As the autumn mist rolls across the ancient tors of Dartmoor and the wild, windswept cliffs of Exmoor, the Two Moors Festival becomes the musical heartbeat of this rugged corner of southwest England. For 25 years, the festival has transformed humble village halls, echoing churches, and even forgotten railway stations into stages for the world of classical music.
Tianxu An
When my colleague Georg shared the programme for the Two Moors Festival’s silver anniversary, one name leapt from the page: pianist Tianxu An. He will play a recital at All Saints’ Church in Dulverton with works by Liszt, Chopin, Franck, and Rachmaninoff. Yet, it is not the music that sends a shiver down my spine, but the plight of Tianxu An, that reminds me of my worst nightmare! Please let me explain.
Tianxu An plays Scriabin: Sonata No. 5 in F-sharp Major
Recurring Nightmare
And here is my recurring nightmare. As a pianist, I step onto the stage, the spotlight glaring, the orchestra humming with anticipation, and the conductor standing poised, baton raised. I take my bow and settle at the piano, my fingers brushing the familiar keys when I am seized by a bone-chilling panic.
My mind is blank, and I desperately try to catch the conductor’s eye, my voice a strangled whisper as I ask what piece we’re playing. His answer hits like a thunderclap as it is the 2nd Liszt piano concerto, a composition I’ve never mastered. My hands freeze, my heart races, and thankfully, I jolt awake.
Sergey Rachmaninov: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22 (An Tianxu, piano)
Spotlight Slip
Tianxu An at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition
So, how is my recurring nightmare related to Tianxu An? It all happened at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019, a high-stakes ritual that beckons the world’s most prodigious young musicians to prove themselves. Taking place every four years, prizes aren’t just trophies but gateways to legendary careers.
Tianxu An was born in 1999 in China’s musical heartland, and he honed his craft under the rigorous tutelage of masters at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and later at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute with the esteemed Meng-Chieh Liu. By his late teens, An had already claimed various accolades and prizes, and he was considered a favourite to win the Tchaikovsky.
Tianxu An performs Li: “Prelude and Fugue”
Rhapsody in Reverse
On 25 June 2019, Tianxu An stepped onto the stage, poised to deliver Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, followed by Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Competitors must submit their repertoires and the order in which it is played months in advance, and An was locked on the Tchaikovsky opener.
An was ready, but then the catastrophe. Instead of Tchaikovsky’s majestic brass eruption, the orchestra unleashed the Rhapsody’s sly, scampering strings. There is no orchestral preamble to buy time as the piano entrance crashes in almost immediately. An’s fingers plunged into the demanding cascades, drawing on muscle memory to navigate the opening flawlessly. Only his face betrayed the shock.
The programme sheets backstage, it later emerged, had been swapped, and an orchestra staffer arranged the scores in reverse order. The audience, sensing the drama, was spellbound. An pressed on, transitioning seamlessly to the Tchaikovsky when the order finally aligned. The hall erupted in a standing ovation. One critic wrote, “he caught up with the notes in seconds.”
In a post-performance haze, jury chair Denis Matsuev offered a do-over, a rare concession in such hallowed precincts. An declined, too rattled to summon fresh magic under duress. Fourth place and a special “medal for heroism” were his consolations, but the real prize was the world’s admiration.
Tianxu An at the Tchaikovsky 2019
From Chaos to Triumph
In the wake of that harrowing onstage pivot at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition, a moment of raw chaos that could have shattered lesser spirits, Tianxu An emerged not just unscathed but alight with unyielding momentum. The “Special Prize for Courage and Restraint”, he claimed that night, became a launchpad rather than a footnote.
By 2021, An had released his debut album on Alpha Classics, a fiery all-Russian program of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev. He graduated from the Curtis Institute in 2022, and his trajectory only steepened. What began as a nightmare of improvisation has since flowered into a career defined by resilience.
Sergey Prokofiev: 4 Etudes, Op. 2 (An Tianxu, piano)
Courage at the Moors
Tianxu An
As the Two Moors Festival’s silver anniversary weaves its spell across Dartmoor and Exmoor, Tianxu An’s recital stands as a powerful coda to his journey from the crucible of the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition.
But where my nightmare ends in a cold sweat, An’s story soars. It is a testament to resilience that resonates with the festival’s spirit of transforming vulnerability into art. In the ancient embrace of these moors, his music will echo not just notes, but the courage to face the unthinkable.
Tianxu An will be performing at The Two Moors Festival on October 4th.
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