THE PIANIST LIU WEI

MEMBERS:
• GREISSE MARTOS
• VIVIANA GUERRERO
• DANILO APESTEGUI

SUBJECT: MUSICIANS WITH DISABILITIES

COURSE: ENGLISH

GRADE: 3°

SECTION: “B”
Liu Wei, born on October 7, 1987, in Beijing, is
a disabled Chinese pianist who won the first
series of Talents in China at the age of 23
playing the piano with her toes.
Liu Wei lost his arms at the age of 10 years after touching a
high voltage cable during a game of hide and seek. He
regained consciousness after 45 days of critical condition. His
parents told him that he should learn to do his activities
alone. His mother kept telling him that he is not different
from the others. In the hospital, he met a painter without
arms, which inspired him to learn to use his feet to continue
with his life.
He started swimming two years later. He won two gold medals
and one silver in the National Swimming Championships for
People with Disabilities in 2002. He learned how to do other
daily activities.
He began playing the piano at the age of 18, Liu, studied
music theory, persisted and taught himself the secret to play
despite the cramps, often practiced seven hours a day. As he
said, the melodies he can play are limited due to the length of
his fingers and he can not play certain pieces that he loves
because he can not play the octaves. However, his goal is to be
such a good pianist, that people will not realize that his arms
are missing.
In his first appearance, Liu received a standing
ovation from the audience, many of whom were
moved to tears, for a performance, on August 8,
2010. The semifinal took place in September, at
Shanghai Stadium the final of the October 10,
accompanied by his singing. The jury panel of
China's Got Talent praised Liu's performance.
As a reward for his achievement, Liu was invited
by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai to act as a guest on
his Myself World Tour in Shanghai, which would
give him the opportunity to perform in Las Vegas
for three months. In addition, he would probably
get a contract with Fremantle Media and Sony
Music Entertainment, and his itinerary would
include Hong Kong, Paris, Vienna and Taipei.
In 2010, he won the Guinness world record of
writing most letters alphabetically in 1 minute.