That process is the best part of being a pianist, which is when I’m walking on the stage, it’ll feel kind of like a time machine. It is a very short walk, but it’s so important. You need to have that walk to bring you next to the piano. And, when you sit down there, you start thinking about the piece you’re gonna play. You know, when your fingers start touching the keys, the journey starts.
When I was 14, I went to America. I remember the first lesson I came to Gary Graffman, my teacher. “If you are good, somebody who’s having a fever, one day, and then they need to have a last-minute replacement, then here you come out, steal the show, then you will become famous.”