Pianist Niu Niu finds poetry in Beethoven's stormy Fifth

For an audience bred on piano performances by the likes of Lang Lang, Li Yundi and Yuja Wang, it was a matter of time before former child prodigy Niu Niu from China made his Singapore debut.

- Chang Tou Liang

Niu Niu Victoria Concert Hall Aug 31 His name is Zhang Shengliang, but he got his bovine stage name by virtue of being born in 1997, the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac. When he was 12, he became the youngest pianist to record the complete etudes of Frederic Chopin. Now, at the grand old age of 28, and pursuing a very busy concert career, he clearly still possesses the chops to handle some of classical piano's most demanding repertoire.

Beginning the recital with Felix Mendelssohn's Rondo Capriccioso (Op. 14), beloved by highly skilled youngsters, his was a polished reading. Its slow introduction was distinguished by genuine cantabile, later flitting off with feathery light wings in the mercurial round dance for a dazzling conclusion.