Fou Ts'ong (born 10 March 1934) is a Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

.

Born in Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

 to a family of intellectuals (his father was the translator Fu Lei

Fu Lei

Fu Lei , was a famous translator and art critic. He was born near Shanghai and raised by his mother. He studied art and art theory in France from 1928–1932. Upon his return to China, he taught in Shanghai and worked as a journalist and art critic until he took up translating...

), Fou first studied piano with Mario Paci, the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 founder of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is an influential orchestra in China. The music director is Long Yu.It was founded in 1879 as Shanghai Public Band, one of the earliest orchestras in Eastern Asia. It was renamed to Shanghai Municipal Council Symphony Orchestra in 1922. Starting in 1919, an Italian...

. In 1953, Fou moved to Europe to continue his training at the Warsaw Conservatory, where he amazed his professors with his intuitive grasp of the mazurka

Mazurka

The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...

 rhythm. His mastery was confirmed when he won the special Mazurka Prize at the 1955 International Chopin Piano Competition

International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition

The International Chopin Piano Competition , often referred to as the Chopin Competition, is a piano competition held in Warsaw, Poland to honour the name of Frédéric Chopin. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music competitions in the world...

.

Fou had been based in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 since 1960, whence he embarked on a performing and teaching career that has taken him throughout the world and been distinguished above all by his authoritative interpretations of Chopin

Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....

; indeed, Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...

 proclaimed him to be the only true performer of the composer's work. Among Fou's closest friends are the fellow pianists Martha Argerich

Martha Argerich

Martha Argerich is an Argentine pianist.-Early life:Argerich was born in Buenos Aires and started playing the piano at age three...

, Leon Fleisher

Leon Fleisher

Leon Fleisher is an American pianist and conductor.-Early life and studies:Fleisher was born in San Francisco, where he started studying the piano at age four...

, and Radu Lupu

Radu Lupu

Radu Lupu is a Romanian concert pianist. He has won a number of the most prestigious awards in classical piano, including first prizes in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition....

, who, acknowledging his influence upon their musical development, were "obliged to Fou Ts'ong for all his new ideas and for opening new musical horizons for all of us."

He was a member of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition

Queen Elisabeth Music Competition

The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...

's jury in 1991, 1999 and 2007.

From 1960 to 1969, he was married to Zamira Menuhin, the daughter of Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...

, and they had one son. Their marriage ended in divorce. He later married the Chinese pianist Patsy Toh

Patsy Toh

Patsy Toh , is a Chinese pianist based in England .-Biography:Born in Shanghai, China, in 1940 of a family from Xiamen, the family returned to Gulangyu Island shortly after her birth. In 1948 at the age of 8, she won first prize in the Hong Kong Music Competition and in 1952 at the age of 12 went...

. He lives in London.