Internationally acclaimed pianist Yuja Wang has been thrilling audiences with her electrifying performances since she was just 6 years old

Celebrated classical pianist Yuja Wang started playing at 6 years old. Image credit: Julia Wesley

The 2008 video of 21-year-old piano virtuosa performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s devilishly difficult “Flight of the Bumblebee” gave many people their first glimpse of Yuja Wang’s prodigious talent. The viral video is a remarkable watch, most notably for the blistering speed of her brilliant finger work dashing across the keyboard, which appears on screen almost as a blur. Rimsky-Korsakov is just one of the “Russian Romantic” composers whose work has become inextricably linked to Yuja’s stellar career. Indeed, on first hearing the romantic melodies of Tchaikovsky’s score for Swan Lake at her mother’s ballet rehearsals, a fire was ignited within the young Yuja. Encouraged to follow her mother into dance, it was the piano gifted to her parents for their wedding that instead captured the 6-year-old’s heart. “It has always been the piano,” affirms Yuja, who says the passion kicked in “the minute I started to play Chopin.” Yuja’s story started as that of an archetypal piano prodigy. Born in Beijing in 1987, she was already performing on stage half a year after starting to play and was enrolled at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music at age 7. Studies in North America then beckoned with stints at Calgary’s Mount Royal College Conservatory, before becoming a student at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music under the guidance of Gary Graffman – a revered piano teacher who was himself tutored by the great Vladimir Horowitz. Her big international break came in 2007 when she played Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as a last-minute replacement for Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich.

Winter Wonderland

Destinations

August 2023 (Volume 22)

Flawless Talent

Life & Arts

March 2025 (Volume 27)

Breaking the Mold

Since her dazzling entry onto the international stage, Yuja has blazed her own trail through the classical music world, defying many of the stereotypes. Her stature may be small, but her power and mastery of the piano keyboard places her in the league of giants of her chosen profession. Ecstatic reviews follow her everywhere, praising her technique and extraordinary musicality in equal measure. Her Carnegie Hall debut in 2011, where she performed works by Scriabin, Liszt, and Prokofiev, produced such raves as “fearsome fortissimo,” “élan and daring,” and “unfathomable dexterity.” Her irrepressible personal style of designer dresses and five-inch heels attracted attention initially – for Yuja, shoes “are part of the uniform” – but she has drowned out any negative discourse with the sheer brilliance of her performances. She also eschews labels such as “Chinese pianist” or “female pianist,” and when talking about women’s empowerment, she has said, “It feels kind of forced to me, because I didn’t have to be empowered – I am a powerful woman.” When interviewed, Yuja has a self-assuming, informal manner with a cheeky, almost rebellious sense of humor coupled with an infectious laugh. She’s charmingly relatable when talking about music and there remains an ongoing curiousness together with a pure sense of wonder and joy in what she does.

More Inspiration

By Sarah Notton

Giving a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2020. Image credit: Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images

“Part of the joy of classical music is the vast resource and diversity we have had over the past 300 years. It’s so enriching”

Asked who her favorite composer is and if there’s any particular work she adores, she replies, unsurprisingly, given how many times she has played him, “Rachmaninoff – his symphonic poem ‘Isle of the Dead’ and so many others.” She continues, “Part of the joy of classical music is the vast resource and diversity we have had over the past 300 years. It’s so enriching. It’s not a luxury but a necessity for people to have access to them.” For Yuja, her relationship with the classical repertoire is “a lifelong endeavor” – she has talked about how it took her some years to take on the work of Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, and Mozart as a professional concert pianist. When approaching a piece, Yuja always has the same routine, “I try to delve to the core (of the piece) by reading the score carefully and seeing how the composer comes up intrinsically with their own language.” She has also talked about how she has learned to practice mentally – a piano is not always available when traveling – thinking about the score, the music, and the structure of the piece, and planning her performance. In terms of connecting with the audience, she doesn’t “sense borders,” but tries to “zoom into my zone to deliver the best I can have at that moment.” When asked about what she hopes audiences take away from her performances, she replies, “It depends heavily on the repertoire. It could be humor, tenacity, or a vulnerable heart space – it could be anything really.” She admits, “I’m not in control of it; it depends on the receiving end as well.” Although she knows that some performances will always stand out more than others, she says, “I try to bring meaning to every one of them.”

Food & Drink

Yuja’s career is defined by many incredible collaborations – an early highlight is playing Prokofiev with the great Italian maestro Claudio Abbado at the 2009 Lucerne Festival. She has said, “Growing up in China, there were people on my CD covers like Abbado, and then I played with him in real life when I was 22. It was both scary and exciting.” Another more recent collaboration has been with 87-year-old British artist David Hockney. Yuja x Hockney at The Lightroom in London’s King’s Cross featured concerts with repertoire inspired by her response to David’s artwork. Audiences were treated to an intimate performance with live footage of Yuja’s dazzling fingerwork on the Steinway keyboard interspersed with wall-high displays of David’s art. On why she decided to work with the artist, Yuja replies, “Why not? He’s the most remarkable artist in our generation and it felt natural to match up his artistry with the most top-notch music. I have seen what he did with the operas back in the 1990s and not only were we lifted up by his extraordinary creativity and color, he is equally affectionate and lovable as a person.”

