The choice of Graffman's repertoire was unusual in that it included pieces played entirely by the left hand scored by Leon Kirchner and John Corigliano. In 1979 Graffman suffered an sprain to his ring finger on his right hand, which led to him abandon playing the piano with his right hand altogether.

"If you closed your eyes, you could not tell these works were played by the left hand!" exclaimed violinist Sheng Zhongguo.
The 81-year-old maestro presented his solo concert as part of the Beijing Musical Festival.

"The vigor and depth of his music is unmatchable. It only comes with years of life experience,"Sheng added.
"He is truly a living legend who has inspired awe across the world and through the decades,"commented 81-year-old classical pianist Zhou Guangren.

History has a long legacy of musical geniuses that took to the keyboard at an early age. Mozart started when he was 5 and Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin were 6 when they began.

Graffman started learning when he was just 3 years old. He entered the Curtis Institute of Music as a piano student of Isabelle Vengerova when he was 7.

Graffman made his professional solo debut with conductor Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and by the age of 20 he had become well known as a fi rst class classical pianist. He won the prestigious Leventritt Award in 1948.

Playing with orchestras all over the world Graffman recorded Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1964.

Considered by many as the most notable of Graffman's recordings was his version of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue for the soundtrack of the 1979 Woody Allen movie Manhattan. Parts of this performance have subsequently been featured on television shows and in movies over the last 30 years.

Graffman has a long involvement with the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He served as president from 1995-2006 and has taught Chinese musicians Lang Lang, Wang Yujia and 19-year-old Zhang Haochen."They came to the Curtis Institute of Music where I've been teaching for 28 years. Something special is they all learn extremely fast,"Graffman commented.
"In fact I'm wondering maybe in the future if there won't be as many talented people from China going to study abroad because this new generation now may come back and teach here in China,"he added.

Graffman said that he was impressed by the improvement of music education in China in recent years. "What we see at the auditions, we see the result of several major conservatories from China. Obviously, they are doing something right," he said.
The virtuoso is scheduled to join the China Philharmonic Orchestra for the celebration of their 10th anniversary in July at the Forbidden City Concert Hall.

                                               Gary Graffman playing on stage in Beijing