Yuja credits her composer

At the Barbican last night, Yuja Wang led the applause for Magnus Lindberg whose third concerto she had just performed.

Tony Sanderson reports:

Yuja Wang emerged from a six week hiatus on social media with a Facebook invite to us all to attend her performance of the UK premiere of Marcus Linberg’s third piano concerto. There were some seats available because despite the original concert being a sell-out, strike action occasioned a revised date, which some concert-goers couldn’t make.

On a first hearing the concerto had many grand and many tender moments for the orchestra contrasted with many virtuosic moments for the soloist. Yuja Wang had two candenzas, one lengthy one in the first movement and a second in the second movement. In the same vein the first two movements seemed to have more creative energy than the third although it built to a dramatic conclusion. The composer says that he sees the work as three concertos. Yuja Wang seemed to play effortlessly and the interaction between conductor and soloist was first-rate. The harmony of pianist, conductor and composer was there for all to see.