All about the music

At the tender age of 24, Pius Cheung has already established himself as one of the most promising marimba artists and composers in the world.

He entered the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in the US aged 17, where he won first prize in the Philadelphia Orchestra's Albert Greenfield Concerto Competition.

And he made history as the first marimba player ever to record Bach's monumental Goldberg Variations.

Like many other musicians, Cheung began his musical journey on the piano, tickling the ivories from age five. He tried the marimba four years later.

'I always saw that music comes first, the instrument comes second as a vehicle to convey the music and the art,' says the musician.

'So, in a strictly musical sense, I would be happy playing anything as long as I can express the art.'

It was the resonance of the instrument which attracted Cheung to the marimba. It's something that can't be achieved with a piano.

'The fact that I produce sound by striking the wooden bars, something that came out of a living tree, makes me feel that the sound is alive and organic,' he says.

Although Cheung admits his music is piano-like, his goal was never to make the marimba sound like a piano.

'A marimba is a marimba. There's really no point to try to make it something it's not,' says Cheung, who owns two marimbas.

He is working on incorporating Chinese elements into his music and exploring different approaches to composition.

The success of a marimba concert depends heavily on the acoustics of the venue.

'The acoustics of the concert hall plays an incredibly important part to how the instrument sounds. That aspect of playing 'with' the hall keeps the performance alive for me,' says Cheung.

The fact that musicians hold mallets instead of having direct contact with the rosewood-keyed instrument also makes it 'a little more difficult' than other instruments.

Cheung says his decision to become a marimba soloist was a sudden one: 'We were playing a Schoenberg transcription of a Brahms piano quartet. My roommate was a cellist in the orchestra. At one point of the piece, the celli had a really luscious, juicy line.

'My roommate looked back at me, winked and gave me a smile. I looked at my part: there were more than 200 bars of rests. At that moment, I said to myself, 'That's it. I don't want to count rests, I want to play!''

Awarded first prize at the Young Concert Artists International Audition, Cheung says the title helped his career sky-rocket.

Cheung has so far published 10 pieces, and is hoping to unveil more compositions this summer.

'Being a musician is a tough life, but extremely satisfying and fulfilling. Don't do it for the money, only do it if you absolutely love it and are willing to devote your entire life to it.

'As a musician, you love what you are doing, which means you never have to 'work' a single day in your life.'

Pius Cheung Marimba Recital: February 22 and 24, 8.15pm, Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets cost HK$50-HK$100 for students from Urbtix on 2734 9009.