Labels: Musings

Brilliant at Bach and Beethoven

Christopher Toh
christophertoh@mediacorp.com.sg
What: My Brilliant Brain
When: Tonight at 9pm
Where: National Geographic Channel (StarHub Channel 11)

Like any eight-year-old, Marc Yu likes to play pranks, kid around with his friends and toy with his mobile phone.

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He also likes to crack jokes.

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"Actually, I am a professional wrestler and street fighter," he deadpanned when we first meet.

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Then he broke into a toothy grin.

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But put him behind a piano and he's transformed as, eyes closed, he plays piano concertos by the likes of Beethoven or Bach with the ease of a professional more than twice his age.

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You see, unlike most other eight-year-olds, Yu is a musical prodigy.

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He's also one of a select few — one in 10,000 — who have perfect pitch. He can instantly sing any musical note and get it right the first time. And he's also a whiz kid in academia — he was learning high school mathematics by the time he was seven.

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Yu was recently in town with his mother, Chloe, to promote a three-part TV series called My Brilliant Brain, which looks at people we deem "geniuses".

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Yu appears in the first episode, which airs tonight on the National Geographic Channel. The episode explores whether or not extraordinary abilities like Yu's are genetic or whether they can be learned.

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His gift was discovered by his mother when, at age two, he learnt how to play Mary Had A Little Lamb on the piano, without any help, after he heard the song being sung. By the time he was three, he was playing Beethoven.

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His mother, who is from Macau, single-handedly raised and home-schooled him. Born in the United States, Yu started formal musical training at three at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California, where he lives. He flies regularly to Shanghai, China, where he spends one week each month for extra lessons.

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His days are mostly spent practising the piano or doing his homework.

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"It depends on how much I feel like practising, but usually I practise five to eight hours and I do my school work in between," he explained.

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He also plays the cello, but has since given that up to concentrate on his piano playing, said his mother.

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"He doesn't watch TV or play computer games," she added. "We do have a TV and a DVD player, but that's only to watch selected concerts and performances."

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Of course, it makes you wonder if all this — the adulation, the touring, the fame — isn't detracting from his right to behave as a child.

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According to mum Chloe, "He doesn't really care. To him (life is) only the piano."

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"I don't think I miss out on anything, because I travel and I meet a lot of people," said Yu. "When I am back in LA, I have a lot of time to play with my friends at the park or at the house because I'm home-schooled.

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"I think my friends think they are missing out," he added.

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So, what does the future hold for Yu? If all goes as planned, he'll be joining his idol, the pianist Lang Lang, at Carnegie Hall in 2009.

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"But that isn't happening yet," he said. "So, I'll just concentrate on other stuff.

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"But next year, I'll be playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London," he added gleefully.

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He's not short on ambition either. His wish is that his hands "grow bigger so that I can play all the major concertos".

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His recent big achievement was that his fingers can now reach one keyboard octave, but he still needs special extenders to reach the pedals on the piano.

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"I also want to learn more complicated pieces. And I also want to play with all the major orchestras — such as the New York Philharmonic or the Berliner Philharmoniker — and I also want to play at the most famous concert halls," he said.

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But don't expect him to do crossover music — like pop or jazz — any time soon. Right now, he just wants to play the classics.

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"Already there's 300 years of classical music to learn. But when I'm 301, maybe I'll play pop music."

Labels: Musings

Labels: Musings

Labels: Goals, Memories