The name Wang Jian may not be as widely known as that of Yo-Yo Ma, but that is slowly changing for the talented cellist. Reporter Susan Zheng profiles the Shanghai native who recently captivated an appreciative hometown audience during his performance with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Wang Jian may be considered a strange bird according to the Chinese proverb "A prodigy may not grow into a full-grown talent." The statement reflects suspicion on any child saddled with the label.
In 1979, Seiji Ozawa, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, called the then 10-year-old Wang a "world-class" cellist after watching his performance. Two years later, the boy was widely known as a "Chinese cello prodigy" after appearing in Murray Lerner's documentary "From Mao to Mozart," an Oscar-winning documentary chronicled violinist Isaac Stern's 1979 visit to China.
While many young talents fall prey to early fame, Wang has instead reveled in it. He turned to Deutsche Grammophone for support and recorded six albums with the German label, two of which were nominated for Grammy Awards in 1996 and 2002.
Recently, the 35-year-old cellist enthralled a local audience with his playing of Antonin Dvorak's "Cello Concerto in B Minor" backed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The crowd was so appreciative of his emotionally-charged performance that he had to answer the six curtain calls with two encores.
Chen Xieyang, the renowned conductor who attended the concert, says that Wang is maturing and he pulled off Dvorak's work splendidly. Yu Long, the concert's conductor, agreed saying Wang is a "cello artist," far above "being just a good cellist."
Off stage, Wang remains surprisingly humble and shy, talking in a quiet, mild manner, not revealing a bit superciliousness usually seen in genius. But something belies his confidence: He never mentions the pressure brought on him by childhood fame. Instead, he says that he is very lucky to have been known at an early age.
"Concerns help me get a lot of opportunities. I am lucky to grow freely, I mean, free like a tree, not a bonsai," Wang says.
His unaffected manner in personality and performance can be traced back to childhood education by his cellist father Wang Shutang. At three, Wang junior moved to Shanghai from Xi'an with his father and started to learn the cello.
"He played children's' songs on cello which made it easy and interesting for me to follow," recalls Wang. His father's step-by-step teaching approach fostered Wang's down-to-earth personality.
Although he is currently playing on a costly 400-year-old Amati cello, Wang reminisces about his first cello which a carpenter fashioned after his father's. It remained unpainted when he played it in the entrance exam to the primary school affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
"I admit that good strings can give out sound that ordinary strings can't, but after all they are just instruments. No matter how great a single sound is, it is not music. Music is the continuation of sound and concerns its proportion and symmetry."
With a sensitive instinct for music, Wang was very unique among his peers and was often sent to perform with "distinguished foreign guests" in 1970s. When Ozawa's generous praise of Wang was released in a local newspaper, Wang's father, like many other parents, warned him not to get drunk on the applause. "Actually, he always tells me that I should have my own judgment. Whether it is praise or criticism, I am still me," Wang says gratefully.
Such views account for much of Wang's implicit confidence and his insistence to his "wrong posture."
His arm is a bit tilted in pulling the bow, which was considered unorthodox and some teachers told him to correct. He never did.
"At that time, Western classical music was still very strange to us. Some people thought it was so serious that we should be very cautious not to break a rule. But music is something that unleashes inner emotions. It's not just rules, right?" he asks.
With his odd posture, Wang was nevertheless appreciated by many visiting musicians, among them Stern, himself a concert violinist prodigy.
"We didn't know that they were making a film about us. The cameras still make me a bit nervous," Wang says.
In the last 15 minutes of the documentary, Wang was filmed earnestly playing cello for Stern and other guests. The film gained "world recognition," making him a star in classical circles. At the age of 13, he toured the United States, giving 57 concerts in two months. Lam Sau-wing, a music enthusiast and entrepreneur in the United States, saw the film and proposed to help Wang further his studies. At the age of 16, Wang chose to study with renowned cello teacher Aldo Parisot at Yale. "Parisot is a wonderful and experienced teacher. He had so much to teach me from his rich stage experience. He taught me not to lose my way," Wang says.
After three years at the famed university, Wang moved to New York to continue his studies at the equally-famous Julliard School.
In 1994, Wang formed a group with pianist Maria Joao Pires and violinist Augustin Dumay. The trio performed in some of the most prestigious chamber music series, such as Paris's Champs Elysees Theater, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Wigmore Hall in London.
The trio's album, "Brahms's Piano Trios No. 1 and No. 2," released in 1996, earned Wang his first Grammy nomination. In addition, he has also performed with many of the world's leading orchestras.
In 2000, Wang recorded "Messiaen's Quartet for the 'End of Time'." The album resulted in his second Grammy nomination. "I would be much honored if I got the award, but it's just an award. The thing is Georg Solti won over 20 Grammy Awards, much more than Herbert von Karajan did. But no one can say Solti was greater than Karajan for more awards," says Wang.
The 14-time Grammy winner Yo-Yo Ma is the cellist that Wang is compared to most. When asked about their differences in style, he thinks for a while. "He plays with a great variety of color and humor, while mine is ... I don't know how to say ... lyric?"
"Lyric" is among the most frequent words critics write about Wang. Though his performances brims with passion, it's easy to notice he never overly indulges himself but instead reins his musical sensibility so well that it moves audiences.
"I think I am really lucky to receive basic education in China, have further studies in the United States and now live in Europe," says the London-based Wang. "I got solid basic skills from stringent Chinese teachers and America's open character inspired me to be more outward in performing, while Europe's artistic atmosphere deepened my understanding in music.
(eastday.com April 2, 2003)
