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Friday night's recital was a highlight of Tian's Wabash career, which we began covering last summer when the artist/musiciain worked as a graphic design intern at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. He had also been learning French in preparation for his fall semester abroad in Paris, where Chopin had spent many of his most creative years.
Photo by Steve Charles

While working in Indianapolis, Tian lived at the home of alumnus Bob Wright ’87 and his family, including sons Thomas and Jonathan. Tian taught the boys piano and enjoyed having "little brothers," while Mary Wright and Bob's hospitality gave the Shenyang, China native a feeling of being home.
Tian also had a favorite space in the Wright home—on the second floor landing near a stained glass window. He said, "I love sitting here to read and to study, because I can see through the windows to the bench in front of the house and watch the boys playing on the grass with their dog. This shapes my understanding of the American dream, and being here, I feel warmth, protection, and a sense of belonging." 
Photo by Steve Charles
 

Part of "feeling at home" with the Wrights was the fun he could have with Thomas and Jonathan. Tian might have taught them piano and Mandarin, but they taught him a few things about Guitar Hero!
The Wrights—along with Jon Pactor ’71, who arranged for Tian's stay with them—were in the audience at Friday's recital. 
Photo by Steve Charles

Tian spent his the fall semester of his junior year in Paris, where his education included attending classes at the Louve. He also participated in an externship with the museum, explaining paintings in one of the Louvre's exhibition areas as a trilingual interpreter using French, Chinese, and English.



One of the reasons Tian was drawn to Paris in the first place was the fact that Chopin had enjoyed one of the most creative periods of his life there. Tian wondered how living in the city, surrounded by the art, the sights, sounds, and smells of a city Chopin loved, might reshape the way Tian played his music.
When he returned to Crawfordsville in January, he headed for the piano to begin practicing again. He noticed he was playing the Chopin differently, maybe had something different, and more, to give the pieces. His piano teacher noticed, too.



“I think living in that place he loved, walking those same streets, I absorbed something,” Tian said. “Even though I wasn’t able to play piano as much, I was inspired. And I brought that back with me.”

 
 

The first recording Tian received from his mother, an opera singer and teacher, was a selection of Chopin's works, and Tian's favorite piece became "Scherzo in B-flat Minor." Tian was three years old at the time.
He played that piece and nine others (plus an encore) on Friday night, including the "Impromptu-Fantasia," which Tian began playing when he was 12. Tian had all the pieces ready before he left for Paris. There was no sheet music on the piano, but the question Friday night wasn't whether he would remember them, but whether he could make them memorable for his audience. 
The enthusiastic applause after the pieces and the standing ovation after the finale answered that question.

After an hour and a half of intense focus and energy, and after looking forward to this performance for more than a year, Tian sighed with relief and satisfaction as he concluded the final number, "Polonaise in A-flat Major."
Photo by Steve Charles 

Tian thanked his audience—"my teachers, my friends, my family"—for the encouragement to plan and perform his tribute to Chopin.
Photo by Steve Charles 

The Salter Hall audience, including fellow pianist Patrick Griffith ’10, was quick to its feet for a standing ovation. 

The performance finished and deeply appreciated, Tian could finally smile! 

The Salter Hall lobby was packed with well-wishers after the recital, including Tian's proud teacher, Cheryl Everett. Her work with the young pianist has focused on interpretation—slowing down at the right time and allowing the music to reach into the listener's heart. She was especially pleased at the dynamic range Tian showed during Friday's recital. 
Photo by Steve Charles

Tian receives the praise of his teacher after performing his tribute to the "piano poet" of his heart, a concert more than a year in planning and half a lifetime in preparation.
Photo by Steve Charles