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Writer's pictureAndy McIlvain

God's Gift of Music: Pianist Yuja Wang

Yuja Wang & Wiener Philharmoniker - Rhapsody in Blue (George Gershwin)

Video from HR


"The Summer Night Concert,June 20th 2019. Rhapsody in Blue · Gustavo Dudamel · Wiener Philharmoniker · George Gershwin · Yuja Wang Copyright by Sony Music Entertainment.' from video introduction


Yuja Wang Biography:

"Pianist Yuja Wang — celebrated for her charismatic artistry, emotional honesty, and captivating stage presence — has performed with the world’s most venerated conductors, musicians, and ensembles. During the 2022–23 season she serves as both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Spotlight Artist and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Artist-in-Residence. Her skill and charisma were demonstrated in October 2022 when she joined the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen in the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. 3, which she reprises in the United States and in Europe throughout the season.

Born into a musical family in Beijing, after childhood piano studies in China Wang received advanced training in Canada and at the Curtis Institute of Music, under Gary Graffman. Her international breakthrough came in 2007, when she replaced Martha Argerich with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Two years later she signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon and has since released a succession of critically acclaimed recordings. She was named Musical America’s Artist of the Year in 2017, and in 2021 received an Opus Klassik Award for her world-premiere recording of John Adams’s Must the Devil Have all the Good Tunes? with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel.

As a chamber musician, Yuja Wang has developed lasting partnerships with several leading artists, notably violinist Leonidas Kavakos, with whom she recorded the complete Brahms violin sonatas and performs duo recitals in Europe. Last season, she embarked on an international recital tour that included appearances in world-class venues across North America, Europe, and Asia, receiving acclaim in a wide-ranging program that included works by Beethoven, Ligeti, and Schoenberg." from the website: nyphil.org


Check our Yuja Wang's website: yujawang.com


WHO IS YUJA WANG?...GET to know Yuja & appreciate her AMAZING career - HIGHLIGHTS from 1996 to 2022)

Video from bestmusicshortz


"Yuja Wang From 1996 till 2022. 00:08: 9 years old Yuja (Debussy - Arabesque No 1 in E major) 00:45: 11 years old Yuja (Carl Czerny op 849 no 11) 01:23: 19 years old - graduation recital - (Chopin Ballade 1) 02:58: 2010 - Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient (gretchen am spinnrad Franz Liszt) 04:18: 2013 - Toppan Hall Tokyo (Scriabin's Sonata No.2) 05:56: 2016 - 2016 - Salzburger Festspiele - (Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue) 07:31: 2016 - 2017 - Carnegie hall - (Tchaikovsky Piano concerto No. 1) 08:54: 2017 - 2018 - Encores after Prokofiev concerto No 3 - (Cziffra Tritsch-Tratsch Polka) 10:51: 2019 - Rolex Gala at La Scala - Milan Italy - Schumann - (Piano Concerto in A minor) 12:31: 2021 - Auditorium Feldherrnhalle - Rachmaninov - (Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cm Op. 18) 14:54: 2022 - Proms - Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra - Liszt's - (First Piano Concerto in E flat) 17:10: additional info The official YouTube channel of pianist Yuja Wang. www.yujawang.com Hope you liked this episode. These clips are highlights of Yuja's amazing journey from 1996 till 2022. (there are for sure important events that are not included in this video). Thank you for visiting..." from video introduction


Yuja Wang plays Liszt's First Piano Concerto in E flat - Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra - Proms 2022


Video from digitalmediafan


Experience the Life and Iconic Recordings of Pianist Yuja Wang


“Pigeon-holing is very convenient for shopping, but I think for artists it’s unnecessary.”

Chinese-born superstar pianist Yuja Wang is speaking about being regularly stereo-typed as yet another technical whiz kid from the Far East. Her London debut in 2009, was greeted by the Guardian critic with the words: “the latest pianist to roll off the Chinese production line.”

Her reviews also regularly mention her eye-popping short concert skirts, stratospheric stilettos and love of shopping. “I’m short, that’s why they make heels,” she retorts.

In 2011 the Times photo of her in a tight little orange dress at the Hollywood Bowl went viral. “I simply wear what I like. I find it silly that anyone spends time blogging about what an artist is wearing. I’m here to make music and I hope people are here to enjoy listening. I can dress in long skirts when I’m forty!”

Bemused by all the fuss and perhaps playing catch-up at times with a lost childhood, Yuja in conversation is a deep thinker, cultured and well-read, with a winning sense of humour. She has a natural stage charisma and connection with audiences too and a huge social media following.

Yuja has spent the last 12 months in lock-down at home in New York. Her last concert was a Carnegie Hall recital on February 28, 2020. “The last 20 years of my life was pretty crazy and all of a sudden, I’m having a GP, a grand pause and I’m loving it. I bought a fish-tank, I planted flowers, so basically I’ve found I can do things I never had time to do. Before it was constantly forward looking, now I feel I’m just living; it’s not a rebellion, I’m just backing away and seeing what this does to.." from the article: Experience the life and iconic recordings of pianist Yuja Wang


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