Pianist Tian Ying to perform Chopin, Mussorgsky at Coker

Renowned pianist Tian Ying will perform selections from Chopin and Mussorgsky at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Watson Theater of Coker College’s Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center. Admission is $20 for adults, $7 for children under 18 and students or free with a Coker College ID.

A recipient of high honors at the Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1989, Ying carries a variety of repertoire in his arsenal. During a recent phone interview, he stated that programming is an important part of the process for him in preparing a recital and that he often likes to feature two or three composers. In his selections for his Hartsville recital, Ying will choose several compositions by Frederic Chopin (1810 – 1849) and “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a large-scale work by Modest Mussorgsky (1839 – 1881).

A former soldier and civil servant, Mussorgsky was one Russia’s top nationalist composers known for his innovative arrangements. “Pictures at an Exhibition,” perhaps his most popular work, was inspired by the drawings of artist and architect Victor Hartmann.

In his own time, Chopin was a popular performer and composer. He was born in Poland but moved to France at the age of 21. Still immensely popular today, both countries claim him as a native son. His musical style is international as he was heavily influenced by the Italian vocal “bel canto” style of the early 19th century in addition to the music of his two homelands. In Ying’s recital, attendees will hear some of these international elements: the Polish influence in the Mazurkas and Polonaise and the Italian influence in the Barcarolle.

From Ying’s many excellent reviews from around world, one cannot dismiss the fact that his past performances of Chopin have captured critics’ attention. It is interesting to note that Chopin was Ying’s favorite composer and the one composer he most felt comfortable performing when he was young.

Ying began his musical study when he was 3. He was taught by his mother who was a wonderful pianist and excellent teacher. He remembers that she was very strict about technique and fingering. Since then, he considers his development as a pianist as being a very natural progression. He also studied violin and trumpet briefly, but they never grabbed hold of like the piano.

Ying currently teaches at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music where he says he is fortunate to have a position where he can focus solely on his teaching and practicing. He enjoys teaching, but he likes to separate days between teaching and practicing to keep both pursuits fresh.

A partnership between Coker College and the Hartsville Community Concerts Association, the Hartsville-Coker Concert Association (HCCA) presents an annual program of performing arts events in downtown Hartsville and on the Coker College campus. Individual tickets are sold for each event or discounted season tickets are included in an HCCA membership.

For more information about HCCA concerts and memberships, call (843) 332-7820 or visit http://www.hartsvillecokerconcerts.org or http://www.coker.edu/hcca.