The Impossible Virtuosity of Yuja Wang 

another variation...fom many any many pianist ...

Exactly. I'm an amateur but pretty skilled pianist. The primary difference between me trying pieces like this and her performance is that while I could play 8 notes per second like she does, you wouldn't hear each individual note. My fingers couldn't get on and off the keys fast enough. THAT is the big skill where I come up short.

Totally agree! ❤

👋👋👃

YES PLEASE!

Or perhaps Hiromi Uehara - for those of us also into jazz. Both are techinically brilliant pianists and captivating performers.

😁😁😁😁

no

No reason for you to listen to anyone else ever again

She is a savant!!

"Who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long."

Yes, with multiple voices in that arrangement it’s beautiful and impossible to believe that she can do it

That is indeed one clear sign of a master, to be able to play fantastically fast passages delicately. It requires superlative agility and control, much more than just pounding the keys at triple forte.

She is a master.

It's incredibly impressive, although it felt too fast to me - i.e. you can't actually appreciate the musicality of the original piece. She could have taken it down a few notches and it would have still been just as impressive but possibly easier to enjoy and listen to ...

Agree with James Beard. Also I want to add that this superlative mind control she has... I'm pretty sure is also due to a healthy balanced lifestyle, in regards to body, mind and soul.

yeah mac,, she has the strength of a he! listen to others and keep her to one side to sprinkle hot tabasco over some steaming hot tamales...

I'll second that. I'm not as experienced as you, only been playing for 50 years and she's the best I've ever seen/heard. I'll watch her play something that I've got 20 years into and her version compared to mine is that of a master to a rank beginner. Her playing is sublime in every way.

Wow - you actually had the opportunity to spend time with Bill Evans? That’s awesome. But honestly do you think Yuja Wang is on the same level as Evans? No way! She hasn’t really learned to emote yet - let alone compose. I think you folks are listening with your eyes.

@@devinneiss4198 Technically, she's better. She's a better player. He is a better musician. He's a far more complete musician. There is a difference between the two.

@@devinneiss4198 What does emoting have to do with anything?! Lang Lang emotes and all it does is distract in a negative way from the music! If you can’t feel the emotion being expressed from the music itself, you need some sensitivity training! And regarding Yuja’s appearance-I find that suggestion simply insulting!

As a big Yngwie Malmsteen fan cool can’t wait to hear it The lady can SHRED that’s for sure

Just wondering what it is like working with someone so talented. In my industrial career the best days have been when I had the opportunity to work with super knowledgable people. Especially rewarding is when someone I look up to compliments me on my knowledge. Is it like that in the music business?

@@DavidVerch Like pretty much everyone that solos with us, she is immensely talented, absolutely prepared, professional and consistent. With Yuja there is also extraordinary technique even at world-class concert pianist standards that allows her to play at breakneck speed if she chooses to do so, and the “wow factor”, which she has in spades. She is also stunning in the outfits she chooses. She’s always a joy to work with, too. I can’t say the same for a few others, but yeah, zero complaints here.

You should show this video to Yuja, he's giving her such high and much deserved praise, she's a musical giant.

You must be recording the LA Phil concerts? Will it be video as well?

I’m sure it’s repetitive strain injury waiting to happen.

@@Chiller01 if that was going to happen, it probably would have happened already. She's 35 and has been playing at this level for over 20 years.

@@davidcurtin3481 Sorry, the aging process in the collagen that forms tendons and ligaments makes them more prone to injury with age. Ask Leona Boyd, Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, Jimmy Amade etc. Though repetitive strain injuries are currently better recognized and mitigated by professional musicians no one that uses those structures repeatedly over time is immune to injury.

It’s not strength. Any 10 year old technically has enough “strength” in their arms alone to literally break the keyboard. What you’re pointing out is the coordination and efficiency to deliver focused force repeatedly without fatigue or locking up

@@LAK_770 you're confusing strength with power. One doesn't always have to do with the other. And no, a 10 year old does not have the "strength" to break a keyboard. I described strength in terms of finesse and control, which is exactly what this pianist used. Strength is sustainability and endurance. Power is about force and impact. Your point has no credibility. I've been playing piano for over 50 years and taught it for 30 and I understand the physics of this from a functional perspective.

You are a lucky guy.

Im a Gilels fan also! he's unbeatable, Yuja doesn't come close yet

You love that huh

@GoodKinoman [Kolya Evgrafov] you are wrong. Speeding up the video would alter the pitch as well. Watch it again - the music matches the notes at the correct pitch. The piano hammers have enough time to fall because she is hitting different keys. Just accept she is a phenomenal talent - perhaps the greatest ever - which is no insult to the great Russian virtuosi!.FYI This performance was early in her career (still had long hair) and her encores then were often flashy demonstrations, but if you are really a classical connoisseur this cannot be your first encounter with Yuja Wang and you must know she is a deep and musical interpreter of the piano repertoire. Read the reviews of the recent Rachmaninov concert in NY and Philly and appreciate the range of he musical talent is far from fast playing.

I can’t agree more

@@goodkinomankolyaevgrafov6412 RUBBISH, ! MW

@@goodkinomankolyaevgrafov6412 Outside of the incorrect observation that the video has been sped up, you also misunderstand the reason the piece is played the way it is. It’s a one off ‘lark’ performance. It’s literally a tacked on for fun piece at the end of the show for an audience that keeps clapping. At the at point, it’s less emotional playing and more just strutting your stuff for fun.

