 雙語時尚生活 之每天讀一點英文之那些光影飛華的魅惑 19 The Way of Music Talent——Lang Lang 音樂天才郎朗的成功之路 As a boy growing up in Shenyang, China, I practiced the piano six hours a
day.I Loved the instrument.At first I played on clunky Chinese keyboards —
cheap, but the best we could
afford. Later my parents bought me a Swedish piano, but I broke half the strings on
it playing Tchaikovsky.That’s when my parents and my teacher decided I was too
much for such an instrument — and for our hometown.To be a serious musician, I
would have to move to Beijing, our cultural capital.I was just eight years
old. My father, who played the erhu, a two-stringed instrument, made a great
sacrifice.To relocate to Beijing with me, he quit his concertmaster’s job, which
he loved, and my mother stayed behind in Shenyang to keep working at her job at
the science institute to support
us. Suddenly my father and I were newcomers— outsiders.To the others around us,
we spoke with funny northern
accents. The only apartment we could find for the money we had was in an unheated
building, with five families sharing one
bathroom. My father cooked, cleaned and looked after me.He became a housewife,
basically. We lived far from my school, and since the bus was too expensive, my father
would“drive”me on his bicycle every day.It was an hour-and-a-half trip each way,
and I was a heavy boy, much heavier than I am as an adult.He did this in winter
too.Imagine!
During the coldest nights, while I practiced piano, my father lay in my bed
so it would be warm when I was
tired. I was miserable, but not from the poverty or pressure.My new teacher in
Beijing didn’t like me.“You have no talent,”she often told me,“You will never be
a pianist.”And one day,
she“fired”me. I was just nine years old.I was devastated.I didn’t want to be a pianist
anymore, I decided.I wanted to go home to my mother.For the next two weeks I
didn’t touch the
piano. Wisely, my father didn’t push.He just waited. Sure enough, the day came at school when my teacher asked me to play some
holiday songs.I didn’t want to, but as I placed my fingers on the piano’s keys,
I realized I could show other people that I had talent after
all. That day I told my father what he’d been waiting to hear — that I wanted to
study with a new teacher.From that point on, everything turned
around. I started winning competitions.It was soon clear I couldn’t stay in China
forever.To become a world-class musician, I had to play on the world’s big
stages. So in 1997, my father and I moved again, this time to Philadelphia, so I
could attend The Curtis Institute of Music.Finally our money worries were
easing.The school paid for an apartment and even lent me a Steinway.At night, I
would sneak into the living room just to touch the
keys. Now that I was in America, I wanted to become famous, but my new teachers
reminded me that I had a lot to learn. I spent two years practicing, and by 1999 I had worked hard enough for
fortune to take over.The Chicago Symphony Orchestra heard me play and liked me,
but orchestra schedules were set far in
advance. I thought I might join them in a few years. The next morning, I got a call.The great pianist Andre Watts, who was to play
the“Gala Benefit Evening”at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, had become
ill. I was asked to substitute.That performance was, for me, the moment.After
violinist Isaac Stern introduced me, I played Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto
No.1. My father’s mouth hung open throughout the entire song. So I played until 3:30 a.m.I felt something happening.Sure enough, gigs
started pouring in.Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall.Still, my father kept telling
me,“You’d better
practice!” 實戰(zhàn)提升 Practising&Exercise string [str??] n. 線,，細繩；一串,，一行 實用句型&詞組 I have to go right now.( 必須，不得不) 學習更多： |
|
|
