A child prodigy who made his debut in Shanghai Concert Hall aged five, Zhang Haochen has gone on to fulfil his promise. Now, at the ripe old age of 22, he's back in his hometown for a concert.

Precocious is a word that could have been coined especially for 22-year-old Shanghai-born pianist Zhang Haochen.

At the age of five, he made his debut at the Shanghai Concert Hall, with a recital of works by Bach, Mozart and Haydn.

A year later, he performed Mozart's "Piano Concerto K.467" with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

He went on to become the youngest winner of the Fourth International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2002.

Then he became the youngest champion in the Fourth China International Piano Competition in 2007.

Next, Zhang become the youngest gold medalist of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009 when just 19.

On Friday night, Zhang was set to perform with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of maestro Lorin Maazel, who is also the orchestra's musical director for the 2012-13 season. It's certainly a pairing of youth and experience. Maazel is 60 years Zhang's senior and a living legend who has spent more than seven decades on the podium conducting some 5,000 concerts and operas.

Maazel's most recent visit to Shanghai was when he stepped in at last minute to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in January.

Zhang, who was due to play Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 4," says the pairing doesn't create additional pressure for him.

"Performances have always featured collaborations over large age spans - including elderly pianists working with young conductors," he explained.

"I don't think age is a big issue. I respect Lorin Maazel greatly and there's no pressure.

"He guides and supports young pianists, and I'm very happy to have the opportunity of working with a master like him."

Zhang's relaxed attitude should come as no surprise, as he's been dealing with expectation since a young child.

The public always has high hopes for child prodigies, and the young pianist grew up in the spotlight, with the public following every step of his career.

Zhang's mother Liu Liping bought him a piano at the age of three, though her inspiration was not musical.

"She'd read an article about how playing the piano can help children's intellectual development," Zhang explained.

"It said that playing the piano helps develop the left and right sides of the brain at the same time."

And as Zhang was a quiet child who didn't like play with others much, she thought learning the piano might help him become more sociable as well.

"While my mom is a fan of classic music, buying the piano wasn't about becoming a professional at first," he said. "In fact, it was quite unintentional."

Over the past 20 years, the piano has become a very popular instrument in China.

Numerous parents now buy pianos and send their children to lessons, especially the post-90s generation.

And the celebrity effect has also had an influence. The success of star pianists such as Li Yundi and Lang Lang encouraged many young wannabes.

But only a few succeed in reaching the highest levels.

For Zhang, the piano came easily - as his Shanghai Concert Hall recital, aged five, vividly demonstrated.

"That's when I realized that it wasn't just a hobby, that it could become an important part of my life," he said.

In 2001, Zhang went to study at the Shenzhen Arts School in Guangdong Province under the tutelage of professor Dan Zhaoyi, well-known for teaching Li Yundi.

Four years later, he auditioned for the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in the United States, and studied under famous pianist and educator Gary Graffman on a full-tuition scholarship.

Other notable students of Graffman, former director of the institute, include Lang Lang and Wang Yujia.

Zhang's next major triumph came in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held every four years in the United States.

It consists of three full recital programs, chamber music, two concertos and a performance of new works, a test of the overall ability of competitors.

In 2009 it ended in a tie, with Zhang and 20-year-old Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii each receiving the Nancy Lee and Perry R Bass gold medal.

Pieces played by Zhang included Stravinsky's "Trois mouvements de Petrouchka," Prokofiev's "Piano Concerto No. 2" and Liszt's "Spanish Rhapsody."

The competition brought huge attention and opportunities to the young pianist.

Winning it was perhaps the most important step in Zhang's career to date.

He has since travelled the world on tours, performed at music festivals and worked with world-class orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony.

Zhang says he tries not to confine himself to any one style.

"I'm interested in different styles. I don't think you need to limit yourself to one or two," Zhang said.

"Classical music is very diverse in expression, but everyone has a style that appeals subjectively."

His wide-ranging repertoire spans everything from Chopin and Beethoven to Rachmaninov and Stravinsky.

Recitals are more challenging for pianists, because they are completely exposed on the stage, admits Zhang.

"Concertos test the ability to work with an orchestra, it's very interesting to work with the conductor," he said.

"In recitals, you have to gather the attention from the entire concert hall," he said.

The Shanghai collaboration with the Munich Philharmonic is the first time Zhang will have played Beethoven's "Concerto No. 4," and he had a tight schedule with limited rehearsal time with the orchestra.

Earlier in April he performed with the Munich Philharmonic in Germany.

His Chinese dates with the German orchestra also include Beijing and Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province.

As he approaches a new piece of music, Zhang says the first thing is to depend on instinct.

"In the beginning, it's how you feel about the piece by instinct, then you discover more," Zhang said.

"As time goes by, you can see changes or analyze it to find something new.

"And even when you find different ways to interpret it, sometimes you go back and find that the first impression is still better.

"You have different feelings in different time periods."

Zhang prefers to look at a piece afresh, rather than trying to find inspiration in previous performances.

"Of course I listen to many other recordings, but that's not the most important thing; the instinct is.

"You can't enrich your musical imagination by building upon past versions, you have to think independently and find what's comfortable," he explained.

Although not 23 until June, Zhang has already scaled dizzy heights, and thanks his mother for what he has accomplished.

"Without my mother's decisions and efforts, I wouldn't have achieved this," he said. "I went to the US when I was about 14, and she offered me a lot of advice on important occasions, as well as her love."

Zhang says he still has a long way to go as a musician and artist, and the difficult thing is to reach a higher level and achieve more depth.

"Reaching a higher level is hard for everyone," he said. "And it'll still be difficult when I'm 80 years old!

"I still have a long way to go," insisted Zhang.