"Practicing the piano, which requires dedication and diligence, not only hones the skills to play a piece but also shapes personality development, allowing people to become calmer, more sophisticated and thoughtful about their life and future," Ding says.

An Tianxu, who is currently an undergraduate student majoring in piano at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in the United States, says that music has always been intrinsically linked to major challenges faced by society, pointing out that tragedies have very often fueled the creation of masterpieces that have influenced generations of people.

An himself was affected by the pandemic. A concert tour of 15 Chinese cities that he was due to participate in was canceled because of the pandemic outbreak.

But An, who won the 2010 competition, has chosen to focus on the positive amid the gloom.

"From another perspective, recent months have provided professional piano players with more time to practice. For anyone who wants to forge a career as a professional pianist, it's important to grow and hone their repertoire," he says.

Zhou Xiaowei, 45, who started learning the instrument seven years ago while accompanying her daughter for piano lessons, agrees with this sentiment.

Zhou says: "The past several months of home isolation have provided me with the rare opportunity to practice the instrument for hours every day. I can feel that this has helped to improve my character.

"I used to be easily irritated by trivial matters, but this is no longer the case.

"Learning the piano has also taught me that there are endless possibilities to life even though I'm already middle-aged. The sense of spiritual gratification that I get from playing the piano is just incomparable."

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