Some find it in their first performance, others in the grandeur of a renowned stadium, while some discover it in the resonance of playing for a cause or sharing the stage with their musical idols.
For En-Chi Cheng, an accomplished and award-winning viola artist of the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, that defining moment came during the world premiere of Konstantia Gourzi's masterful composition, "Evening at the Window," in September 2018 at Munich, Germany. Out of hundreds of talented musicians worldwide who participated in the ARD Competition, Cheng became one of the only six violists who made it to the semifinal round and had the chance to perform the commissioned composition.
Cheng admitted that "Evening at the Window" is a complex piece, especially knowing it was commissioned by the ARD International Music Competition in 2018. Unlike his previous experiences playing music on a single staff, Gourzi's composition demanded mastery of three staff for a solo viola. He also discovered that the piece required him to navigate a set of Indian ankle bells, which employed unconventional viola techniques.
Despite the formidable nature of the composition and even sustaining a waist injury ten days before the performance, Cheng overcame and diligently devoted his days to deciphering the piece's intricacies. The music challenged him to execute special techniques, such as left-hand string plugging (pizzicato) combined with right-hand melodic playing, the simultaneous performance of multiple high-register melodies, and synchronized disparate rhythmic patterns.
Cheng shares: "These new experiences broaden my musical craft. The technical hurdles led me to challenge my musical knowledge, even my patience. I will have something new to bring with all these new skills I learned." He believes embracing challenges and new heights enables him to be an artist who strives to bring the viola industry forward.
En-Chi knows that the other five artists with him at the premiere were indeed their genius, but his talent to read beyond the sheet music made him rise above the competition. "I believe artists should always look into the pieces from all different perspectives and determine the composer's intentions. That is what I did to this piece that led me to deliver it with life and emotion," Cheng shares.
Delving into the depths of Gourzi's "Evening at the Window" meant connecting with its underlying emotions and infusing the composition with life. Through meticulous research and personal introspection, Cheng discovered the profound inspiration behind the piece, a painting by Marc Chagall. The subjects depicted in the music and the artwork — roosters in the sky, the moon, and smoke billowing from chimneys - relate to each other.
Cheng immersed himself in the emotional world of Chagall's "Evening at the Window" and discerned a profound melancholic quality shared by both art forms. Chagall's work, depicting a village that remained unchanged yet unrecognizable to the artist upon revisiting it in adulthood, resonated deeply with Cheng's personal experience as a foreigner living alone in a foreign country. This connection allowed Cheng to infuse the music with genuine sentiment, bridging the gap between the artist's intentions and the listener's emotional experience.
This experience made Cheng an artist focusing on technical mastery and the broader perspectives required to better understand the composer's intentions. He firmly believes that music can transport emotions, memories, and integrity across time. It serves as a conduit through which past events and societal challenges find expression in a deeply personal and universally interpretable art form.
Cheng mentions: "As a musician, I feel a profound responsibility for a skillful interpretation and heartfelt delivery of every piece. I aspire to awaken audiences to the timeless relevance of music and its capacity to foster understanding, empathy, and connection."
Now armed with his success and a passion for sharing the wonders of music, Cheng is on a mission to bring world-class performances to communities that had previously only heard such music through recordings.
"The transformative power of music must not just stay with me. It must tap more aspiring talented musicians and move more listeners. I want to use my musical journey to do that. Imagine the heights we can achieve, the doors we can unlock, the possibilities we can explore as more groups of talented artists unite for this very purpose - art," Cheng mentions.
Aside from performing "Evening at the Window" during the world premiere, Cheng was also chosen to represent the viola category and gave the second performance of the music two days later in one of the ARD competition gala concerts. The preparation for this performance allowed Cheng to work closely with Gourzi.
"We had a great time exchanging all sorts of ideas in the piece and process of bringing the music to the world, working hard on both composing and performing ends. She even gave me a demonstration of her stomping technique," he shares.
Cheng's extraordinary performance of "Evening at the Window" is just one of many defining moments in his musical journey, culminating in years of dedication and determination. His impact transcends the stage as he aspires to share the transformative power of music with communities worldwide.
With Cheng at the forefront of the contemporary world, the industry can look forward to more world-class performances, a true expression of his artistic value far beyond his brilliance. He embodies the essence of a true artist who harnesses technical mastery to convey deeper narratives and emotions, enrich lives, foster connections not just in the contemporary world but in music in general, and present contemporary music in its best light for more people to see and appreciate.