Stars when they were young (5): Yuja Wang, aged 9

Stars when they were young (5): Yuja Wang, aged 9

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norman lebrecht

September 08, 2020

With half a million views.

 

Comments

  • Greg Bottini says:

    Beautifully played by the sweet young Yuja.
    What a wonderful musician she grew up to be!
    (But I’m sure by the time my comment appears, there will be any number of Yuja haters who have beat me to the line, expressing their tiresome insults and disparagements.)

    • M McAlpine says:

      Anyone who hates and disparages a nine year-old kid playing like this needs counselling!

    • Don’t worry everybody don’t hate miss Wang there’s no reason. I have seen her several times in concert it’s a great artist but personally I prefer to watch the Schumann concert Yeol Eum Son gave last week. It’s on Youtube.

      • Micaela Bonetti says:

        Dear Concertgebouw79,
        I smile when you as often as possible insert Yeol Eum Son’s name in your posts, as I am a great fan of her!
        Like you I would very much appreciate Mr Lebrecht writing about Mademoiselle Son exquisite musicality.

        Cannot wait to listen to her Beethoven’s Sonatas recital next weekend in Bern!

        • Thanks. Sometimes I have the feeling to be the only one there who know her. It’s a shame that her Schumman album didn’t have a any publicity in Europe. She needs to be beetter known outside of Korea and Russia.

        • I had chance to see her in once 2017 normaly I will see her next year but I can’t be sure.

          • Micaela Bonetti says:

            If your username means you live in the Netherlands, Mademoiselle Son is coming next October and November in The Hague.
            Solo recitals AND second Chopin’s PC!
            Have a look at her website.

    • Nigel says:

      I wouldn’t give a yuja hater the time of day

  • Alexander says:

    her mastership has got deeper since then and her dresses shorter 😉

  • Edgar Self says:

    Admirable playing for any age; Greg exgraordinary for nine. Who were her teachers, and what is her background? This is warm Debussy, flowing, perfectly voiced, ideal natural rubato. I see lots of black notes, and recall that Claude-Achille was something of an orientalist. A goodmusical choice, Norman. I haven’t followed her recent career closely, but a late friend adored her. .

    • Greg Bottini says:

      Hi Edgar,
      As a child Yuja studied at the Beijing Conservatory, then at age 15 went to Curtis and studied for five years with Gary Graffman.
      I think she is the finest pianist of her generation.
      And Debussy WAS a great orientalist. He heard a Javanese gamelan at an exhibition in Paris (I can’t recall the year) and it had a huge influence on his music.

  • Ben says:

    I would mortgage my house to see Wang.

  • Steven Furuya says:

    You ARE wonderful. I watch all your videos. I love you.

  • Nick says:

    What a great pianist she ALREADY was at 9!!

  • M2N2K says:

    Her playing as a nine-year-old in this video is astonishingly close to that of a fully mature fine musician.

  • Jill says:

    Wonderfully gifted with superb musicality.

  • Edgar Self says:

    Amico Greg, many thanks for the information about her early training and teachers. I’ve always found crow to be a very nourishing diet.

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