Sun Yingdi: 'It's not about technique, but taste'

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"I don't understand why some pianists want to play extra-loud or extra-fast," Sun Yingdi said during an informal lunch in Jakarta last week. "Playing piano is not about technique; it's about taste."

"Technique should be a way to support the playing, because when people listen they stop noticing the technique," he added.

Some might argue with that but, clearly, this approach was one of the reasons why Yingdi, 25, won the 7th prestigious Frans Liszt competition in April, outdoing Russian Anton Salnikov and Dutchman Christiaan Kuyvenhoven.

Since clinching first prize at the competition in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Shanghai-born Yingdi has gained international attention.

The Liszt prize has also given him a tight schedule of dozens of performances from 2005 to 2007 around the world, including to European countries, Indonesia, China and the United States.

In Indonesia, he is performing in Surabaya, Surakarta and Yogyakarta, with a final concert at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on July 11.

Besides worldwide fame, and more concerts and travel, what else did the victory give him?

"I guess I'll make more money than I did before," Yingdi replied, adding that he previously earned money from teaching piano, among other things.

When he is not traveling, Yingdi lives in an apartment in Shanghai.

"What's Jakarta population?" Yingdi asked before he proudly told other diners about his hometown.

"Shanghai has 17 million, two or three million of whom are immigrants, and another two million are foreigners ... Shanghai people are open-minded," he said.

Obviously, without being asked, Yingdi would happily tell anybody about Shanghai: It is divided into two by a river, earns the greatest revenue of all cities throughout the People's Republic of China, has been China's trade hub for a long time, is China's safest place for foreigners and, of course, a bustling city where his music school is located.

"The Shanghai Conservatory (of Music) has been ranked fifth of conservatories around the world," he said in fluent English. "Beijing Central Conservatory is also doing equally well, but Shanghai is better known."

Although seemingly attached to his hometown, Yingdi also represents a globalized generation, of which Shanghai is the country's hub. He likes to go to bars in Shanghai, drinking beer; he smokes popular Western brands of cigarettes but never takes off a Chinese crystal necklace his girlfriend in Shanghai gave him.

"The gemstone has a calming effect," he said.

That he is a Chinese playing Western classical music has never been a problem for him.

"I never really pay that much attention to the issue," he said. "I grew up listening to classical music my father played. It is in my blood. Of course, I sometimes listen to Chinese traditional music," Yingdi said.

Playing the piano since the age of three, Sun Yingdi was born into a family that had no musicians: Both his parents are employees in private companies.

At school age Yingdi enrolled in a primary school that was affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory; therefore, Yingdi was able to enter the conservatory directly, where he is now finishing his masters degree.

At a relatively young age he won various prizes in China, including a third prize at the 2nd National Piano Competition "Golden Bell Award".

"Press reviews about my performance usually say I'm a stable, good and professional pianist," Yingdi said.

"You know classical music is all about the art of control. You simply follow the score -- you have limited space," he said. "But you can still find a way to explore -- some personality."

"I spend a lot of time reading about the history of compositions. Before playing the Liszt B Minor (sonata) for the competition, I read Faust's poem several times, because the piece is about it" Yingdi said.

He said he needed to understand the situation and the emotion evolved when a piece was composed.

"Interpreting Beethoven is rather easy compared with Brahms because Brahms hid his feelings," he added.

"Oh, I read a lot. I sometimes buy books on the Internet, or browse the Internet for materials," he said.

So, it was not surprising when he received rave reviews from the Netherlands press for his performance in the final of the Liszt competition. Some of the reviews praised in particular his interpretation of the Liszt work and his overall performance, rather than his technique.

As Yingdi says, it is all about taste, not technique.