MARC YU isn't a typical music student. In the space of 31/2 years, he's graduated from a faltering one- fingered rendition of Mary Had a Little Lamb to a full-blown concert performance of Bach's Piano Concerto No 5 in F minor. He's mastered a repertoire on the piano and cello that would be the envy of musicians who've dedicated a lifetime to their art. He's committed more than 15 major works to memory and has composed 10 short pieces. His favourite pieces of music are Rachmaninov's second and third piano concertos, even though they make him sad. Like other musicians of his calibre, he dreams of playing with the New York or London Philharmonic Orchestras. However, unlike many musicians of his calibre, Marc is only six years old.
Jeffrey Bernstein, assistant conductor of the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and a music director at Los Angeles' Occidental College, is in no doubt about the California-born prodigy's talent. 'Marc could be the next household-name pianist,' Bernstein says. 'A lot of music majors don't have his facility at the keyboard. Anything is possible for him.'
In the US, celebrity status beckons for the pint-sized maestro. Appearances on Jay Leno and 60 Minutes are scheduled for later this year. Marc's mother, Chloe, who moved to the US from Macau in 1990, works closely with an advisory committee set up by the PSO to help deal with the growing media interest surrounding her son, who is getting used to seeing his face on the front page.
At first glance, Marc is like any other boy, with the same interests as other children his age. 'I play soccer, swimming, tennis and ping-pong,' he says. 'I also love to go to the art museum. Van Gogh and Picasso are my favourites artists. And Claude Monet - I almost forgot him.'
History is littered with prodigiously gifted children who burn with magnesium intensity only to fizzle out when they reach adolescence or adulthood, as either their peers catch up or they lose interest in their chosen field of excellence.
Youthful prodigies are also often driven to succeed by controlling parents. It's a pattern that Chloe Yu is acutely aware of, and says she'll do her utmost to avoid. So, while the 32-year-old single mother does everything she can to nurture Marc's talent, she's adamant that her son will have the final say on how far he takes his musical career. She insists that she's anything but a pushy parent.
