A Tapatia piano prodigy has already achieved something many talented musicians never manage in their entire careers.
Last Sunday, Daniela Liebman, 11, took to the stage of New York’s fabled Carnegie Hall to perform Shostakovich’s “Piano Concerto No. 2” in front of an appreciative audience.
Describing the experience as “very exciting,” Liebman did not hang around to take in the sights of the Big Apple. She hopped on a plane to Munich, Germany, where she is due to participate next week in the Junior Music Camp with 11 other brilliant teen musicians along with famed Chinese pianist Lang Lang.
Not surprisingly, Liebman’s goal is to become a world class pianist and play with renowned orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic. She seems dedicated to her purpose and eschews many of the obligatory pursuits of young people of her age. For example, she does not own a cellphone, nor does she enjoy video games or watching television, preferring instead to play chess or read books.
Speaking prior to Liebman’s New York debut, Anatoly Zatin, her teacher at the University of Colima, said his pupil was already “a star” but recommended that she move abroad to study.
Zatin said Mexico lacks music schools of sufficient quality to develop fully the kind of prodigious talent that Liebman possesses.
He said Liebman could choose to stay here and undoubtably become one of Mexico’s finest pianists but to rise above the level of talented musicians of a similar age in other nations – he specifically mentioned China – she would need to be exposed to a range of professors with exceptional skills, and that can only be found abroad.