Bao Huiqiao Listens to Her Peers--An Interview with Piano Artists from China and Around the World

Author: Bao Huiqiao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Talking about the origin of this interview collection, Bao Huiqiao says, "It was purely an accidental opportunity." In 1999, she wrote several articles introducing pianists for a magazine. The editor was impressed, and her colleagues encouraged and supported her, so she decided to continue writing. Although she was an "amateur interviewer," she didn’t deliberately set interviewees or questions, just using opportunities to interact with fellow musicians. However, her "love and understanding of the career made every interview go smoothly." When she suddenly realized she had written so many, compiling them into a book seemed natural.
A Record of a Deep Friendship: The interview collection includes conversations between Bao Huiqiao and 30 piano masters about the art of piano. She believes, "This isn’t just an interview, but more like an exchange between colleagues." For example, when interviewing Liu Shikun, they talked non-stop for five hours. Liu Shikun even spontaneously played piano, making the interview feel more like a discussion between old friends. "I learned a lot from them," Bao Huiqiao often emphasizes "learning." She says, in these exchanges, her colleagues often open her professional perspective more broadly. Moreover, the "rich, mature, and profound" personal charisma demonstrated by these masters has benefited her greatly.
Editing this book, she reviewed the interview records six times, "Every time, I gained new insights."
A Autobiography After Twenty Years: Bao Huiqiao began learning the piano at the age of 13 and won numerous awards in domestic and international competitions. Her tumultuous love story with her ex-husband, Zhuang Zedong, once attracted much attention. Her piano career and life experiences are enough to fill an "autobiography." After listening to so many colleagues, has she considered letting others listen to her? Bao Huiqiao says she only published an autobiographical article titled A Smile with Tears in the People magazine in 1987. As for a "full-length autobiography," she has no plans for it in the short term. "For me personally, reminiscence represents aging. I still have many things ahead of me and don’t have time to look back. Perhaps twenty years from now, I might consider writing one."
Today, Bao Huiqiao is busy with performances, judging, piano education, and sales, while continuing to "listen" to her colleagues. These seemingly scattered tasks all revolve around the piano, which has become an integral part of her life. She says, "The piano is the center of my life."
This is an interview collection by renowned pianist Bao Huiqiao, with a preface by the legendary Chinese pianist Zhou Guangren. The book features interviews with 30 famous pianists, performers, and professors from around the world, accompanied by over 130 photographs. It includes interviews with Li Yundi, who won the th prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition, and his mentor, Dan Zhaoyi. In particular, the interview with the piano master Liu Shikun is particularly rich and engaging. The masters share the essence of teaching, learning, performing, being a pianist, being a musician, being an artist, and being a person. It is indeed a rare and highly interesting treasure.