Pianist Ning An will return to Salt Lake City this week for the first time since participating in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in 1998.
This time, however, the former Utah resident will be performing for an audience, not for a panel of judges, although his recital on Tuesday, June 20, is part of this year's Gina Bachauer Piano Festival.
As he tells it, Ning has had enough of competitions. Two years ago Ning won third prize in the Queen Elizabeth Piano Competition in Belgium. Recently he won the American Piano Association Competition. And just this past spring he won first prize in the American Chopin Piano Competition, which was held in Miami. And with these two recent wins, he's been guaranteed enough performances to keep him busy for a while.
"Between these two, I have between 40 and 50 concerts," Ning told the Deseret News from Miami, where he is performing before coming to Salt Lake City. "The Queen Elizabeth was my biggest win. I got 15 concerts out of it, all in Europe. And with the American Piano Association win, I also got two years of free management.
"It's a relief getting the top prize finally because of all the concerts you get out of it. It's a great feeling coming in on top."
But perhaps the best news is Ning's victory at the American Chopin competition, since it qualifies him to go to Warsaw to participate in the international Chopin competition this October. The Warsaw Chopin competition takes place only once every five years, and it's one of the most prestigious piano events in the world. "This is the first time I'm going to compete there. There are going to be 98 pianists there, and you can only play Chopin."
And Chopin also happens to be one of Ning's favorite composers. "I have an affinity for Chopin," he admits. Not too long ago, Ning was asked to play an entire program of Chopin at New York's Weill Recital Hall. "That was a good experience."
Ning, who was born in China, once lived for a short period in Salt Lake City, while his father was attending the University of Utah. And while Ning was living here, he studied piano with Gladys Gladstone. From Utah, Ning then moved to Cleveland, where he studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Currently, the 24-year-old pianist calls Boston home, while he is finishing his master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music. After he receives his degree, however, Ning isn't too sure about what his future plans are going to be. "I'm not certain yet about what I'll be doing after my master's degree. I know that I don't want to stay for a doctorate, though. I would like to perform."
And hopefully, there won't be any more competitions in his future. Ning would much rather concentrate on performing for audiences. "With an audience, it's just the music," he says. "And even though I like to play like that at competitions, it's still always a little different in that situation. Playing for an audience is much better."
The program for Ning's recital, which takes place in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square at 7:30 p.m., includes Chopin, Liszt, Mozart and Haydn. There is no admission charge for the concert.
E-MAIL: ereichel@desnews.com