Żelazowa Wola is a village in Gmina Sochaczew, Sochaczew County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland.It lies on the Utrata River, some 8 kilometres (5 mi) northeast of Sochaczew and 46 km (29 mi) west of Warsaw. Żelazowa Wola has a population of 65.The name means “Iron will” in Polish and is the birthplace of ChopinIt is known for its picturesque Masovian landscape , including numerous winding streams surrounded by willows and hills.

Playing of extraordinary maturity and beauty from this twenty year old Chinese pianist.A beauty not only of sound but the delicacy with which his fingers caressed the sounds out of the keys with a certainty and authority that would be the envy of pianists twice his age.

Chopin’s late nocturne in B major was played with aristocratic beauty and a finesse of sounds with whispered secrets of ravishing beauty .Trills that were mere vibrations of sound out of which unwound embellishments of exquisite delicacy.But there was strength too as these were sentiments of profound meaning and his weight and depth gave a poignancy and strength to this Nocturne written as Chopin neared the paradise that lay in waiting at such an early age.

Mazurkas ,the most idiomatic of Polish dance,and the real jewel in the crown of all Chopin’s works .Here in these over 60 miniature tone poems Chopin could relive the Poland of his dreams that he remembered from that day in his teens when he left his homeland never to return.But Poland was always in his heart and indeed a heart that was returned to Poland after his bodily remains were buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetary in Paris https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj-lYbF64GAAxVkgP0HHcJjCrIQFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thefirstnews.com%2Farticle%2Fhome-is-where-the-heart-lies-the-amazing-story-of-chopins-heart-10636&usg=AOvVaw12ievY6_oE_KLHvU2tPrK4&opi=89978449

There was delicacy and flamboyance in the B minor Mazurka with a stream of nostalgia and a beguiling natural buoyancy that made one marvel at how a native of China could understand so perfectly the Polish soul of Chopin.It was the same question that perplexed the jury of one of the very first Chopin Competitions when the Mazurka prize was awarded much to the surprise of the polish contestants to Fou Ts’ong.Ts’ong was to become a great friend playing every year and giving masterclasses in my Euromusica Concert Series in Rome.He would often liken the poetic soul of Chopin to the same poetic soul that was to be found in the works of the great Chinese poets.The great tolling bell and calling to attention of the Mazuka op30 n.3 in D flat.Its beautifully suggestive central episode ‘con anima’ searching for a way back to the rumbustuous opening dance with a search of such fantasy and a pianissimo ‘slentando’ as Chopin indicates in the score.

There was an irresistible rhythmic impulse to the Waltz in A flat op 42 with it’s rhythmic obstinacy and legato melodic line played so sensitively by Hao Rao.He did not have quite the aristocratic poise allied to rhythmic energy that was so much part of Rubinstein’s playing but it did have the same elegance and poise of Cortot and Rachmaninov .

The other waltz also in A flat op 64 n.3 was played with a ravishing insinuation almost of salon character but never descending into vulgar but always with the head held high.The beauty of the whispered bass melodic line was mirrored by the brilliance of the final bars ending deep in the bass.

Hao Rao brought a timeless beauty to the A flat Ballade,the most pastoral of the four ballades.It was beautifully phrased but with a clarity even in the most mysterious episodes of weaving contrapuntal scales.The build up to the final climax was played with a relentless forward propulsion before the explosion of the final climax of passion and nobility.

Absolute delicacy announced the elusive opening of the fourth Ballade.Followed by the opening theme played with great sentiment but also great strength and a sense of forward movement as each variation grew so naturally out of the other.There was a timeless beauty to the mazurka episode and a passionate climax before the heartrending return of the opening introduction which Cortot described as ‘avec un sentiment de regret’.The final variation where the embellishment of the theme is spread like a great wave over the entire keyboard was played with overwhelming beauty but there was also a transcendental control and shape as it lead to the final outpouring and the sumptuous waves of surging passionate sounds.The ‘stretto’ chords were a bit too literally staccato for my taste and could perhaps have had less speed but more weight.But the ravishing beauty of the five pianissimo chiselled chords before the coda was memorable.The sforzando deep in the bass so often ignored at the opening of the coda just showed what intelligence Hao Rao brought to his interpretation with the wishes of the composer utmost in his thoughts and soul.A tour de force of musicianly virtuosity brought this masterpiece to a magnificent conclusion .

Authority and Nobility were the hallmarks of a superb performance of Chopin’s ‘Heroique’ Polonaise op 53.Beautiful rich sonorities never hard but a sumptuous full orchestra.I noticed his very high wrist in the notorious left hand octaves but it was the legato of the cavalry above the stamping of the horses hooves that was so remarkable.A sense of balance that never lost sight of the musical line.There were some very beautiful deep bass notes as the Polonaise gradually picked up momentum leading to the tumultuous excitement of Chopin’s great cry of Victory.

At just seventeen years old, Hao Rao was a finalist and Honorable Mention at the 2021 18^th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, performing Chopin’s First Piano Concerto in the finals under the baton of Andrey Boreyko and drawing praise both internationally and domestically. Jan Popis, special music commentator of the Chopin Competition claimed: “The 17-year-old Chinese boy has been manifesting his naturally charming talent since his first round. His playing is poetic, his legato is beautiful like a song, with a sound full of colors. He’s a great talent!”Born in the mountainous village of Jishou and beginning his piano studies at the age of four, Hao’s talent was evident from the beginning, and at the age of eight, he began making 32-hour roundtrip commutes to Guangzhou for studies with Dr. Vivian Li at Xinghai Conservatory Middle School where he is currently enrolled as a third-year high school student. Though still young, Hao Rao has already amassed an impressive resume of competition awards including first prize at the three most prestigious Chinese national piano competitions – Steinway, Pearl River, and Xinghai Cup – as well as top prizes in major international competitions including the Youth Gina Bachauer, E-piano Junior, Krainev, Aarhus, Ettlingen, Beijing Chopin and Zhuhai Mozart. He is also a three-year full scholarship student of the highly exclusive Morningside Music Bridge Program. His extensive performance experiences have taken him from Asia to Europe and North America in solo and chamber as well as concerto appearances with the China NCPA Orchestra, Orchestra Academia China, Warsaw Philharmonic, Salzburg Chamber Soloists and symphony orchestras of Shenzhen, Ningbo, Shenyang, Guizhou, Central and Xinghai Conservatories, collaborating with conductors Jia Lü, Guoyong Zhang, En Shao, Lin Chen, Huan Jing and Ming Liu.Outside of piano, Hao loves opera, ballet, pop culture, gourmet, singing, as well as riding roller coaster.

At the Cliburn Junior international Piano Competition China the 15 year old HAO RAO wrote this :

Hao Rao grew up in the mountainside town of Jishou, China. Every week, his mother would take him on a 16-hour train ride to his piano lesson; he never tired of the trip and instead saw it as “departing for a great music journey with unknown surprises.” He now attends the Middle School of Xinghai Conservatory of Music in the sprawling city of Guangzhou, but still studies with his teacher of almost seven years, Vivian Li (Suirong). He has won three major national competitions in China, received prizes at the 2018 Ettlingen Competition and the 2019 Aarhus Competition, and—at the age of 13—presented the complete Chopin etudes in recital. He listens to opera and enjoys reading fiction, playing sports, and sampling desserts.

“I’ve been to several competitions or festivals abroad, and every time it was a life-changing inspiration with unforgettable memories, but the Cliburn Fort Worth… that’s almost like the Vatican for pianists. For me, it almost seems like a fairy tale, and I will treasure every moment of this journey.”