Meeting Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace in 2015. Image credit: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo

“I love Rachmaninoff’s music, and I felt so lucky to be able to play them all consecutively to show what one human can achieve”

Memorable Collaborations

Another source of musical discovery has been her recent series of four-handed piano concerts with Icelandic superstar Víkingur Ólafsson. Writing about their London performance at the Royal Festival Hall, The Guardian said, “It’s hard to imagine a more viscerally thrilling performance.” The starry duo will be bringing their program to U.S. audiences in early 2025 with concerts in New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Yuja remarks, “It was a great program, from Schubert to Nancarrow, having John Adams and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances as the main course, and Berio, John Cage, and Arvo Pärt as appetizer or palate cleanser. I really had fun discovering how one composer hinted another and how influence has no timeline.” Given her hectic schedule, it’s interesting to learn more about how Yuja, whose home is in New York, balances work with personal life. “I always remind myself that my priority is to take care of myself as a human being first,” she notes, adding that while travel for work is “something of a challenge to make it a pleasure, I’m up for the challenge always.” To relax, she loves visiting a spa and enjoys listening to “non-stop hip-hop and Dave Brubeck,” admitting that she cannot help but analyze classical music even if listening for pleasure. Perhaps the most compelling example of Yuja’s dedication to her art was her legendary Rachmaninoff “marathon” with The Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. It was a challenge that up to that point no other pianist had taken on – to play all four Rachmaninoff piano concerti plus his “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” all in one single concert. Two-and-a-half hours of music, 621 pages of scores, and more than 97,000 piano notes, it was a tour de force like no other, with The New York Times calling it a “musical Everest.” Famously, Yuja, along with the conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, members of the orchestra, and the audience, all wore wearable devices to track their heart rates during the performance – a chance to discover insights into how the music literally touches people’s hearts.

Greeting the audience before performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2021. Image credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The results were fascinating. In one notoriously difficult section in the final movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, where all you can see on the score is a mass of black ink, Yuja’s heart rate was remarkably low, at 85 beats per minute. This statistic may reflect her familiarity and confidence with the piece; at that point, she had performed “Rach three” 72 times. Other insights from the experiment show a wonderful connection between pianist and conductor with several moments showing both heart beats rising and falling in perfect synchrony. Reflecting on that Carnegie Hall experience in 2023, she refutes that it was a physically challenging recital. “It didn’t feel grueling at all,” she claims. “For me, it seemed quite natural, since I have played all of them. “I love Rachmaninoff’s music, and I felt so lucky to be able to play them all consecutively to show what one human (Rachmaninoff) can achieve and how rich a life can be,” she continues. “Five concerti, five different points in life, five different locations, and to play with the orchestra he has himself premiered these pieces with was really motivating for me.” In an interview with Gramophone magazine, she also discussed her thoughts leading up to the performance. “I was afraid that it was maybe too much of a good thing for the audience – like having tiramisu and panna cotta and chocolate cake and cheesecake all together at once” she says, “but it was so amazing.” It was a once-in-a-lifetime concert, which captivated the audience and the wider community of classical music enthusiasts alike. The world can’t wait to see what Yuja Wang does next.

Boots, Shirts, and Suits

Lock & Co. Hatters sells a wide range of men’s hats, including bowler hats

Breaking the Mold

Giving a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2020. Image credit: Getty

Meeting Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace in 2015. Image credit: Alamy

Uncover Singapore’s secret treasures

Singapore

In the Neighborhood

A London institution, black cabs are driven by those with an incredible knowledge of the city

Taxi Tales

Destination: London

LONDON’S CREATORS

Visit skilled artisans and Royal Warrant holders for the exceptional crafts they produce

Life & Arts

MINE’S A PINT!

Join the locals for a drink in one of London’s charming taverns

Food & Drink

MINE’S A PINT!

Join the locals for a drink in one of London’s charming taverns

Food & Drink

Taxi Tales

A London institution, black cabs are driven by those with an incredible knowledge of the city

Destination: London

Where To Stay

View All Issues

Life & Arts

Food & Drink

Experiences

Inspiration

Central & South America

Caribbean

Asia & Pacific

Europe

North America

Top Destinations

Destinations

Experiences Food & Drink Life & Arts

Inspiration

Top Destinations North America Europe Asia & Pacific Carribean Central & South America

Destinations

Destinations Inspiration View All Issues Where to Stay

Travelers

Best Rate Guarantee About Us Philanthropy Careers

Global Directory American Destinations International Destinations

Destinations

Partners & Press

Preferred Meetings & Events Press Center Travel Partners Travel Professionals Become a Member Hotel Become an Alliance Partner PreferredNet

Offers

Discover Offers I Prefer Gift Cards

* Actual rate may vary based on date, room type, and availability. Enter dates to determine more accurate rates for your search.

Download the App

#ThePreferredLife

Cookies & Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Modify a Reservation

1 (866) 990-9491

International Phone Lines

* Actual rate may vary based on date, room type, and availability. Enter dates to determine more accurate rates for your search.

#ThePreferredLife

Partners & Press

Preferred Meetings & Events Press Center Travel Partners Travel Professionals Become a Member Hotel Become an Alliance Partner PreferredNet

Cookies & Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Modify a Reservation

Offers

Discover Offers I Prefer Gift Cards

Global Directory American Destinations International Destinations

Destinations

Travelers

Best Rate Guarantee About Us Philanthropy Careers

1 (866) 990-9491