Category Archives: Press

New York Classical Review Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-4 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Yuja Wang with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin . How long can the Chinese pianist go on topping herself with one-of-a-kind musical events?  This year it was performing all of Rachmaninoff’s music for piano and orchestra—four concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini—in one January afternoon (and evening) at Carnegie Hall. The marvel was not just Wang’s getting through it, but the vitality and insight she brought to every bar of the music. Any of these five …

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Yuja Wang: ‘Vakantie? Ik heb het weleens geprobeerd.’

6 months ago |
Preludium Alsof het sneakers zijn, zo makkelijk loopt ze op stiletto’s over het podium, en met die onwaarschijnlijk hoge pumps bedient ze de pedalen. Yuja Wang speelt met het Concertgebouworkest de twee pianoconcerten van Ravel – fysiek een opgave, maar…

Die Klavier-Rihanna

7 months ago |
NZZ Magazin Yuja Wang ist ein Phänomen. Sie spielt alle Klavierkonzerte von Rachmaninoff am Stück, kennt Tolstoi und Kant. Nur über ihre furchterregend hohen Schuhe mag die Pianistin im Interview nicht reden. In Zahlen ausgedrückt heisst das: hundert Konzerte pro…

September 2023 issue of Gramophone, featuring Yuja Wang

8 months ago |
Yuja Wang: Rachmaninov from the remarkable piano star Our September 2023 issue’s cover artist is one of the most prominent stars of the piano, Yuja Wang, whose astonishing pianism and musicianship have long been dazzling the musical world. Tim Parry catches…

“Wang debuted like a shot of espresso. She donned a sizzling bedazzled red romper and glittering Louboutin stilettos. Style and spectacle are basically Wang’s calling cards, and her outfit radiated fearlessness and ferocity. Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto, like all concertos, unfolds in three parts. “Allegro ma non tanto,“ the first section, begins deceptively straightforward as the pianist introduces a simple diatonic melody. As the section and concerto progress, however, the …

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“Big band orchestral writing jostles with Latin American, gospel, Hollywood-like themes and several cadenzas in the classical style, which show off Wang’s glittering finger-work. Nothing lasts long and the concerto is held together by its energy. [Abrams’s Piano Concerto] gets a flamboyant performance from Wang and Abrams, who conducts the Louisville Orchestra, enough to make a glitzy, if fleeting impact in a live concert.” Financial Times “The piano demigod’s forthcoming album (releasing …

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“The theme acts as a spirit, carrying within the piece in various form through harshness from the brass and the brightness of the upper strings. The beginning is of a slow nature within the orchestra coupled with a lightness in the piano. This doesn’t last long as it seamlessly builds up with intensity. In that moment, the composer is truly in control of us until finally, a release that gives …

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“To perform one Rachmaninoff concerto requires the stamina of a linebacker, the dexterity of a surgeon, and the soul of an artist. To play all four—plus that brilliant joyride, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini—would seem beyond human capacity. But if anybody could pull it off, Yuja Wang, with her impressively efficient technique and unwavering focus, could. And she did. Centered and balanced on the bench, with no wasted …

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“Rachmaninov’s second concerto — composed in 1901 after a psychological breakdown and subsequent breakthrough — is as familiar as anything in the canon. Yet this interpretation began unfolding with a delighting freshness. In the first movement I heard witty textures, enlivening dynamic phrasing, a thrilling level of lucidity; in the second, a new emotional clarity and insight… I believe Rachmaninov offers a very beautiful and dignified sonic inquiry of everything …

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“It was a momentous occasion as Wang played all five of Rachmaninoff’s works for piano and orchestra at Carnegie Hall for one show only. Yes, Yuja Wang did an encore. After playing, with electric mastery, all four of Rachmaninoff’s dizzyingly difficult piano concertos and his “Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini” on Saturday — the kind of feat for which the phrase “once in a lifetime” was invented — she …

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