October 1, 2022 | Berlin, Germany
In October 1972, the foreign ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany, Walter Scheel, and the People’s Republic of China, Ji Pengfei, agreed to establish diplomatic relations. On December 1, 1972, the German Embassy in Beijing was opened, not far from the then-embassy of the GDR. In 1973, in return, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China was opened in Bonn. In the same year, a trade agreement was concluded, which included the establishment of a Joint Commission for Economic Affairs. This commission was to meet annually to discuss ways of intensifying bilateral trade and present its recommendations to both governments.
An important foundation for the political dialogue and economic cooperation between the two countries was later also formed by joint cultural projects, initiated in Berlin primarily by the Gesellschaft für Deutsch-Chinesischen kulturellen Austausch e.V. (GeKA e.V., Society for German-Chinese Cultural Exchange). Founded in 2008 by Professor Yu Zhang, a Chinese arts patron and entrepreneur, its aims include supporting the integration of Chinese children and young people in Germany through culture, as well as promoting cultural and artistic exchange between the two countries.
On the occasion of the anniversary of German-Chinese relations, the society launched the project Love Storm. The basic idea of the project is that, under the artistic direction of one German and one Chinese artistic director, a German-Chinese concert will be held with musicians from Berlin and Beijing in both cities. In Berlin, it will take place on October 1 in the Chamber Music Hall of the Philharmonie. Performing there will be the cello duo CelloFellos, known for creatively engaging with jazz, tango, and folk; the Philharmonic String Quartet with works by Mozart and Verdi; as well as the young Chinese pianist Paul Ji, who will perform Chinese piano works alongside pieces by Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt.
Victory in a TV Talent Show
Paul Ji is considered one of the most outstanding talents among young Chinese pianists. Born in Chicago in 2004 and raised in Paris, he won the coveted Prodiges (“Wunderkind”) award on the French television channel Antenne 2 in 2019 at the age of 15. This victory enabled him, in 2020, to record an album with 15 romantic piano works for the Warner Classics label. Cleverly curated, the album showcases a pianist with excellent technical training who also possesses remarkable maturity. With refined taste, subtle rhythmic flexibility, and nobility, he shapes Liszt’s often overly sentimental Liebestraum No. 3, and plays the “Black Key” Étude with butterfly-like lightness. That he can also play with great passion is shown in the middle section of Chopin’s slow E major Étude, Op. 10 No. 3.
Playing at this level is, of course, not based on talent alone but also on working with outstanding teachers. Ji first studied with French pianist and conductor Elizabeth Cooper at the prestigious Schola Cantorum in Paris, and is currently receiving musical guidance from the great French pianist Jean-Bernard Pommier.
School Years at Eton
Paul Ji spent his final school years up to the A-Level, the equivalent of the German Abitur, at the elite boarding school Eton College in England, where British Princes William and Harry, as well as the controversial Prime Minister Boris Johnson, also spent much of their schooling. This year, he graduated from Eton and marked the occasion with a piano recital. The program included, among others, an early Mozart sonata, Liszt’s Rhapsodie espagnole, and Ravel’s Jeux d’eau.
In the concert, Ji impressed with the sovereignty and stylistic assurance with which he performed these mostly pianistically demanding works. One might imagine a somewhat more colorful and fluid sound in the cantilenas of Mozart and a bit more improvisatory freedom in the Rhapsodie espagnole. However, he left little to be desired in Ravel’s Jeux d’eau: he began this showpiece of Impressionism with grace and elegance, the water streams sparkling under his hands like fine crystal. He also mastered Ligeti’s fiendishly difficult étude with bravura.
For all his artistic seriousness, the young Chinese pianist also has a playful side. On YouTube, there is a video in which he alternates with his sister at the piano playing Mozart’s Alla turca, jazzing up the piece considerably. There is also a video in which he appears to play Liszt’s La Campanella étude with a banana. Asked about it, he admits with a grin that he faked it a little — but it was very convincingly staged.
Paul now plans to study at the elite American university Yale. Let us hope that, despite the pressure a music degree entails, this young artist preserves his light-hearted and humorous side, and we wish him every success in his future career.
MARIO-FELIX VOGT
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