Earlier this week, pianist Yuja Wang took a rare break from her grueling touring schedule to stop off in New York City where she has an apartment. So what was she doing during the few days off? “Spending money,” the 29-year-old says with a laugh. The classical star was also packing her suitcases, because it will be two months before she gets back to her apartment. Wang plays Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony on Sunday and then goes across the country to the Hollywood Bowl on July 21 to play with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Then it’s off to Europe for five dates, on to Beijing, where she was born, for two concerts, then back to Sweden, and then back to Asia for more performances in China and Japan.
By the time she finishes that tour on Sept. 17, she will have less than five days before starting an America tour in Philadelphia. “Oh, wow, I wish I had a secret,” Wang says when asked how the road doesn’t wear her down. Then she thoughtfully adds, “Usually I try to get to know the city. I really like to walk around trying to enjoy the moment because you don’t know the next time you’ll be in the same place.”
For somebody always on the go, being in the moment seems to be an important part of Wang’s philosophy about life and her art. Check out a YouTube video of her performance of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” and you can see joy in her tackling what is considered the composer’s most difficult piano sonata.
While the pianist has youth on her side, she already is a performing veteran, having dazzled audiences and critics for more than a decade. Even the finicky classical crowd seem to be running out of superlatives to describe her playing, although somebody will always seem to carp that she is somehow too perfect or doesn’t seem to be laboring as much as she should.
At the Hollywood Bowl, the pianist will be performing two jazz-tinged works — Ravel’s Concerto in G, which she recorded on her latest album, and Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
“This year I was going for more colorful stuff,” says Wang. “Ravel was very inspired by Gershwin. I think it is a perfect summer program for this kind of outdoor venue.”
Read the entire feature at Los Angeles Daily News