While it takes others decades and several career shifts to realize their purpose, Chinese pianist Hechengzi Li has always known that sitting before a piano would always be at the heart of her present and future. Well, it makes perfect sense since the pianist’s first “Kick” happened when her mum was judging the final exam, and the student was playing the famous Revolutionary Etude by Chopin. It was from then on that music had taken over her heart.
Now, almost twelve thousand kilometers away from home, the rising star is in the spotlight, telling stories with every note she plays, and every note comes from her heart with a passionate and ebullient love towards music.
A hardworking and promising talent with numerous accomplishments at a young age, Chengzi originally hails from a historical city in China, Xi’an. With a piano professor as a mother, it was no surprise when she started pressing black and white keys at the age of two. A year later, the humble artist won her first award after earning the grand prize of the toddler group of the Liu Shikun International Piano Competition.
From there, Chengzi, introduced as a music prodigy on the cover of Eastern Airline Magazine when she was five years old, would begin the journey of telling stories through the piano and capturing the attention and heart of her audiences.
Her initial fascination with the piano not only gave her the purest joy, but it also served to fuel her as she started building an impressive career on the other side of the world. She lived and breathed her craft and, in doing so, bloomed on the spot in the limelight. The humble musician attributes her dedication to music as a vehicle for connecting with people. “I believe Music is endless, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s my job to be on the journey, expressing the magic and the beauty of music to audiences,” Chengzi says.
So far, Chengzi has toured all over China, performing solo recitals and sharing a stage with the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she became the youngest signed solo artist to Shaanxi Symphony Orchestra in 2021 and has garnered praise from a long list of outlets and platforms, including Xi’an Worldly Cover, Beijing Music Weekly, Shanxi Music World, Tencent News, and more. She is also the musician behind a widely acclaimed album that featured her own take on the works of Scriabin, Stravinsky and Chopin.
In recognition of her talent and potential to shine under the spotlight, Chengzi was accepted to Juilliard’s college division at 16 after having studied previously in the pre-college division at Juilliard under the tutelage of Sergei Babayan, Hung-Kuan Chen, and Matti Raekallio. Last year, the exceptional musician called Cleveland Institute of Music her new home and is now pursuing the Artist Diploma degree under the guidance of Sergei Babayan.
