A screen grab of child prodigy Andy Lee.

Hong Kong's piano boy takes web by storm

A five-year-old child prodigy from Hong Kong is taking the internet by storm after a video of his classical piano playing became a hit on YouTube - and sparked debate over the authenticity of the clip. The video purporting to show passionate young virtuoso

Sarah GrahamandErnest Kao

Published: 11:16am, 12 Sep 2012

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This five-year-old child prodigy from Hong Kong is taking the internet by storm after a video of his classical piano playing became a hit on YouTube - and sparked debate over the authenticity of the clip.

The video purporting to show passionate young virtuoso Andy Lee - who even has his own Facebook page - playing a selection of classical pieces including Eric Thiman’s Flood Time has been played more than 972,078 times.

But the three-minute, 45 second-long footage has come under scrutiny over whether the child is actually playing, with more than 500 comments generated on a thread on the social news website, Reddit.

During the clip, an adult - believed to be the boy's father - appears to coax his son into performing by offering him points.

The translation goes something like this:

Father: Play Flood again and you get 5,000 points.

Child: (gasps) Wow!

Father: Come on, show some emotion

Child: So I have 4,000 points now, right?

Father: Yes, come on

Child: Wow!

Father: Control you excitement, control your excitement…it’s a very moving [piece]…you have to hit those keys HARD…let’s go.

Child plays piece

Father: (whispers) Air, play that and you get 7000 points, come on Air!

Child: (gasps, excitement)

Child plays piece

Father: (whispers) 7000 points now

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