Following a well-received solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall in February of last year, concert pianist Tian Jiaxin will again join the ranks of world-class musicians with a performance at Lincoln Center on Feb 8.

"The most pleasure I can have as a teacher is to meet someone like Jiaxin, as a very talented young pianist, and to now see her grow into a fine young artist," said Jeffrey Cohen, Tian's teacher at the Manhattan School of Music. "She has lots of determination, as far as her work ethic. She worked so hard to get herself to this level."

Tian's 2013 performance with the MSM Orchestra under Philippe Entremont received a glowing review from The New York Times: "Ms Tian mirrored the ensemble's passion and energetic commitment," the newspaper reported.

This year, Tian will play Mozart, Chopin, Liszt and the Chinese Composer Zhang Shuai. One of the pieces will be a repeat from her previous performance: Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K.310 by Mozart).

"She is growing. She went to different places, she sees things differently," Cohen said. "Even if she will play the same piece, she won't play it in the same way."

At a press conference on Jan 27, Tian said that the piece that has always been most difficult for her is Chopin's Sonata No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.35 The piece features four chapters with entirely different tenors.

"It requires artist present four kinds of emotion smoothly," she said. "The hardest part is when you start play, you can not stop in the middle, or your emotion flow would hardly be smooth."

She attributed Entremont, who she met at MSM in 2012 while she was pursuing a Professional Studies degree, for inspiring her to continue working with the piece.

"I was so lucky to meet Philippe Entremont again while he traveled to New York in last October. I played this piece for him. He inspired me and taught me how to express my emotion."

Tian will also play Shuai's Three Preludes in honor of the Chinese New Year.

"This piece combines traditional Chinese melody with a Western instrument," Tian said. "I think the collision will be interesting. Also, this piece is my gift for the Chinese New Year."

haidanhu12@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 01/31/2014 page3)