【明報專訊】◆Profile

Rachel Cheung Wai Ching (張緯晴)

Age: 25

Birth place: Hong Kong

Occupation: Pianist

◆Artistry

Rachel started learning the piano at the age of four. She received her Bachelor of Music Degree with First Class Honours in 2011 from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (香港演藝學院). She has won numerous scholarships, prizes and awards, and performs frequently in Hong Kong and overseas.

◆Award

One of the major achievements of Rachel is getting the first prize at 2004 Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition(少年珍娜芭候雅國際鋼琴大賽) when she was 12. Known as a music prodigy in Hong Kong, she revealed that she had decided to be a concert pianist when she was 10.

◆Performance

Rachel was a finalist at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition 2017(范．克萊本國際鋼琴大賽) and she won the Audience Award. She performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op. 58 in the final round. The 30-minute-long performance required a lot of strength and stamina. Rachel has been going to the gym every day since last year to make herself physically stronger to handle the piece.

■English highway﹕Piece

"Piece" in musical context refers to an arrangement of musical notes — use this for music without words.

e.g. It's a difficult piece for a beginner to play.

■Glossary

prodigy (n) 奇才

prestigious (adj) 有聲望的

stamina (n) 耐力

handle (v) 應付

[Smarties' Power English 第192期]