Pianist Yuja Wang.
My interview with Yuja Wang was slightly truncated in today’s Houston Chronicle. Here’s the whole thing. (She plays at Houston’s Jones Hall on October 12.)
When Chinese pianist Yuja Wang plays here Wednesday, she’ll be playing works by Franz Liszt, Sergei Prokofiev and Alexander Scriabin – the same program as her October 20 her Carnegie Hall recital debut.
Judging by the acclaim this rising star has received in recent years, it’s a pretty safe bet it will be an evening to remember.
When Chinese pianist Yuja Wang plays here Wednesday, she’ll be playing works by Franz Liszt, Sergei Prokofiev and Alexander Scriabin – the same program as her October 20 her Carnegie Hall recital debut.
Judging by the acclaim this rising star has received in recent years, it’s a pretty safe bet it will be an evening to remember.
It’s also a safe bet that her hemline will be on the short side – something several critics have taken her to task for. Indeed, her concert attire became a touchstone for controversy last spring, when a Los Angeles Times critic suggested that if her dress were any smaller, the Hollywood Bowl “might have been forced to restrict admission to any music lover under 18 not accompanied by an adult.” That remark led to a storm of opinions from other critics – both for and against Wang’s fashion sense.
On the phone from her home in New York, the 24-year old pianist had plenty to say about her life, music – and those little dresses.
Q: Are your parents musicians?
A: My mom is a dancer, and my father’s a percussionist.
Q: What was it like studying at the Central Conservatory in Beijing? Is it like a Western music school, or is it different?
A: In some ways it’s like Juilliard or Curtis. They do teach traditional Chinese music, like Chinese opera – but it’s about 80 percent Western music: piano, violin, cello and singing. It’s a huge school, and it’s competitive, with high standards. It’s very hard to get in. I was there from the age of 9 to 14.
Q: You completed your training at the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia. How does it compare to the Beijing Conservatory?
A: I was there for six years, and they were probably the best years of my life. Curtis is about one-tenth the size of the Beijing Conservatory, and it was a really friendly environment. It was very exciting: everyone was so talented and loved music so much. I was in a bachelor’s program, so I also had classes in art history and psychology.
Q: According to your website, you’ve got a very busy year coming up, with concerts all over the world. How do you do so much?
A: I really don’t know! A week ago, I was in Sao Paulo, and then I was in Paris and Berlin. Last night I played a recital in Denver, and now I’m back in New York for a day. It’s a little inhuman, but I guess it’s part of the game. Some people say that I should take more time, and not burn out. But right now I’m just enjoying it.
Q: I feel I should ask you about your choice of concert attire, which has been much debated in the press lately. Why do you wear such small dresses on stage?
A: I’ve been wearing them for a few years now. But it was just recently that it was blown up into a controversy, after a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. I like to wear them in the summer, at outdoor concerts where I don’t want to wear a long gown. And with so many concerts to play, I want to wear something I enjoy wearing. What I wear on stage is just what I normally wear.
It’s not like there are some rules that I have to follow. And if people find it shocking – then I’m sorry. But I’m really just there to play the music.
Q: Were you surprised when this became a controversy?
A: I was very amused – but I was also puzzled. I didn’t think the controversy would go so far.
Q: You’re not a big person – yet some of the music you perform demands a lot of strength: Ravel’s La Valse, concertos by Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev, and the Liszt B Minor Sonata, which you’ll be playing in Houston. How do you find the strength and energy to play this music?
A: I’ve been playing this music since I was six – and I’m a lot bigger now than when I was six! So I don’t feel that there’s a physical problem. You don’t need to be big to play Rachmaninoff.
For me, playing the piano is more about motivation: about expressing things that inspire my imagination and make me want to communicate with people. I want to share the things in the music that make me excited.
Q: I see you’re also playing some pieces by Scriabin in your Houston recital. This isn’t an obvious choice. Why Scriabin?
A: He created a sound-world that nobody ever made before. His music is full of clouds and colors and explosions – there’s a lot physical force in it. And his early music is very Chopinesque. I love playing it.
Q: Your Carnegie Hall recital debut is coming up. How do you feel about it?
A: Other people in my life are more excited about than I am. I’d like to think that it’s just another recital, so I don’t freak out.
Q: Who are the pianists you most admire?
