Eight concertos and two instruments in one night: Pianist Niu Niu takes on big challenge for kids with cancer
The former child prodigy is taking on one of his most ambitious performances yet for Viva Foundation's 20th anniversary concert, bringing together Eastern and Western music in a performance involving movements from eight major concert works, while raising support for children with cancer.
Former child prodigy pianist Niu Niu, whose real name is Zhang Shengliang, is set to perform an impressive concert in Singapore to raise funds for children with cancer as part of the Viva Foundation's 20th anniversary celebrations. The event, titled "Viva Concerti: Where The Twain Shall Meet," will take place on October 27 at the Esplanade Concert Hall and will feature movements from eight major concertos, including works by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Rachmaninov, and Liszt.
As a part of his debut on the violin, Niu Niu will also perform the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, making it his Asian concert debut. He expressed deep pride in playing this piece with the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra under the direction of Chan Tze Law.
Niu Niu, who started his musical journey at the age of six, has already accomplished a great deal as a musician. He enrolled in the affiliated primary school of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at age eight, signed with EMI Classics at age nine, and earned a full scholarship to The Juilliard School in New York at 17. He hopes that the power of music can provide reassurance to children battling cancer, as he believes music can create a harmonious connection between the performers, the audience, and the foundation.
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