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Yuja Wang: The young Chinese pianist talks with Patrick P.L. Lam (PPLL)

Picture © Felix Broede/DG

Since making her European début at the tender age of sixteen, performing Beethoven’s G Major Concerto with the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zürich under David Zinman , Yuja Wang has displayed to the musical world a jaw-dropping and inspirational technique and a humble personality. She has captured the public’s imagination in a way that has few parallels in modern times, but the possession of such a monumental talent comes with great responsibilities. When compared to Scott Fitzgerald’s fictional character Benjamin Button, the case of Yuja Wang surely promises to be equally a curious one. I met with the Chinese-American pianist after one of her recent Canadian concerts with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and discovered the fascinating personality behind this young Chinese firebrand.

At a few minutes after 1pm on the afternoon of Saturday 17^th January this year, where the outdoor temperature reached nearly –20^oCelsius, Yuja Wang practiced alone on the backstage of Center-in-the-Square in order to keep herself warm. For Wang, playing those massive double octaves in the Tchaikovsky Concerto or gliding through the demonic multi-finger passages of the Mozart–Volodos transcription of the Turkish March was as effortless as nibbling over her beloved dark chocolates during our conversation. It was the first time she had performed with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, as the soloist in the Beethoven C Minor Concerto which she had recently added to her repertoire list,“This is the fourth Beethoven Concerto I have played,” said Wang. “I did the B Flat [No.2], the G Major for my début with Zürich [No.4], and of course, the Emperor [No.5]. My company wants me to learn all of them, so here I am with the Third. To be honest, I like the ‘Emperor’ the very least; it is the most repetitive of them all.”

Really? So, what about that angelic Adagio 2^nd movement of the Emperor?

She shrugged, and elaborated: “Yes, the music touches you the very first time you approach it, but if you don’t feel the music particularly by the fourth or fifth time you play through consecutively in a concert series, the music can become very boring.”

In fact, Wang has just picked up the Beethoven C Minor Concerto, only giving her first public performance earlier in the month “I find the earlier you go with Beethoven Concertos, the harder they become. That’s why I [with a small giggle] left the First Concerto [in C Major] till the very end. It is the most challenging of them all. But I’ll eventually come to it ...”

As it turned out, the concert in the evening – quite apart from her spontaneous piano playing – was truly historic (see review). Two weeks ago, the European classical label Deutsche Grammophon had announced their partnership with Wang in an exclusive contract, with her début disc due for international release shortly after Valentine’s Day.

“You know what … I actually saw it listed on Amazon already,” said Wang, “and the funny thing is that the photo hasn’t even been posted yet!”

Almost as soon as news of her DG contract was announced,  tickets to the concerts were quickly snapped up, and  despite poor weather conditions, the attendance was impressive. Her close relationship with the public was not one without precedence. I attended one of Wang’s July concerts in Europe and was flabbergasted by the impact she aroused at a mere 21. The atmosphere was more like a pop concert, or – more better perhaps– what we a Franz Liszt concert in the 1830s might have been like.. Hordes of her fans and colleagues were outside the concert venue; others, with money in hand, desperately seeking anyone willing to sell them a ticket, but without success. Like her compatriots Sa Chen, Lang Lang or Yundi Li, Yuja Wang must also be considered one of the wunderkinder of the Far East. Having heard all four musicians in recent times, their characters are uniquely discrete – the serious maturity of Sa Chen, the expansive Lang Lang, the poetic lyricism of Yundi Li, but for sheer musical adventurousness, Yuja Wang takes precedence above all. Yet  the four young musicians share common traits - musical charisma and unpredictability, technical brilliance, and a self-imposed commitment in their music. To this effect, Wang once remarked: “my music tells you who I am; I enjoy the fun behind what is involved.”  Here is a pianist who readily defies easy critical analysis and journalistic labelling.

“I remember in one of my US concerts, where I stumbled on a review to my concert, which was published even before my concert started! Can you believe it?!” But, without being discouraged, she then continued: “But, I love Paris – the French people! I’ll be playing for them again. I think the press generally likes me there, and I enjoy practicing there too.”

