At 100, She Bowed

100 year old pianist plays Mazurka by Chopin

At 100, Madame Thai Thi Lien graced her audience with Marzuka in A minor Op 67, No. 4, one of the most difficult piano piece that has been composed by Chopin.

She entered the hall to the sound of a standing ovation. Dress resplendently in black, her white pearly necklace added an aura of eminence as one of the most accomplished pianist in Vietnam.

Madame Thai Thi Lien, was born in Saigon,1918, when the French was still a welcomed guest. Her father, the first engineer in Vietnam to have studied in France, brought back recordings of opera, decided quite rightly that she should learn the piano at 4.

Thus began a lifelong passion with the classics even when she was deep in the jungle with her husband and their compatriots, shedding tears and blood, prying the clutches of the French from Vietnam. Her husband never left the jungle, succumbing to tuberculosis.

In the new nation, she was charged by Ho Chi Minh, the Father of Vietnam to record the arrangements that she had played for him and his troops; her work became the rallying symbol for the new nation and the foundation for the birth of Vietnam National Academy of Music.

As she ambled toward the piano aided by her confidante, she paused to gaze at her audience, in a quiet acknowledgement of their presence but she quickly turned back to the task at hand.

The piano is calling for her.

Once seated, she turned her eyes again to her surroundings; gingerly drawing in the ambience of the hall, catching a few glances of the now quiet but anticipating audience and after making a final adjustment to her seat, she started playing.

The vigour of youth returned to her fingers as they dances gracefully from memories of hours of practice, untouched by the decline of age. The audience was enthralled.

And when she finished, she climbed to her feet, assisted, and at 100 she bowed.

Like a true maestro, she gave her love to her audience.