Zhu Xiao-Mei was born to middle-class parents in post-war China, and her musical proficiency became clear at an early age. Taught to play the piano by her mother, she developed quickly into a prodigy, immersing herself in the work of classical masters like Bach and Brahms. She was just ten years old when she began a rigorous course of study at the Beijing Conservatory, laying the groundwork for what was sure to be an extraordinary career. But in 1966, when Xiao-Mei was seventeen, the Cultural Revolution began, and life as she knew it changed forever. One by one, her family members were scattered, sentenced to prison or labor camps. By 1969, the art schools had closed, and Xiao-Mei was on her way to a work camp in Mongolia, where she would spend the next five years. Life in the camp was nearly unbearable, thanks to horrific living conditions and intensive brainwashing campaigns. Yet through it all Xiao-Mei clung to her passion for music and her sense of humor. And when the Revolution ended, it was the piano that helped her to heal. Heartbreaking and heartwarming, The Secret Piano is the incredible true story of one woman’s survival in the face of unbelievable odds—and in pursuit of a powerful dream.

Zhu Xiao-Mei was born in Shanghai, China. She began playing the piano when she was a young child, and by the age of eight was performin g for Peking radio and television stations. She entered the Beijing Conservatory when she was ten years old, but her education was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution. After five years in a labor camp in Mongolia, she returned to China, before moving on to the United States and finally Paris, France, where she has lived and worked since 1984. She teaches at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique and has performed for audiences on six continents. She is one of the world’s most celebrated interpreters of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

朱晓玫,20世纪50年代出生在上海的一个艺术家家庭。现在六十多岁,任教于巴黎高等音乐学院。居住在法国巴黎塞纳河畔.一位目前不为人知,低调而有实力的中国钢琴家。

她出生在上海的一个艺术家家庭，8岁时就在北京的电台中演奏钢琴。

1962年考取了中央音乐学院附中，在学校一直成绩优异。

1966年文革开始后被送到河北张家口劳动锻炼五个年头。虽然那时是全民无意识的疯狂年代，她对心中的理想和美好的追求没有放弃，竟然找到了一台钢琴偷偷练习。据她当时的同学黄安伦回忆，当时她搞到的钢琴还是缺了琴弦的，她竟然用钢丝代替。

恢复高考时她已经超过报考大学的年龄线，只好进了中央音乐学院的进修班。后来在北京舞蹈学校任钢琴教师，

1979年著名小提琴家斯特恩的访华促成了朱晓玫的美国之行，从1980年开始就读于波士顿的新英格兰音乐学院,拿到钢琴音乐硕士.

1984年她定居巴黎并在巴黎高等音乐学院任教。她的海顿和斯卡拉蒂评价都非常高.她的演奏生涯开始起步，而且缺乏强力的经纪公司的推广。但她的独特的音乐魅力从小圈子里慢慢向外传播，在巴黎成名已久,她的巴黎演奏会场场爆满. 她现在的演奏会遍布了欧洲、北美、南美、亚洲甚至澳洲。她的唱片开始在一些主流唱片公司上出现。法国的Mirare出版了她的不少唱片，有哥德堡变奏、海顿奏鸣曲、斯卡拉蒂奏鸣曲、平均律第二集、舒曼钢琴作品等。