Picture © Shuman Associates

In fact, Wang’s playing has already earned her critical acclaim not just in Paris, but  across the globe. The Washington Post described her Liszt Sonata as “having a whole spectrum of hues in her fingers; she can play powerfully … or with feathery softness” or, as I wrote, about her varied and multifaceted playing of the Prokofiev G Minor Concerto: “…Yuja’s playing was full of contradictions yet so re-creatively alive, that when she proceeded into the cadenza, her music was filled with white-hot intensity and full-bodied musical commitment. By the end of the thirty-five minutes, Yuja impressed listeners by ear with her hallmark of musical standards. It was as if she played Prokofiev’s music as a lifetime’s account of her own, when she might herself have circulated in Russian blood..” Wang countered with her trademark laugh and said, “[Each time] I only hope I can ask for the best in myself on–stage, and learn to have fun with it.”

So where did she come from? Yuja Wang was born in Beijing in February 1987, the only daughter of musical parents. “My mother was a dancer, and my father was a percussionist, so I guess you may say music was always a part of my life from the very beginning.”

Wang’s musical education began at the age of 6, when she went to study, for three years, at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, under the tutelage of Professors Ling Yuan and Zhou Guangren. She had made her earliest public performances in various cities in Australia (1996), Germany (1998) and across China, including such major cities as Beijing, Harbin Shanghai and Zhuhai. Between 1991 and 2001, Wang had the opportunity to leave China and she participated in an artistic and cultural exchange with Canada, where Wang took part in the Morningside Music Bridge summer programs at Calgary’s Mount Royal College Conservatory. Subsequently, she became a student at the Academy’s Program for Gifted Youth there, studying under Hung Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone. Then in 2002 and 2003 Wang worked with noted piano pedagogue John Perry at the Aspen Music Festival, and in her first year there, she won the Concerto Competition [with Chopin’s E Minor Concerto]. For the past 5 years Wang has studied with Gary Graffman, a former student of Vladimir Horowitz, at the Curtis Institutes of Music in Philadelphia from which re Wang graduated last year. In 2006, when only 19, she received the prestigious Gilmore Young Artist Award.

Wang released her very début CD in 1995, and her first disc with DG, entitled “Sonatas and Etudes,” will feature Sonatas of Chopin (No.2), Liszt (B Minor) and Scriabin [op.19, the Sonata-Fantasy], plus two of the Ligeti Etudes. I asked Wang if she might be a tad more stressed and anxious this time about her début with DG, the so-called “Rolls-Royce” of the music industry.

“To tell you the truth, I haven’t had time even to hear the final product myself since I recorded them in November [in Hamburg]. Traveling has kept me busy [her eyes indicate a shade of fatigue]. I hope it will come out to be liked by many and listened to a lot.” What made her decide on the repertoire – was it mutual? “Well actually, it was kinda mutual. I actually wanted to include one or two of the transcriptions I play a lot, but DG wanted my first disc to focus more on the traditional classical oeuvre. As you know, I have played the Liszt and Scriabin Sonatas and the Ligeti on many occasions, and I feel comfortable to record them as part of my first recording for DG. But yeah … it is quite an action-packed disc, also with the complete Chopin B Flat Minor Sonata, you know … the one with the Funeral March.”

A pity that her famous reading of Ravel’s La Valse and other “knuckle-buster” transcriptions (like her own version of Gluck’s Melodie, the Bizet–Horowitz Carmen Fantaisie or the Rimsky-Korsakov–Rachmaninoff Flight of the Bumblebee [in double-time], and, of course, the Mozart–Volodos Turkish March) will not be appearing here. But, much to my relief, Wang hinted “haha… we are in fact planning some of these for my second disc – it will come from one of the recitals I played at the festival!”

“I try to do things fast and keep myself busy; I hate when things move too slowly.”

This life principle is perhaps readily reflected in the choice of Wang’s repertoire – encompassing the virtuosic works of Ligeti, Liszt and Ravel, to the magna opera of Medtner, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. Regarding her choice of programmes for future recitals, a pianist of her talents might still humbly ask: “What do you think I should play?” After a few responses back–and–forth, she would admit “Yeah … I couldn’t play the Waldstein yet, nor Gaspard de la Nuit, but what do you think of the Appassionata, or the Rachmaninoff Sonata [No.2] instead?” To this effect, I think what she really meant to say was: ‘I couldn’t play the Waldstein and Gaspard as well as I could.’ Here was a pianist who was able to programme the two Books of Brahms Paganini Variations, Stravinsky’s Petroushka, Scriabin’s Sonata-Fantasy, Ravel’s La Valse and selections from Ligeti’s Etudes all within the scope of a single programme (plus two or three ‘superhuman’ encores). Without a minute to waste, I wonder if her fingers might fall off in the end? To this, she added “I think I might have strained one of my fingers already … but playing them gives me so much fun!” 

