Michael Levin, The Huffington Post
Yuja Wang was still an undergraduate at Curtis when she got the call: piano soloist Murray Perahia was under the weather. Could she jump on a plane to southern California and perform the next day with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields?
She could, and she did.
The pianist, barely 22, played with authority and sensitivity, wowing the musically literate in the Orange County audience (yes, there are some even in Costa Mesa).
She also astonished the ensemble’s legendary conductor, Sir Neville Marriner. The audience was treated to the unique tableau of this towering figure on the music scene, 82 and approaching retirement, gazing with fascination at a young woman in the first throes of her career playing breathtaking, breakneck encores.
Wang captivated another top conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, at another impromptu performance, this time at Carnegie Hall, filling in for yet another ailing soloist. Her playing moved Thomas, a mentor figure in Wang’s career, literally to bow down to her on the famous stage.
Word got around and piano virtuosi most likely started taking better care of their health.
Seven short years later, Wang has become an international star in her own right, touring the world, named 2017 Musical America Artist of the Year, and signed to Deutsche Grammophon, classical music’s most respected brand.
Feature: The Huffington Post