PIANIST Song Siheng liked his cat so much that he has based his latest recital on feline adventures.

Song will continue with his trademark multimedia recitals with "The Adventure of Mimilu," screening animated images in the background as he plays classics such as Chopin's "Five Preludes, Nocturne in E flat Major," Debussy's "Children's Corner" and Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite."

The animated story is based on a picture book by Huang Shi detailing the life of a cat named Mimilu and its little master who practices piano every day.

"I had a cat for five years when working abroad. It always lied on the piano while I was practicing, just like a loyal audience," Song says. "That's why I felt so connected to the story of Mimilu and decided to theme a recital on it."

Song's experimentation with multimedia recitals go back to 2009. They include "Nodame Cantabile," "Chopin-Love," "In Search of Haruki Murakami" and "Time Machine of the Post 80s."

"There were doubts about whether the ready classics can help tell such stories," he says. "But in my view, top compositions don't just tell single stories. They are all-embracing, always leaving much space for imagination. What music offers is poetic imagery that audiences can connect with on a deeper level."

Born in 1981, Song won the National Piano Competition in Beijing at the age of 14. He has also won the Leeds International Piano Competition, Dublin International Piano Competition and Marguerite Long International Piano Competition.

He considers his multimedia recitals as a way to attract more people into the world of classical music.

"We are trying to open the gates to classic music wider without lowering the threshold," Song says. "Great classical music and an excellent performance are still the focus of the concert."

Date: October 5, 7:30pm

Venue: Shanghai Concert Hall

Address: 523 Yan'an Rd E.

Tickets: 80-280 yuan

Tel: 400-8918182