most representative work."
The Chinese-Austrian talent played his own version of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 for an encore. He said that he performed the encore to mirror Rachmaninoff's work, making the whole of his performance "100% Russian."
Chen further shared that his performance was a tribute to his mentor, Lazar Berman, and to other Russian music instructors.