Croatian pianist Maksim Mrvica will present his classical crossover music at the Shenzhen Gymnasium.

    The program will include classical pieces such as Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance,” Liszt’s “Totentanz,” Verdi’s “Requiem,” Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumble-bee,” Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at Exhibition” and selected modern pieces composed by Tonci Hujic.

    Mrvica took up piano lessons at the age of 9. In spite of the war in the early 1990s, Mrvica entered in, and won, his first major competition in Zagreb in 1993. Mrvica went on to study at the Music Academy in Zagreb and then spent a year at the Franz Liszt Conservatoire in Budapest. During that year he won first prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition. In 2000, he moved to Paris to study with Igor Lazko and won first prize at the Pontoise Piano Competition in 2001.

    Mrvica was spotted by Hujic, who composed several tracks for the crossover string quartet, “Bond,” and it was Hujic who put Mrvica in touch with British impresario Mel Bush. EMI Classics was also interested in Mrvica and soon a new album was underway. This album was “The Piano Player,” which gave a new spin to compositions by Handel and Chopin. Since its release in 2003 it has been successful in Asia, where it has achieved “Gold” status in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China and “Platinum” in Croatia. It was also in the No. 1 slot on the HMV international pop chart in Hong Kong for 12 consecutive weeks.

    Under Mel Bush’s management, Mrvica’s performances generally take place against a backdrop of special lighting, stage and video effects.

    Time: 8 p.m., Nov. 30

    Tickets: 280-1,280 yuan

    Venue: Shenzhen Gymnasium, Sungang Road West, Futian District (福田区笋岗西路深圳体育馆)

    Metro: Line 3, Tongxinling Station (通新岭站), Exit C

    (SD News)