Piano prodigy dreams of being world's best

When 4-year-old Mimi Zhou gave her solo performance on a grand piano at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall in April, her small feet dangled in the air because she couldn't reach the pedals.

It was hard to believe that a girl this young could perform such a flawless tune. Mimi's curly hair and big shiny eyes afforded her a doll-like innocence.

Mimi's performance took center stage at the student-led concert, which celebrated the 150th anniversary of Wellington College, an independent school in Berkshire. The college opened a campus in Tianjin, China, last year, where Mimi studies.

"I like the sound of the piano, and I like practicing. If I practice, I'll be as good as Lang Lang," Mimi said, referring to the acclaimed Chinese pianist once dubbed the "hottest artist on the classical music planet" by The New York Times.

Mimi's grandmother and aunt are both amateur piano players, but their piano practices deeply influenced Mimi's childhood passion for the instrument.

Mimi's 11-year-old brother Andy also played piano at a young age, but later switched to drawing.

Mimi started taking lessons just over a year ago, and has already passed her grade 5 exam.

Every day, she goes straight to the piano after coming home from school and practices for about two hours before eating dinner, according to her mother Yue Hong.

"She forgets the time, because she enjoys it so much," said Yue, who sits in on Mimi's private weekly piano lessons to take notes and supervise Mimi's practice from time to time.

Despite Mimi's passion for music, she sometimes gets frustrated when she's asked to practice the same piece over and over again.

"She sometimes even cries," Yue said.

But unlike Amy Chua, the Yale law professor and self-described "tiger mother" who forced her 7-year-old daughter Lulu to practice for hours on end, Yue said she does not force Mimi to continue playing when she gets upset.

Nor does she insist that Mimi should continue playing the piano if she loses her passion for it.

"I must support whatever decision she makes. But I will not allow her to give up playing just because she encounters a challenge and wants the easy way out," Yue said.

Yue doesn't consider herself to be a "tiger mother", although Mimi likes calling her the name because Yue was born in the year of the tiger, according to the Chinese Zodiac.

In her spare time, Mimi enjoys swimming, practicing Chinese painting, dancing and playing with friends, just like many other children.

With no school on the weekends, she sometimes spends time relaxing before playing the piano.

Many famous Chinese piano players such as Lang Lang and Li Yundi sought piano lessons in the West, and Yue said that she may consider sending Mimi to study aboard.

But Mimi will have to wait a while because famous Western institutions like the Royal Academy of Music typically only enroll students who are 12 and older.

"Her playing is just average right now, so she will have to prove herself in the meantime," Yue said.

Meanwhile, Mimi has given a number of performances at school functions. She played a second time in the UK this June at Wellington College's opening of a new Mandarin center.

Mimi's teacher chose Chinese folk songs for Mimi's two performances in the UK, to emphasize her Chinese roots.

A spokesperson for the Royal Albert Hall said Mimi was the youngest pianist to perform solo there, breaking the record set by Yehudi Menuhin, who performed there as a violin soloist at the age of 13 in 1929.

cecily.liu@chinadaily.com.cn