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Han-Na Chang won the 5th Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris, and the Contemporary Music Prize, by unanimous choice in 1994. A year later, she made her formal debut in her native Seoul with Giuseppe Sinopoli conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle. A Carnegie Hall debut followed in 1996 with Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony. Music is self
discovery for Chang
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinBy then, Chang was 13.
And if you think competition put too much pressure on the teen-ager, think again.
"Pressure? I don't think about it, I don't believe in it," Chang says in a telephone interview from Korea. "By the time I'm on stage I'm relaxed, calm and focused.
"People don't come to a live concert to count how many notes you play right or wrong. I look at an audience as a group of friends here to enjoy, not criticize. I make that work for me."
That seems a bit sage for a 17 year old, but Chang has experienced a bit more than your typical high school senior. She returns to Hawaii for her second appearance with the Honolulu Symphony Sunday and Tuesday at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. The program will feature Bizet's Symphony No. 1, Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1; and Ravel's "Bolero."
Chang began her musical studies at age 3 on the family piano, then switched three years later to the cello because she didn't enjoy the piano. She performs about 40 concerts a year.
Which leads to the subject of burnout. Chang says there are ways to prevent that.
"Every time there's a very young gifted child, the people around them may be eager to have the whole world see this prodigy, this wunderkind, as soon as possible," Chang said. "But these folks have financial interests, or are seeking worldly fame.
"So the child travels every day then plays every night and has no room to grow. When they're 17 they feel burned out."
Chang says she was never pushed into such a rigorous routine by her parents or manager, who limited touring and concert playing so the youngster could attend "a regular school and make friends." She attends Rockland Country Day School in Congers, New York, and her mother travels with her for every concert.
"The great thing about music for me, what fascinates me, is that every time I play a Bach, a Beethoven, or a Brahms, I discover something new," Chang said. "I feel like I've never entered that territory before when I'm playing, looking at the score, or even just thinking about it."
Constant touring also helps.
"One day you're playing Moscow, the next day Honolulu, two completely different locations," Chang said. "It all affects what you want to share with the audience."
That's not to say she ever gets lazy when playing a smaller, less notable venue.
"I'm very careful about that," Chang said. "That's a very dangerous attitude for an artist to have. Every concert must be unique and special.
"The art of performing is totally related to time," she said. "If you miss the moment, it's gone forever. The impression you leave with an audience at that moment stays with them forever."
On stage
Who: Han-Na Chang and Ravel's Bolero; Sam Wong conducting
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