A: I definitely admire Horowitz, because he was unique. And Rachmaninoff was very sincere and straightforward – almost child-like. I also like Glenn Gould. And I wish they had recording technology in Beethoven’s time.
But I don’t listen to a lot of piano recitals, I must confess. I love orchestral music, and dance, and opera. I play solo piano music myself all the time, and I want to find inspiration from other stuff.
Q: What do you do in your spare time? Or do you have any spare time?
A: Oh, I have plenty! I spend a lot of time waiting in airports, so I read books and magazines. On flights, I love to watch movies: I love Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick and Christopher Nolan. And I like to watch tennis – but I’m not athletic at all.
© Colin Eatock 2011
On the phone from her home in New York, the 24-year old pianist had plenty to say about her life, music – and those little dresses.
Q: Are your parents musicians?
A: My mom is a dancer, and my father’s a percussionist.
Q: What was it like studying at the Central Conservatory in Beijing? Is it like a Western music school, or is it different?
A: In some ways it’s like Juilliard or Curtis. They do teach traditional Chinese music, like Chinese opera – but it’s about 80 percent Western music: piano, violin, cello and singing. It’s a huge school, and it’s competitive, with high standards. It’s very hard to get in. I was there from the age of 9 to 14.
Q: You completed your training at the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia. How does it compare to the Beijing Conservatory?
A: I was there for six years, and they were probably the best years of my life. Curtis is about one-tenth the size of the Beijing Conservatory, and it was a really friendly environment. It was very exciting: everyone was so talented and loved music so much. I was in a bachelor’s program, so I also had classes in art history and psychology.
Q: According to your website, you’ve got a very busy year coming up, with concerts all over the world. How do you do so much?
A: I really don’t know! A week ago, I was in Sao Paulo, and then I was in Paris and Berlin. Last night I played a recital in Denver, and now I’m back in New York for a day. It’s a little inhuman, but I guess it’s part of the game. Some people say that I should take more time, and not burn out. But right now I’m just enjoying it.
Q: I feel I should ask you about your choice of concert attire, which has been much debated in the press lately. Why do you wear such small dresses on stage?
A: I’ve been wearing them for a few years now. But it was just recently that it was blown up into a controversy, after a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. I like to wear them in the summer, at outdoor concerts where I don’t want to wear a long gown. And with so many concerts to play, I want to wear something I enjoy wearing. What I wear on stage is just what I normally wear.
It’s not like there are some rules that I have to follow. And if people find it shocking – then I’m sorry. But I’m really just there to play the music.
Q: Were you surprised when this became a controversy?
A: I was very amused – but I was also puzzled. I didn’t think the controversy would go so far.
Q: You’re not a big person – yet some of the music you perform demands a lot of strength: Ravel’s La Valse, concertos by Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev, and the Liszt B Minor Sonata, which you’ll be playing in Houston. How do you find the strength and energy to play this music?
A: I’ve been playing this music since I was six – and I’m a lot bigger now than when I was six! So I don’t feel that there’s a physical problem. You don’t need to be big to play Rachmaninoff.
For me, playing the piano is more about motivation: about expressing things that inspire my imagination and make me want to communicate with people. I want to share the things in the music that make me excited.
Q: I see you’re also playing some pieces by Scriabin in your Houston recital. This isn’t an obvious choice. Why Scriabin?
A: He created a sound-world that nobody ever made before. His music is full of clouds and colors and explosions – there’s a lot physical force in it. And his early music is very Chopinesque. I love playing it.
Q: Your Carnegie Hall recital debut is coming up. How do you feel about it?
A: Other people in my life are more excited about than I am. I’d like to think that it’s just another recital, so I don’t freak out.
Q: Who are the pianists you most admire?
A: I definitely admire Horowitz, because he was unique. And Rachmaninoff was very sincere and straightforward – almost child-like. I also like Glenn Gould. And I wish they had recording technology in Beethoven’s time.
But I don’t listen to a lot of piano recitals, I must confess. I love orchestral music, and dance, and opera. I play solo piano music myself all the time, and I want to find inspiration from other stuff.
Q: What do you do in your spare time? Or do you have any spare time?
A: Oh, I have plenty! I spend a lot of time waiting in airports, so I read books and magazines. On flights, I love to watch movies: I love Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick and Christopher Nolan. And I like to watch tennis – but I’m not athletic at all.
© Colin Eatock 2011
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