I am sure that we have all read about child prodigies from maths, artists and musicians. Well, despite the sweltering heat of the day which is still causing so many of us to hide indoors we ventured out to thankfully what was a barmy night. The heat had receded and the sky was full of stars. We were privileged to be in the company of one such star at the Sa Bassa Rotja Hotel in Porreres. A wonderful Finca hotel set within beautiful grounds and dating back many centuries. It was the perfect setting for pianist Linlin He from China who was performing for the XLV Deia International Festival of Music having performed a few nights earlier at the iconic Son Morroig. An inside concert, but here we were sitting outside within the restaurant area, surrounded by calm lighting and still air allowing the notes to flow majestically bringing a wonderful feeling to all the audience, both guests of the hotel and those that travelled to the hotel to hear Linlin perform.
An excellent choice by Alfredo Oyaguez the Director of this Festival which grows each year bringing new musicians to the island from both Mallorca and around the World. Mallorca is so lucky to have so many first class artists visit the island to bring music from pop, jazz, techno and so much more. Some homegrown as they say but as with Linlin a special visit to the island. Linlin He is indeed one of those child prodigies born in 1998 having begun her piano studies at the age of five and her first public performance two years later at 7 years of age. After studying at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music for three years with Professor Man Wu, Linlin continued her education at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore with Yan Lim. She excelled and received scholarship offers from seven significant conservatories in the United States. She completed her BA from the Royal Academy of Music under the supervision of Mei-ting Sun and continues with her studying with the renowned pianist Xin Wang since 2020. Currently, Linlin is pursuing her master’s degree at the Jacobs School of Music generously supported by John Winston Spanier, Classical Piano Scholarship Award Winner and under the supervision of Norman Krieger. Truly, Linlin will become one of the World’s most famous pianists.
Linlin has performed in Asia and Europe, in theatres such as; Lee Foundation Theatre, Esplanade Concert Hall and Victoria Concert Hall in Singapore, Melartin Hall in Finland, David Josefowitz Recital Hall and Duke’s Hall in the UK; Ford Hall in the United States. She also had the honour of working with the Festival Director Alfredo Oyágüez in 2022 in Germany. Linlin has regularly participated in many masterclasses with internationally renowned musicians such as Grzegorz Niemczuk, Gordon Fergus Thompson, Vladislav Bronevetzky, Thomas Lymenstull and Steven Osborne. As if the piano was not enough she is a keyboard trainee, learning the harpsichord since 2014 and has performed at the Summer Piano Festival at the Royal Academy of Music in 2019.
A little background on Linlin who we were delighted to see and hear her play works from Frederic Chopin, Sergei Prokofiev and of course Franz Schubert. Such delicate works played under the clear skies of Mallorca within the grounds of Sa Bassa Rotja Hotel. It was a truly beautiful evening of music which all of the audience appreciated with applause and photos. Her personality shone through when she played those pieces of wonderful works for all who clearly had an evening to remember. I am sure Linlin will return to Mallorca. I hope so and I am sure that Alfredo, the Director of the Festival will agree that Linlin is indeed unique and special. The evening concluded, but Linlin was at hand for photos and she will return. Sadly, the heat will also return but for this evening the heat of the day was not in our minds. It was the wonderful music played by Linlin. For more articles, our monthly digital Celebrity magazine brings you the best and latest event reports, interviews and much more. Please do visit us at www.celebritymallorca.es and please remember to sign up for our free newsletter. Celebrity magazine is Mallorca’s magazine and your magazine so we welcome your views, ideas and feedback.
David Whitney
Toni Masso. A big thanks for his support with the photos.