Sicklist: Yuja Wang is told to slow down

Sicklist: Yuja Wang is told to slow down

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norman lebrecht

June 01, 2018

Message from the LA Phil:

Pianist Yuja Wang‘s originally scheduled May 8, 2018 recital at Walt Disney Concert Hall, which was postponed because of illness, will not be rescheduled. Due to the artist’s busy schedule, a replacement date could not be identified. Regarding the cancellation, Wang has stated:

I have been working hard to find a date in the next few months to play my postponed recitals in Vancouver, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Costa Mesa, but I’m sorry to tell my fans that it is simply impossible. I have been given strict instructions by my doctors that I’m trying very hard to follow to ensure that I remain healthy. I thank you all for your support and kindness and I look forward to performing for you again as soon as I am able.  <

Comments

  • Gordon Cohen says:

    Please get well. Your health is important to all of us who care about your music

  • Mary DebiSe says:

    Take care of yourself Yuja. You are in my prauers. Your fans can wait

  • Stanley Bodner says:

    Maybe she’d stay healthier if she dressed more warmly.

  • Mario Lutz says:

    October 8 and 10 Buenos Aires, Teatro Colón. I hope she recovers !!

    • Geoff says:

      Looking at her schedule for the next year I wonder how she can survive and also how she can play the same stuff two or three times a week and still stay focussed. Does she really want to bring joy and adulation to her many fans? It can’t be the money, so what drives her to maintain this schedule?

      • Hugh Jorgan says:

        Inability to turn down engagements, as a result of intoxication by success and addiction to adulation.

      • TERRY DEAL BAER says:

        TO QUOTE A MOST RELIABLE SOURCE, THE ANSWER IS “UNSTOPPABLE PASSION FOR THE MUSIC !!!!!”.

        • Brian says:

          Okay, no need to shout. 😀

          I’m sure she he has a team of advisers and PR people around her giving advice. Whether it’s good advice or not, hard to say, but there are plenty of cautionary tales in the business of pianists burning out in their prime. Hope she’s aware of this.

      • Brian says:

        She loves what she does.

      • Sharon says:

        I once spoke to a former principal of the American Ballet Theater who confessed to me that he needed the applause and would ask his agent to schedule performances for him, even on cruise ships, on his off season; not because he needed the money but because he needed the applause

  • Baylor Bar Talk says:

    Recovery from burnout can take years.

  • Joe Gallagher says:

    I am glad she is listening to her doctors. The intensity and passion she brings to her art and the frequency of her performances is taking a toll. Just blow out one end of the candle.

  • Jeffrey Biegel says:

    Yuja – you are a very gifted young pianist. Please take care of yourself. Pacing…

  • RW2013 says:

    Her superhuman recital tonight in Berlin, with 6 encores (including a Prokofiev Toccata to die for), was phenomenal in many ways.
    Brava!

    • Paul hirschberg says:

      I was at the Berlin concert too. After several of the encores, while walking off the stage, she looked totally drained, but not during the petformance.

  • Jessie says:

    Rest well for other long-term jornies. Please take good care of yourself.

  • Lewis says:

    I’m dying to see Yuja live in concert some day. Take care of yourself please Yuja. I want to come to your concert in Dallas or Ft Worth one day.

  • Nick2 says:

    A truly wonderful pianist, but given the Brahms First I heard little more than two months ago, she was already slowing down! Literally! Comparing rough timings with a youtube recording of seven years ago, she had slowed down the tempi quite considerably.

    • Karen says:

      But then you have to consider the recent Prokofiev Third she did in Berlin, which is the fastest in all the performances of this concerto I’ve heard from her (a bit too fast IMO, in fact)! And I have about ten live recordings of it from her.

      Regarding Brahms First, there is a more recent recording from Munich on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1984PjQcc0
      I think the tempi are quite ok.

      Maybe she works better with some conductors than others?

      • Nick2 says:

        I agree about the Brahms First tempi on that Munich video. The concert I heard had tempi quite a bit slower. I am tempted (sic) to think the very reverberant acoustic may have been one reason, but that is mere speculation.

      • Petros Linardos says:

        I am now listening to the Brahms 1st recording and find very good.

        If Yuja Wang is slowing down her tempi, that may be good news. Maybe she is becoming more introspective. Maybe she’s going down the path of pianists like Gilels. Her future is something to look forward to.

    • TERRY DEAL BAER says:

      I HEARD HER LAST SUMMER UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL IN THE BRAHMS’ AND SHE WAS GREATER THAN GREATER THAN GREAT !!!!!

  • Karen S. says:

    Yuja, you are a unique treasure, and we all want you to stay healthy and not push yourself too hard. We want you around for a very long time, so please take good care of your health.

  • Sara R Booth says:

    Take care,you are a wonderful pianist.

  • R. Ward says:

    Yuja, your gain is our…gain! Follow your doctors’ and mentor’s advice, ignore the fools, and we will hear you in concert.

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