Just in: Yuja Wang is Musical America’s artist of the year
mainA critical sign of our times.
Comments
MOST READ TODAY:
-
Opera
Guess what? New operagoers prefer old operas
Memo to Peter Gelb: Don’t read the Opera…
-
Opera
Opera company devotes whole season to ‘pioneering queer composer’
From NPR LA: The Long Beach Opera has…
-
Daily Comfort Zone
A rediscovered lullaby from Auschwitz
Leo Geyer, a doctoral student at Oxford University…
-
News
A US violinist gives his Strad to Belgium
Then enterprising soloist Charles Castleman has entrusted his…
“Technician” of the year, perhaps, but musician?
Her piano-tuning abilities are unknown to me, but as a musician she is definitely much more than a “technician”.
Your point is well taken.
Actually she is “Artist of the Year,” which, if you think about it, goes even closer to the idea that she has something to offer in terms of insight and imagination.
It is quite an astonishing accolade.
Does the magazine state who chose her? The jury? How it reached its conclusion? Why it chose “artist” instead of mere “musician” for Yuja Wang?
+1
For many people, her dresses leave something to be wished for…. in two ways, and that distracts from the playing which is really very good. She should not need her distractions.
Of course she does not “need” them — distractions are in eyes of beholders. According to her — and I have no reason to disbelieve her — she dresses the way she does because she feels better that way. She plays well, and for me as a listener that is all that counts.
Beyond the tenth row, what the soloist is wearing is pretty much a non-issue… until they start putting Jumbotrons in concert halls.
But you all must admit that she is doing a great job promoting classical music.
Several years ago, in Tel Aviv, they had to change the 400 seat hall to a 3000 one for her chamber music concert.
Actually, beyond the tenth row and anywhere that is progressively further from audience left is visually limited for a piano soloist.
If this truly is “a critical sign of our times”, then it is a good sign of good times.
Well deserved.
Yuja literally has it all – chops, sophisticated artistry and the ability to create a buzz. Isn’t that what the music business needs? Go Yuja!
Next year: LINDSEY STIRLING!!
She’s already in the cover of Strings magazine.
The ECHO’s will give the lifetime achievement award to Yanni and Andre Rieu
The next step is the cover of the Playboy magazine!
It would be foolish to ignore how seriously she is working on her artistic growth, her repertoire expansion has been admirable. I hope her playing gains in depth and beauty, but she’s a remarkable and consistent performer.
Well deserved!
We met her 8 years ago and she played then as good as anyone I had heard. I saw her earlier this year when she played the Bartok #1 and #3 concertos. She is a great musician without doubt. Her Hammerklavier at Carnegie Hall was most impressive. What is she now less than 30? She dresses like a girl in her 20s and she enjoys it (she said so). How will she be playing and what will she be playing in her 50s? I wish that I could live long enough to find out but, sadly, I will not.
Her Hammerklavier at Carnegie Hall was impressive ? She just played the notes without any sense of depth, grandeur or mystery. Shortly before, Murray Perahia played the same sonata at Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen) and it was a different world – a performance for the ages.
Wang has remarkable fingers, but her mind (and aesthetic sense) are that of a shallow teenager.
Hi Mark,
What musical instrument do you play?
Her Hammerklavier at Carnegie Hall was impressive ? She just played the notes without any sense of depth, grandeur or mystery. Shortly before, Murray Perahia played the same sonata at Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen) and it was a different world – a performance for the ages.
Wang has remarkable fingers, but her mind (and aesthetic sense) are that of a shallow teenager.
At this point of her life, Yuja Wang may not yet be as convincing in late Beethoven as is much older Murray Perahia, but she already plays lots of other good music — particularly from late 19th through middle of 20th century — extremely well and is becoming considerably less “shallow” every year.
My point about her being under 30 years of age seems to be passed over. Will any commenters be around when she is in her 50s? Then let us hear the verdict. Shallow is not how I would describe her playing, but I am not a musician, I can’t read music, I do not know a bflat from a dminor, but I only listen. There are three things involved in this world of music:
1. The composer
2. The player
And
3. The listener
I guess Bach was happy to hear his music every Sunday. I would also presume Glenn Gould enjoyed playing it and I enjoy listening to it.
So I have to be content to listen and enjoy, not be too critical, not too knowledgeable and never pretend that I know more than others.
In other news, no mention of the other Musical America award winners: Andrew Norman (Composer of the Year); Susanna Mälkki (Conductor of the Year); Eric Owens (Vocalist of the Year); Eighth Blackbird (Ensemble of the Year).
Tremendous pianistic habilities for sure but she has never impressed me musicaly.
It seems that she is one of those performers who are good for a certain range of repertoire. Nothing wrong with that.
She deserve it indeed as American pianist, congratulations Yuga!!!
The first time I have heard Miss Wang live she played the Prokofiev 3 and Tschaikovsky 1 piano concertos in the same evening, replacing Kissin who was ill. He was supposed to play just Prokofiev 2. She was really superb.
The first time we heard hear live was in Prokofiev #2 with Philadelphia Orchestra @ Carnegie Hall. We were astounded!
I’m sure this is the same pianist I heard in 2011 at the Wiener Konzerthaus. I hadn’t heard of her before and she played very well, I thought. Cannot remember the piece because I attended dozens of concerts that year because I had a 12 month visa, but it was one of the big concertos. That’s all I remember.
She is remarkable, technically and artistically. The negative comments on this thread are not only ridiculous but appalling. A well-deserved award.
I wonder why the commentators here haven’t also won Artist of the Year. They sound so authoritative.
They were all Commentators of the Year.
She is appearing again next year in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, twice. Good luck to her!
7.30 Großer Saal
Klavierabend Yuja Wang
PERFORMERS
Yuja Wang, Klavier
PROGRAMME
Werke von Alexander Skrjabin u. a.
SUBSCRIPTION SERIES
Klavier im Großen Saal
She hardly needs luck, Sue, she seems always well prepared. Wish I could be in Vienna next year. I doubt if I could afford a ticket though.
I meant “good luck to her” in the sense that she deserves to do well!! Yes, ticket prices are quite high in Vienna. I used to pay upwards of 95 Euro for a seat right up the back – upstairs – (bought on consignment just before the performance) where I could see virtually nothing except very small people sitting on a platform!!
I wish l had her technique… LOL…
Nowadays, there are innumerable pianists, especially Russian ones, with practically superhuman (so to speak) technical abilities…
There is no article discussing this fact about Yuja Wang? I have looked in the Archives… nada. Sorry, but I thought Mr Lebrecht had written an article highlighting her being named America’s Artist of the Year “a critical sign of our times.” No?
Disappointed.
Hi Marya, It was the magazine Musical America that made the award- Artist of the Year.
http://www.musicalamerica.com/features/?fid=320&fyear=2017
There was no article by NL, just the reference to the award. There is much written about her on the net and other media.