LOVES LIFE: Wang Xiayin will be performing at Lincoln Center on May 18. (Mingguo Sun/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—A rising star in the world of pianists, Wang Xiayin is known for her ability to deliver a variety of tones, color, and grace. On May 18, she will perform at the acclaimed Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.

It was raining on the morning of May 4 when Xiayin shared some of her secrets of success with The Epoch Times at the Faust Harrison Piano studio. “If you want to be in top shape at all times, it’s required that you practice a lot. But I love living life. As a human being, I want to have fun. I want to meet different kinds of people, and I want to feel what they feel, want to feel what I haven’t felt, want to feel that my heart is always moved and then feel being moved in the music,” she said.

“I think that’s the greatest secret of how to create moving music. You have to be moved yourself; I have to be impressed.”

To Ms. Wang, success doesn’t happen overnight: “You have to meet the right people, keep working on building a network. You need time to build up your image. Yet, it’s important always to be truthful and practice very, very hard.”

In the May 18 concert, Wang Xiayin will play two world-premiere pieces: “The Enchanted Garden” (Preludes, Book II) by Richard Danielpour and “Cursive” by Sean Hickey. The program also includes Haydn’s Sonata No. 52 in E-Flat Major (Hob. XVI:52), Chopin’s Ballade No. 2 in F Major Op. 38, and Liszt’s "Mephisto Waltz."

In addition to that, Xiayin will also play “Scarbo” (from “Gaspard de la nuit”) by one of her favorite composers, Maurice Ravel. According to Xiayin, his works have a very colorful and sensational French flavor.

Ms. Wang always like to include some works by Scriabin in her concerts. This concert will also feature Alexander Scriabin’s Valses (waltzes) Op. 1, Op. 38, and Op. post.(1886). The Russian composer’s music speaks very strongly to Xiayin and she is planning to come up with a Scriabin collection.

“There is a very dark side of [Scriabin] that I like very much, and his music connects with the audience very well. It has lots of colors, different tones, very harmonic, and it's all great.”

Xiayin explained that Valse Op. 1 was Scriabin’s earlier work. It was a tiny waltz that showed very strong influence by Chopin in its lyricism and poetic quality. Another waltz, which has no Opus number, also shows a strong influence from Chopin. Op. 38 was a later work, composed toward his middle stage. In this piece, the audience can hear Scriabin's transition into a style more of his own. These three are all the waltzes Scriabin composed in his life. Xiayin thought it would be interesting to put them together in a performance.

Xiayin says that words are never strong in her, that she feels a connection to Scriabin because his music is very emotional, and she can really associate her feelings with his music. To Xiayin, Scriabin’s life was complicated—he was up and down emotionally—so much so that he became crazy. He is straightforward and puts his feeling right in front of you. “You instantly feel very moved by his music,” she says.

Xiayin practice eight to nine hours a day, but she stresses that it is also very important to live a life. “Feelings come from experience in life. Good experiences and bad experiences, you should really experience life to be able to play music well. This enables you to have a language that moves with it. I go out with my friends, watch movies; I drink, and everything. It’s very important to have things happening in your life, and it will reflect in your playing.”

Ms. Wang arrived in the United States from her native China in 1997. She had completed studies at the Shanghai Conservatory and garnered a first-prize award and special honors for her performances throughout China. In 2000, she was awarded the “Certificate of Achievement” by the Associated Music Teacher League of New York, winning an opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. She also pursued studies at the Manhattan School of Music and won the school’s Eisenberg Concerto Competition in 2002, as well as the Roy M. Rubinstein Award.

For tickets at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, please call 212-721 6500 for details or get tickets directly at the Lincoln Center.