Victory assures pianist of international career

By HEATH LEES

Two weeks ago our Arts & Minds column discussed the ups and downs of international piano competitions.

Even as we spoke, Chenyin Li, a distinguished New Zealand student originally from China and now studying in London, was in the process of winning one.

The Scottish International Piano Competition is one of Europe's major competitive events for pianists, and Chenyin Li was first out of 40 competitors. Her prizes are substantial: a sum of £10,000 ($36,670), a Bluthner grand piano worth more than three times that amount, a gold medal and sundry other trophies that will look just right on the new piano.

It was Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto that carried Chenyin to victory on September 16.

John Lill, well-known British concert pianist and chairman of the international panel of nine, said that all four finalists were sure of a concert career. Chenyin's victory, he said, was narrow, but deserved. Given the different ages, characters, and ranges of musicianship, it was "as difficult as comparing the colour blue and the colour green".

The other finalists were from Japan, Russia and Israel.

Chenyin Li received a three-year sponsorship in 1995, allowing her to move from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing to the University of Auckland, where she studied with Tamas Vesmas. Her farewell recital in 1998 at the Maidment Theatre was attended by some 400 people, and she returned a year ago as a soloist in the Purely Piano series in the Town Hall's Concert Chamber.

This important win looks likely to place her securely on the road to success in a frighteningly difficult field. She says it hasn't changed her plans to complete another year's piano study in London. After that though, anything might happen, and she'll be ready.