Why KaJeng Wong, piano virtuoso and director of Music Lab, has a controversial practising style
Hong Kong musician and eponymous subject of hit documentary KJ: Music and Life discusses his latest projects
Talented pianist KaJeng Wong first performed on the international stage when he was very young, and has won many competitions. He earned great acclaim as a piano prodigy when he was profiled in the documentary KJ: Music and Life, released in 2009. Now 27 years old, Wong is artistic director at Music Lab, his studio in Yau Ma Tei, where STYLE caught up with him recently for a chat.
What have you been doing since KJ: Music and Life was first aired?
What was the response to the documentary of those closest to you?
I rarely talk about the documentary with my friends or family. It’s just something that happened. One of the challenges is to know yourself better in times like these, and it has been a very interesting experience. It’s also interesting to [consider] that this documentary was filmed almost 10 years ago. So for me it has been an interesting rite.
In today’s economic and political climate, how do you feel about being a young artist in Hong Kong?
I think it’s very exciting, especially if you open your eyes to everything. In the arts there are a lot of things happening; in the non-arts world, in politics … there is so much happening, and so much can be linked and inspiring to what we do as artists.