Yuja Wang facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yuja Wang
Wang performing at Carnegie Hall in 2017
Background information
Native name	王羽佳
Born	(1987-02-10) February 10, 1987 (age 38) Beijing, China
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Pianist
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Deutsche Grammophon
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	王羽佳
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wáng Yǔjiā

Yuja Wang (Chinese: 王羽佳; pinyin: Wáng Yǔjiā; born February 10, 1987) is a famous Chinese-American pianist. She was born in Beijing, China. Yuja started playing the piano when she was six years old. She studied music at top schools in Beijing and Philadelphia. By the time she was 21, she was known around the world. She signed a special music contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Yuja Wang lives in New York today.

Early Life and Music Education

Yuja Wang comes from a family of artists. Her mother is a dancer. Her father is a percussionist. Both of her parents live in Beijing.

Yuja began learning the piano at age six. When she was seven, she started studying at Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music. At age eleven, Wang was the youngest student at the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival. This festival was held at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta.

When she was fifteen, Wang joined the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She studied there for five years with Gary Graffman. She graduated in 2008. Graffman was very impressed by her piano skills. He also noted her smart and tasteful way of playing music.

Yuja Wang's Career

Starting Her Music Journey

In 1998, at age eleven, Wang won third prize. This was at the Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in Germany. Three years later, she won third prize again. She also received a special jury prize at the first Sendai International Music Competition in Sendai, Japan. This special prize was for talented finalists under 20.

In 2002, Wang won a concerto competition. This was at the Aspen Music Festival.

In 2003, Wang played her first concert in Europe. She performed with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in Switzerland. She played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. David Zinman was the conductor. She made her first North American appearance in Ottawa. This was with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2005. She filled in for another pianist, playing the same Beethoven concerto. Pinchas Zukerman conducted the orchestra.

On September 11, 2005, Wang was named a 2006 Gilmore Young Artist Award winner. This award goes to promising pianists aged 22 and younger. She received $15,000 and performed at Gilmore Festival concerts. A new piano piece was also written just for her.

In 2006, Wang played with the New York Philharmonic for the first time. This was at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival. The next year, she toured Japan and Korea with the orchestra. Lorin Maazel conducted these performances.

In March 2007, Wang had a big moment. She stepped in for Martha Argerich at concerts in Boston. Argerich had to cancel her shows with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Wang performed Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Charles Dutoit was the conductor.

Performances After 2007

Wang performing with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg in 2021

In 2008, Wang toured the U.S. with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Sir Neville Marriner led the orchestra. In 2009, she played as a soloist with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. This concert was led by Michael Tilson Thomas at Carnegie Hall. Wang also performed with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in Luzern and Beijing. She played with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Spain and London. She also performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2009, Wang performed and recorded Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto in G Minor. This was with Kurt Masur at the Verbier Festival. Her performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" is on a DVD from the 2008 Verbier Festival.

In 2012, Wang toured with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Zubin Mehta conducted the orchestra in Israel and the U.S. They performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in September.

Wang toured Asia in November 2012. She played with the San Francisco Symphony. Michael Tilson Thomas was their conductor.

In February 2013, Wang performed and recorded two concertos. These were Prokofiev's Concerto No. 2 and Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 3. She played with conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Venezuelan Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar. Also in 2013, Wang's tour of Japan ended with her first recital at Tokyo's Suntory Hall.

Wang played for the first time with the Berlin Philharmonic in May 2015. She performed Prokofiev's 2nd Piano Concerto. Paavo Järvi was the conductor. This performance was shown live online.

In February 2016, Wang played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9. This was a change from her usual Russian music. She played for four nights at David Geffen Hall in New York. Charles Dutoit conducted. Then, she played with the Vienna Philharmonic for the first time. This was in Munich and Paris, with Valery Gergiev conducting.

In March 2016, Wang played for three nights in Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted. In a recital at Carnegie Hall in May 2016, she played Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29. She also played two Brahms Ballades and Robert Schumann's Kreisleriana.

Wang performed with the National Youth Orchestra of China. This was for their first concert at Carnegie Hall on July 22, 2017. Ludovic Morlot conducted. Wang played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor.

In 2019, Wang honored Kennedy Center Honoree Michael Tilson Thomas. She played his piece "You Come Here Often?".

On January 28, 2023, Wang performed all four Rachmaninoff piano concertos. She also played his Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. This was in one concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin said it was like climbing Mount Everest. During the concert, an audience member needed medical help. The concert paused for 20 minutes. After finishing the last concerto, Wang played an extra piece. It was “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” by Christoph Willibald Gluck.

Regular Collaborations

Wang in 2021

Wang has played with many major orchestras in the U.S. These include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Around the world, Wang has performed with many famous orchestras. Some of these are the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Israel Philharmonic, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

Music Recordings

In January 2009, Wang signed a recording contract. This was with Deutsche Grammophon.

Here are some of her recordings:

• 2009: Sonatas & Etudes
• 2009: Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 with Verbier Festival Orchestra
• 2009: Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with Lucerne Festival Orchestra
• 2010: Transformation
• 2011: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Mahler Chamber Orchestra
• 2012: Fantasia
• 2014: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 & Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 with Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar de Venezuela
• 2014: Brahms: The Violin Sonatas with Leonidas Kavakos
• 2015: Maurice Ravel Complete Orchestral Works with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
• 2017: The Asia Tour with Berliner Philharmoniker
• 2018: The Berlin Recital
• 2019: Blue Hour with Andreas Ottensamer
• 2019: Sommernachtskonzert: Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue with Wiener Philharmoniker
• 2020: Adams, Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? with Los Angeles Philharmonic
• 2023: The American Project featuring You Come Here Often? by Michael Tilson Thomas
• 2023: Rachmaninoff: The Piano Concertos & Paganini Rhapsody; with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
• 2024: The Vienna Recital

New Music Premieres

Yuja Wang has performed the first public shows of several new musical pieces. These pieces were written especially for her.

• 2009: Artless Pages (Seven Impromptus for Piano) by Rodion Shchedrin.
• 2009: Piano Concerto by Jennifer Higdon.
• 2015: You Come Here Often? for solo piano by Michael Tilson Thomas.
• 2015: Farewell My Concubine for Peking Opera Soprano and Piano by Tan Dun.
• 2019: Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? by John Adams.
• 2022: Piano Concerto by Teddy Abrams.
• 2022: Piano Concerto No. 3 by Magnus Lindberg.

Other pieces that had their first public performances with Wang as the main player include:

• 2015: The Food of Love by Carlo Galante.
• 2016: Cello Sonata by Evgeny Kissin, with cellist Gautier Capuçon.

Awards and Recognition

Yuja Wang has received many awards for her amazing piano playing:

• 2006: Gilmore - Young Artist Award
• 2009: Gramophone - Young Artist of the Year
• 2010: Avery Fisher Career Grant
• 2011: Echo Klassik Awards - Young Artist of the Year
• 2017: Musical America - Artist of the Year
• 2019: Gramophone - Instrumental Award for The Berlin Recital
• 2021: Opus Klassik - for recording of John Adams: Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?
• 2023: Grammy Award - The American Project with Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra
• 2023: Pianote - Classical Pianist of the Year

Movie Music

Yuja Wang has also contributed to movie soundtracks:

• 2013: Summer in February
• 2023: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

See also

In Spanish: Yuja Wang para niños