WARSAW, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Piano melodies flowed through a concert hall in Warsaw, gathering strength before softening into delicate phrases. As the final notes faded, the audience rose to its feet in applause.
For Chinese pianist Wang Zitong, returning to Poland for this performance in September meant renewing a connection forged through Chopin's music a year earlier.
It was here, at the 19th International Chopin Piano Competition in October 2025, that she won third prize and the prestigious best sonata performance award. Invitations from around the world soon followed, opening doors to a wider international stage.
Born into a musical family in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Wang grew up surrounded by piano music.
At 13, she left for the United States to pursue her musical ambitions, studying at the Curtis Institute of Music and later the New England Conservatory.
Over more than a decade of study, the piano became woven into her daily life. "Music is both a way for me to express my feelings and my profession. I feel very fortunate that the two can be one and the same," she said.
Long before the Chopin competition, music had become an indispensable part of Wang's life. As her professional career has developed, so too has her understanding of Chopin.
Through reading Chopin's biographies and letters, studying his musical manuscripts and visiting places associated with his life across Europe, Wang has come to see a connection between the emotional expression in his music and the subtlety and restraint she finds in Chinese culture.
For the young pianist, this cultural experience has offered a personal perspective on Chopin, allowing performers and listeners from different backgrounds to find common ground through music.
Wang's feelings about Chopin's music are shared by fellow Chinese pianist Lyu Tianyao, whose life far from home has deepened her understanding of his works.
Lyu began learning the piano at five. On the day she jointly won fourth prize and the award for best concerto performance at the 2025 competition, she had just turned 17.
Her decision to move to Chopin's homeland was inspired by Polish pianist Katarzyna Popowa-Zydron. Deeply moved by Popowa-Zydron's playing at a masterclass in China, Lyu resolved to study with her, a decision that took her to Poznan in November 2024.
After spending two years away from her family during the Spring Festival because of concert commitments, Lyu knows what it means to miss home. That homesickness, she said, has helped her connect with what she describes as the apparent simplicity of Chopin's music.
She brought that personal understanding to the stage for Warsaw audiences in September, playing Chopin with an orchestra. Later that month, she also performed at a Chinese National Day reception in the city at the invitation of the Chinese Embassy.
As invitations to perform multiply, Lyu is discovering an increasingly personal connection with her audience. When listeners approach her in tears, she recognizes something of her younger self in them.
She hopes her performances can give them strength, she said, while their support, in turn, enriches her music.
"I am grateful to every one of them," she said. "It brings me such joy that we can connect through music, and that what I play can reach their hearts."