This consistently high demand on artistic perfection from someone so young can be equally as dangerous as walking on the tightrope, particularly for those who care more for her musical development than sales. Wang is able to woo any audience with her limitless breath of virtuosity, but, if Wang is to continue on this path to stardom, I fear she cannot escape the pressures of her own reputation. I wondered who Wang could look up to and admire in the musical world now that she is slowly becoming a household name? Of course, there is no simple answer, but Maurizio Pollini’s name came out quite a number of times “I had the occasion to meet (him), and hear him perform. I enjoy very much his interpretations of the contemporary works like Berg, Webern and Boulez. He is really the true inheritor of the great Italian heritage left behind by Michelangeli.”

So, with this in mind, what does Yuja Wang enjoy doing when away from the piano, and how does she spend her time on the road? “Well, by now, you might realized how much I love Paris – the city, the people, everything! [Perhaps, ‘Appassionata’ would be as fitting a vocabulary to describe the people there as they would love enjoy this piece of Beethoven performed for them]. I love the language – and it is so uniquely different from the French I hear in Canada – the dialect, maybe. My manager just bought me some books to read; I can usually finish reading one of these in less than a month [one of these was Paul Verhoeven’s Zwartboek (Blackbook)]. On the plane, I always try to find time to sleep, although most of the time, I end up watching all the great movies they show up there. I saw the Dark Knight on one of my recent flights. Oh … and I enjoy my visits to Japan very much. I swear I am a fan of their noodles [Ramen] - the best I’ve had [I could tell from her eyes that Wang was as dedicated a food–hopper as she was a pianist]. I also enjoy Indian food very much. But about Japan, let me tell you a funny story. I remember one of the first concerts I gave there, and when I arrived, I tried to explain my way inside the concert hall, telling them who I was to one of their staff there. So, I pointed to myself and said ‘Concerto, tonight’ … the individual didn’t quite understand. Well, you know how the Japanese language has many of their words ending with the syllable ‘a’ at the end. So I tried again, and pointed to myself, and said ‘Pianist-a.’ Nope …still looking lost. Then, out of the blue, the guy suddenly spoke out ‘Yu-ja?’ Well, I didn’t realize how Japanese and popular my name actually was over there.” 

With all this continuing travel and overseas engagements what is planned for 2009?

“Well, after my concerts here at Kitchener–Waterloo, I will be returning to New York City for a short detour before I return home to Beijing to spend Chinese New Year with my family. Incidentally, I will be playing Tchaikovsky Concerto (1^st movement) and the Yellow River Concerto (3^rd movement) while I’m there. Then, I’ll be returning to the States to have a masterclass with Yefim Bronfman. Man … you know, Mr. Bronfman’s a very hard teacher you please. His sound is so grand and massive. Then I’ll be giving some concerts with Charles Dutoit, picking up again on Prokofiev’s Third Concerto with him this time. Then in April, I’ll be having my début in London at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and in summer, returning to Verbier again where I’ll perform again under Claudio Abbado. At the end of the year, I’ll be returning to Paris for a recital. I don’t know what I’ll be playing (in my Hong Kong debut) yet. I haven’t been to Hong Kong before. I was suppose to play the Saint-Säens 2^nd Concerto with their Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, but they cancelled the booking.” A pity, as Hong Kong–based Colleen Lee had just performed a delicious reading of this very same work late in November last year with the HKPO; it would have been a brilliant idea to feature Wang again in this work.

Finally, I asked whether Wang may find time to pick up on some new repertoire. “I would like to learn Mussorgsky’s Pictures, and maybe give a try to one of Pierre Boulez’s Sonatas.”

Talking with Yuja Wang is as gratifying an experience as listening to her spellbinding music–making on the concert stage. Two things are certain for her future: firstly, wherever Wang plays, she will be supported by a fanatical and appreciative audience; and secondly, to have such a reputation and ardent career as Yuja Wang at 22 is indicative of her immense stature, as one of the most promising young pianists ever to have played the instrument.

Patrick P L Lam


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