Back for an encore

Jiang Jie: Piano life

Local pianos hit the right note

During the upcoming tour, Wendt plans a wine-tasting while playing with his bass player and he might interpret a classical work with a rock version.

"I noticed that I play best when the atmosphere in the audience is relaxed and not self-conscious or tense," he says.

"For me the often rigid distance in so many classical concerts is counterproductive. I don't need that."

For Wendt, keeping his sense of humor is essential for any of his appearances. A good concert, for Wendt, is much more than achieving a brilliant performance.

It requires charisma and presence to engage the audiences.

He takes improvisation as a gift he was born with, but he also attributes his improvisational skills to his study at the Jazz Conservatory in Hilversum, Netherlands, and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

His big break came in 1990 when he met blues and rock legend Joe Cocker in Hamburg. Cocker heard him playing in a small pub and asked him to join in his tour.

"We talked about one of his favorite singers, Muddy Waters, and he requested one of his songs. Every night I was playing I've Got My Mojo Working," recalls Wendt.

Since then, he has shared the stage with famous musicians and toured around the world, from New York's Carnegie Hall to a small music school on the Siberian peninsula of Kamchatka.

Steinway & Sons, the traditional and classically orientated company, has acknowledged Wendt as a "Steinway artist".

"I never felt bored because I was always able to play the music that I wanted to. Of course, every pianist has to get through some technical practice that can be exhausting," he says.

"But for me, sitting at the piano is like going on vacation."

IF YOU GO

8 pm, Sep 28. Shenzhen Grand Theater, 5081 Shennandong Lu (Road), Shenzhen, Guangdong province. 400-610-3721.

7:30 pm, Oct 6 and 7. The Cultural Palace of Nationalities, 49 Fuxingmennei Dajie (Street), Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-8319-5319.