Artistry, focus and virtuosic fireworks from Yuja Wang in recital

By Nick Boston, 21 April 2022

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“wide-ranging programme, showing phenomenal artistry and focus”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 20 April 2022

Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 18 in E flat major "Hunt", Op.31 no.3

Schoenberg, Suite, Op.25

Ligeti, Etude no. 6 "Automne à Varsovie"

Ligeti, Etude no. 13 "L'escalier du diable

Scriabin, Piano Sonata no. 3 in F sharp minor, Op.23

Albéniz, Iberia, Bk IV: Málaga

Albéniz, Iberia, Bk III: Lavapiés

Kapustin, Prelude in B major, Op.53 no.11

Kapustin, Prelude in C sharp minor, Op.53 no.10

Glass, Étude no. 6

Bach, Orchestral Suite no. 2 in B minor, BWV1067 (Badinerie)

Brahms, Intermezzo in C sharp minor, Op.117 no.3

Márquez, Danzón no. 2

Prokofiev, Piano Sonata no. 7 in B flat major, Op.83: Precipitato

Horowitz, Carmen Variations

Liszt, Gretchen am Spinnrade, D 558 no. 8 (transcribed from Schubert D 118)

Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake: Dance of the Little Swans (arr. Earl Wild)

Sgambati, Mélodie (transcribed from Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice)

Yuja Wang, Piano

Yuja Wang with the Mahler CO: between lyricism and volatility

Edward Sava-Segal, 1st May

Yuja Wang and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra frame Chopin’s E minor concerto with two Prokofiev works, the First Symphony and Second Piano Concerto.

****1

Shock, spectacle and endurance: Yuja Wang and Thomas Adès at full tilt

Laurence Vittes, 8th February

If Prokofiev’s original intention in his Second Piano Concerto was shock and awe, Yuja Wang gives exactly the right performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

***11

Thomas Adès and Yuja Wang offer contemporary works at the NY Phil

Sam Jacobson, 23rd January

Yuja Wang returns to the New York Philharmonic with Rautavaara’s dazzling First Piano Concerto in a probing program curated and conducted by Thomas Adès.

****1

Yuja Wang serves an iridescent musical feast in Cleveland

Sam Jacobson, 28th November

Yuja Wang does double duty in demanding piano concertos by Ravel and Ligeti, while conductor Petr Popelka shows his chemistry with the orchestra in Pictures at an Exhibition.

****1

Contemporary works populate Philadelphia Orchestra's opening night

Cameron Kelsall, 25th September

Audiences drawn in by Yuja Wang's performance of the Ravel Piano Concerto are also treated to Julia Wolfe and Arturo Márquez.

****1

Stormy weather: a wild ride with Berlioz and Yuja Wang at Tanglewood

Kevin Wells, 20th July

Yuja Wang’s verve and panache, combined with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra’s fearless, youthful energy, forge an incandescent, explosive performance.

****1

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Nick Boston

Nick has an MA in Music, specialising in performance and repertoire. His particular passions are choral music, chamber music and opera, with a particular interest in early music. He sings in a number of choirs in the south east of England, plays the piano and occasionally dusts off the violin. He writes about music here.