Key Figures: Piano virtuoso Chen Sa hosts a master class with Keystone musical prodigies
A key figure in the Chinese music scene has graced the halls of Keystone Academy to deliver a rare session that enlightened the school’s young musicians. World-renowned piano virtuoso Chen Sa gave a special three-hour masterclass on November 4 (Friday) to three talented Keystone pianists Amy Wang (Grade 5), Christine Li (Grade 6), and Sean Chang (Grade 12).
Hailed as “one of the brightest performers of her generation” by the British independent national radio Classic FM, Ms. Chen guided the students as they performed piano pieces to a live audience at the Keystone East Lecture Hall and on the school’s official streaming channel on WeChat.
Organized by the Keystone Academy Performing Arts Center, this masterclass of a top-notch Chinese musician brought Keystone’s piano prodigies closer to the pinnacle of performing music with rousing emotions.
Ms. Chen is the latest influential personality who has participated in the Keystone Master Classes series. This important teaching tradition at Keystone brings authoritative people from different industries to an open classroom setting to share insights, wisdom, and expertise with students. Previous Master Class personalities include acclaimed writers and architects, award-winning film and theater directors, celebrated thespians and production specialists, Olympic champions, and more.
Throughout her career, Chen Sa has been praised for her poetic sensitivity and intimacy in performing, earning her critical acclaim and multiple awards. Industry experts describe her style as having a quality that “make[s] you feel lyrical beauty, but, at the same time, shows a volcanic underground and the enormous potential of [the feeling of] desperation in music”.
Ms. Chen is the only pianist in history to have been awarded in the top three international piano competitions around the world: Leeds (fourth place, 1996), Chopin (fourth place, 2000), and Van Cliburn (bronze in 2005). In 2009, Ms. Chen was named one of the “Top Ten Chinese Artists” by the French magazine L’Officiel. In the following year, the government of Poland issued to Ms. Chen the Frederic Chopin passport—a commemorative document bearing the signature of its namesake pianist and a note of “art citizenship”—for her unique interpretation of Chopin’s music in her studio albums and live performances in international competitions. In 2021, Ms. Chen marked another milestone as the youngest judge of the International Chopin Piano Competition.
As a chamber musician, Ms. Chen also performed with distinguished orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, to name a few, and renowned conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Yuri Simonov. Ms. Chen Sa has also served as a jury member in piano competitions since 2016: the 11th Sydney International Piano Competition (2016), the 61st Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition (2017), the 19th Leeds International Piano Competition (2018), and the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition (2021).
The masterclass opened with Amy Wang’s performance of a segment of Violin Sonata No. 2, composed by French pianist Maurice Ravel. Ms. Chen told her that the piece requires more detailed reading and imagination, in addition to paying attention to the changes in the rhythm between each musical line. Christine Li followed with Frederic Chopin’s fourth Mazurkas, Op. 17. Here, the sixth grader said her understanding of Chopin’s music went a step higher, thanks to Ms. Chen’s insights into the Polish pianist’s unique musicality and several aspects of performing such as finding the rhythm in voices and the “skeleton” of music. The session concluded with Sean Chang’s performance of Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F minor, where Ms. Chen guided the senior student to think about and apply the concept of an atmospheric performance to improve his understanding of Chopin’s repertoire.
For these young musicians, receiving one-to-one guidance from Ms. Chen was a valuable learning experience. Chang said the opportunity to play a Chopin piece in front of Ms. Chen, a juror at the International Chopin Piano Competition herself, gave him new knowledge. Even the Director of the Keystone Performing Arts Center and Music teacher Jin Wenbin, who is a renowned pianist himself, said he learned new teaching ideas from the session.
“What Ms. Chen brought to this piano masterclass is not only professional guidance for students but also the development of a musical vision, a kind of spiritual awakening, and a way of seeing possibilities in music to pursue the ultimate,” Mr. Jin said. “As a pianist who constantly improves herself and expands her repertoire, Ms. Chen knows music and piano deeply. By opening doors and absorbing the best contemporary ideas while constantly reflecting at the same time, we will continue to progress. For me, this is the meaning of Keystone’s Master Classes.”
In the second part of the event, Ms. Chen participated in a question-and-answer session with the online and on-site audience. When asked about the effort it would take a performer to be successful, Ms. Chen said that “there is no such thing as a pie falling from the sky,” adding that the most crucial question performers should ask themselves is whether or not “[they feel] happy in the world of music.”
“What is it that you gain?” she asked. “What is important is that we choose a field or a career that makes us happy and engaged because this will accompany us in our lives.”
Ms. Chen also spoke about her views on participating in competitions. For her, a “good mentality” and not just being technically superior would help performers deal with the pressure of competing and facing loss.
“If a young performer joins a competition with a heavy heart, this will heighten the pressure, and a failure might give them trauma. So, they should participate with caution. However, for some children, participating in competitions nurtures their minds and develops their ability to withstand pressure, bringing out their open-minded, cheerful, and relaxed state. This helps them gain more experience. In the end, they should participate with a goal, enjoying the moment and the learning process along the way.”
Regarding her performances where she took on Chopin’s music, Ms. Chen said the Polish pianist was the “most indispensable composer I learned”, and that “Chopin has always accompanied me in my career.” Sharing an anecdote about her childhood, Ms. Chen remembered how listening to the recordings of other piano masters led her to be absorbed in Chopin’s music, which developed her enthusiasm and interest in his oeuvre. She also said that young performers could understand artists and composers through their historical backgrounds but suggested that they should look at the “perspective of human nature”. Ms. Chen believes that musical pieces are independent of their composers, and that there are many aspects in the creation of these works that present-day performers will find hard to imagine.
Ms. Chen also offered insights into finding the “color of harmony” and bringing a visual sense of scenery to music. “What needs to be there is you hear beauty—but first, you have to feel beauty from your heart,” she said.
“Let’s not talk about whether or not beauty has a color; of course, it does. But you don’t have to think about what color it must be. You listen with an open mentality. You listen without expectations. Then gradually, you will feel a special emotion coming to you. This is harmony, and it comes naturally.”
