Meet the Nine-Year-Old Pianist Bringing Her Talent to Abu Dhabi

Her performance doubles as a gesture for a good cause

It’s not every day that you get to see a prodigy at work. And at just nine years old, it would be hard to define pianist Anran Su as anything else. On November 29, M Premiere teams up with the Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi to showcase her stunning repertoire.

Anran’s musical journey began when she was four and a half, when most of her contemporaries were still learning to tie their shoes. Within a few years, she was collecting milestones left and right, performing solo at Dubai Opera and at the Steinway & Sons Hall. Even her duet performance at the Saudi Music Hub Concert Hall in Riyadh earlier this year drew wide praise for its technical grace.

In Abu Dhabi, Anran will perform a programme that traverses Haydn’s crisp sonatas to the cascading romanticism of Liszt and the introspective poetry of Chopin. Each piece, she says, speaks to different emotions like discipline, longing, hope; feelings she’s experienced in her own journey. 

Her mentor, Dr Jordan Rashkov, who has been instrumental in shaping that journey, will be joining Anran on the special evening. With over 25 years of experience teaching and performing around the world, he brings a depth of knowledge that complements Anran’s instinctive talent.

The event supports Emirates Nature–WWF, whose environmental work across the country has opened the door to conservation and sustainability. For Anran, who was raised in the UAE, the cause is personal. When she isn’t practising arpeggios, she’s planting trees, cleaning beaches, or campaigning against plastic waste with her schoolmates.

When the final note fades, the applause will undoubtedly rise, and not just for the performance, but for its underlying message. Anran Su shows us that even the smallest hands can move hearts and push for change.