Yuja gripes as she hits the road
NewsThe Chinese-American pianist confesses her boredom to a documentary crew.
‘Everywhere I go, it’s always different – and always the same.’
‘You do not lift your eyes from the book between one airport and the next.’
Pianist Yuja Wang, born in Beijing, perceives her role as a conduit, conveying music to audiences while constantly in motion. She traverses oceans, moving between world-renowned venues and major cities, alternating between concerto appearances and recitals. Yet, the glitz, glamor, and collaborations with leading classical artists are counterbalanced by the profound challenges of fatigue, pressure, and loneliness. Amidst these struggles, an iPad dictates each calculated step. This film offers a solemn portrayal of the 27-year-old Yuja, accompanying her on a profound journey to discover her sense of belonging, clarify her mission, and define herself as a musician.
Watch.
Didn’t the Janet Malcolm profile already cover this to death
and then some?
This documentary was published in 2015, so 9 years ago and not a recent look into her life. The “the 27-year-old Yuja” in the original caption under the video is correct and you should not have changed it. Though I doubt the realities of constant travel have changed much, she is evidently much happier now.
Take a break, Yuja. Go hike in the mountains, or scuba dive, or ride a bike, or just relax on a sandy beach listening to laughing gulls. You can’t go on doing the same thing over and over again, like a treadmill horse.
Maybe playing Rachmaninoff in Carnegie now and listening to laughing gulls when she starts drooling on the keys?
Well, if she’s feeling bored and lonely, take action! Do some nonpiano activities where she goes. Go look at something cultural. Hang out with some interesting people. Eat some good meals, etc. And make time for it.
This documentary dates back to 2015 or earlier.
I am deeply grateful to Wang Yuja for her recordings and the two concerts I have heard. I hope that she hears similar words from many others. To me, she is music,
To be a synonym to music, Yuja Wang would have to mature to the element of the lyrical, as illustrated, for example, by the late great Lars Vogt, or elderly Argerich and Leonskaja, or younger Batsashvili.
Wearing bikinis hardly help her, or her music.
I knew a concert artist who told me that touring was like a long vacation you wish would be over.
Yuja is a giant. Brilliant artist. Treasure.
It’s an old documentary, nothing new. Available on Medici since 2017!
Gramophone reviewed it in 2018
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/through-the-eyes-of-yuja-a-road-movie
Can’t find any gossips about Yuja, Mr Lebrecht??
Isn’t this the doc about her from 10 years ago?
This is a ten year old film. Just noticing?
The life of a touring soloist is a stressful and lonely one.
But at least she can relax in the evenings and recharge by reading all the snarky things we write about her.
… and know that many people who love her are quiet, unlike the hyperactive trolls and nasty blogs.
She plays the Litolff concerto #4 with the spectacular scherzo, so she’s all right in my books.
I suspect she just plays the scherzo from this concerto like everybody else.
Sooooo, take a break?
Yuja is a brilliant pianist and celebrity. If you have lived any length of time on Terra firma you know all the famous talents before her in all manner of quests have suffered similarly if not identically. Two more recent would be Robin Williams and Anthony Bourdaine. Certainly in the world of great art and great music countless others have had to come to grips with a feeling of emptiness when the despair of “what else is there for me” sets in. Solomon said “all is vanity” when priorities are reversed human frailty becomes evident.
I’m sorry but the idea that it is ‘famous talents’ and ‘celebrities’ that are predisposed to these mental anguishes is well established as nonsense and stems from the usual deferential romanticising of celebrity.
The truth is that there is mental suffering spread right throughout the population, bankers, accountants, stay-at-home mums. It’s just that many celebrities can talk about it openly because they are in the public focus and don’t fear professional repercussions. It helps that they like to talk about themselves too.
Bad comparison.
Not only is the film almost 10 years old, but the over-the-top description has been copy/pasted from the youtube channel where it was posted in the last month, and was not (I am almost sure) concocted by Yuja Wang’s team or the film-makers.
Rachmaninoff didn’t like the life of a touring virtuoso. When the young Gary Graffman met Rachmaninoff backstage at Carnegie Hall and told the composer he wanted to be a pianist, the towering Rachmaninoff looked down at the young boy and just sadly intoned, “Bad business”.
I wish Gary Graffman, as a responsible adult, would kindly advise Yuja Wang to dress up respectfully.
She is currently embarrassing herself, the event, and the audience, unreserved fan club notwithstanding.