Yuja Wang
piano
In terms of pianistic bravura, Yuja Wang is one of the world’s best. Her controlled technique has been repeatedly described as “astounding” and “superhuman”, with some reviewers saying she “must have more than two hands” ([Die Zeit]). After early lessons, the Chinese pianist was accepted at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music at the age of 9. At 14, she moved to Canada, and a year later she transferred to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied for five years under piano legend Gary Graffman.
Even before graduating, Yuja Wang had her international breakthrough: to great success, she stood in for an indisposed Martha Argerich as the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto in Boston in 2007. Since then, her perfect playing and charismatic stage presence have been a source of delight worldwide – in solo concerts, seasonal residencies and on extensive tours with the world’s most celebrated orchestras and conductors. “Listening to her is to re-examine your ideas about how well one can play the piano in the first place” ([San Francisco Chronicle]). Yuja Wang also regularly gives recitals in the musical capitals of Asia, Europe and North America and can be heard at the summer festivals in Aspen and Verbier. She made her eagerly awaited debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in May 2016 – with Sergei Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto, one of the most demanding pieces in the piano repertoire. In November 2017, she accompanied the orchestra on an Asian tour and performed Bartók’s Second Piano Concerto in four concerts in China and Japan.
