British pianist tours China

Pianist Sir Stephen Hough made his debut during the Beijing Music Festival with a recital on Oct 12, featuring music pieces, including Scriabin's Fifth Piano Sonata, Debussy's Estampes and Liszt's Dante Sonata.

As a composer himself, the pianist also played his own composition, Partita.

The Beijing concert kicked off a three-week-long China tour of the pianist, which brings him to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai.

On Oct 29, he will return to the capital with a recital at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing by performing with China Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Yu Long.

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3 and No 1, Liszt's Three Petrarch Sonnets and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 3, are among the programs.

The British pianist wears different hats. Besides being a pianist, he is also a composer, a writer and painter. He has won global acclaim for his outstanding interpretations of the piano repertoire.

"I loved writing when I was a child. It was natural for me to write," said Hough in Beijing. "I listened to different genres of music and my parents, neither of whom knew anything about music, allowed me to grow with many interests. I was not a good student in terms of school scores. I am glad that my parents just let me explore and experiment, which made me who I am today."

Hough began piano lessons at the age of 5. As he recalls, he wanted to play and write music all day. He has been composing since he first started learning the piano.

Hough has made more than 70 CDs, including the highly acclaimed set of Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos, recorded live with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Now he is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music and also a member of the faculty at The Juilliard School.