Romance fuels violinist's gift

Conducting himself with great passion

Spreading joy of dance

Pianist will play 'hardest concerto'

He also adds that Tchaikovsky's works have a raw, "crazy" energy, so as an interpreter, he doesn't have to think too logically while playing his works, which is an enjoyable experience for Ning.

Compared with recording in studios, Ning is more fascinated by live performances.

"When you perform in front of 1,000 people, who hold their breath and listen to you quietly, it is very powerful though without any sound from them," says Ning, who was recently a featured soloist with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra.

Led by renowned Chinese conductor Tan Lihua, Ning played the Tchaikovsky violin concerto on Jan 15 at the National Center for the Performing Arts.

In February, he will join hands with Chinese pianist Chen Sa and perform at Jordan Hall in Boston before he starts a European tour.

Before he became a world sensation, though, Ning had never dreamed of superstardom. He learned violin out of his love for music and his biggest hope as a teenager was to release one studio-recorded album.

Hu Weimin, the famous violin teacher who taught Ning at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in 1992, says: "The first time I heard Ning play, I was impressed by that 11-year-old boy. He had a good sense of rhythm and his skill was far beyond many other children of his age."

Ning won a full scholarship to London's Royal Academy of Music, where he earned the only perfect final exam score in two centuries.

He says that he participated in various competitions to earn more money to support his study abroad, since his parents' salary was not enough to pay a month's rent in London.

Now based in Berlin and performing worldwide, he also adheres to the rigorous technique of music performing while exploring his own self-expression and freedom.

His biggest goal is to play works of Bach and Mozart every 10 years after 40. He believes he would have different feelings for their works as he gains more life experience.

He compares classical music to chess, and pop music to video games.

"To stimulate a game player's interests, video games keep updating and new rules come out every year. But you will never get tired of chess, though the rule has never changed for a long time," he says. "I want to play as much music as possible."