What?

@@jimellis1810 Don't hate she is still great! Some can play and some people can write. They're two different beast. Pick one.

There's a great video of her at the 2009 Lucerne Festival with that annual venue's hand-picked world-class orchestra and with the great (now departed) Claudio Abbado conducting. 22 years old at the time, she made Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.3 her own and not just with her superb technique, but in her interpretation. Another thing that stood out was --- yes --- the joy she energetically expresses when she plays. So much fun seeing her having fun playing demanding pieces.

She generally seems happy whenever she is being interviewed as well. She gives the charming and delightful impression of being the person in the room who is having the most fun. I always hope that is actually the case.

@@1masterfader That's why I'm not impressed by a lot of modern day classic pianists they can't write own music to a high technical level that is on par with classic era pianists. ask yourself this is it really that impressive if people did it 200-250 years ago?

No that's not special. 100's of pianists do that!

@@adrianwright8685 I've heard a few exceptions in my time, even among the 'greats'. But in principle, yes, that is what one is supposed to do. Just as politicians never lie or slander, business people never cheat, spouses never stray, children never disrespect their parents, etc. Insofar as it does not violate any of the ten Commandments, playing a wrong note may be a less serious offense than any of these. Nor are the speed and accuracy of Yuja Wang's of any eternal consequence.

​@@adrianwright8685Okay Sherlock. Whatever u say.

​@@adrianwright8685sure 😂

@@jhsemoxitha3821 it's not a matter of opinion - just try going to some piano recitals - or watch a few on youtube - nearly all play from memory. In piano competitions it's compulsory.

WOWSERS!! Excellent commentary! My husband and I were there too! As a fairly accomplished classical pianist myself, I was in the bathroom during intermission and said this to the lady in front of me..."She's not human!"

It was extraordinary. I was there too

Just caught up with her playing this. My favourite piano concerto - next to Grieg's No. 1. Really the best I've ever heard. Amazing.

She is a gift sent by god to this world 😊

She might very well be the strongest pianist technically who has ever existed. And by this I am comparing her with giants like Horowitz, Rachmaninov, Argerich and Liszt, who have other worldly technical levels.

@@InXLsisDeo hmmm

@@colinjames2469 Male pianists are engaged in bringing music to people. This "beauty" brings vulgarity to people and excites animal instincts in people.

@@mariodisarli1022 Hey Cancan! How ya doing? Trolling is so much fun, isn't it?

I totally agree - the ultimate all-rounder!

And she's nice to look at.

I was just about to add the comment "Hey Rick, what do you think of Hiromi Uehara?"

Hiromi is a robot. Jazz needs soul

Hiromi hands are a blur as well!

@@SVI_999 Not a robot. I saw her in concert. She was very soulful. Look at her face to face duet with Chic Corea on Spain on RU-vid.

@@SVI_999 I thought she played soulfully when I saw her live with the harpist Edmar Castaneda. They were emotive and communicative musically; the call-and-response section was incredible.

Whaaaat! That’s ADHD on speed…….! Encroyable!

fingers can move when the palm and body is relaxed... that, probably, is one of the most important thing to learn for years. With opera singing, for example, it is also very inportant to relax the throat, and only that can trully "relax" the quality of te voice....with no amplification.

@@jacobostapowicz8188 this is the most intelligent comment ever.

@David Doan Ai CAN easily replicate Yujas achievements, and will probably replace her soon.

@@jacobostapowicz8188 that's not what this is about.. pianolas can easily best Yuja, and do we care?

It's not the gear.... I bet she could do most of that riffage on my grandmother's Samick upright...

Good point

It’s a lot easier playing fast on a top level piano.

@@markbaum9615 Well, it's not JUST the gear, that's for sure, but having a top piano is a prerequisite for that level of virtuosity. In other words, your gran must have a pretty awesome Samick. There are Steinways that wouldn't sustain Yuja's playing. The action has to be absolutely perfect, for starters.

​@@markbaum9615 it's not the gear. True she could play anything and make it sound amazing, but her talent wouldn't be able to be shown without a perfectly tuned piano. It takes many years to learn to do that.

You made me laugh.

Hahahaha!! Good one!!

I like that!

I had to stop mid-way. While I can marvel at the brain/muscle coordination, this performance IMO does not respect the ability of the audience fully to absorb the artistic intent of the composer. It reminds me of a satirical piece written about the 15-minute Louvre tour. For me, the mark of interpretive genius is better displayed by a sense of artistic brief pause. Ashkenazi playing Chopin comes to mind.

😂

lol

Come on, no need to be ashamed of being a Wang Chung fan (Everybody Have Fun Tonight). [There's your alibi right there, you should stick to it.]

Just goes to show, follow your dreams!

Yuma practices 40 hours a day. Speed only matters if you hit every note flawlessly. Wish she didn't play bumblebee.

@@piteusx8440 lol. She didn't play bumblebee. She played a much more complex and difficult version. And if my ear is not deceiving me, at about 10bpm faster than bumblebee is usually performed... Asians practice 40 hours a day. Yuja does 42. That might just make her the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything if you believe the hype.

Yeah. Speed doesn't mean people don't have emotion. Only boomers think playing slow and doing lots of bends means emotional. There's emotion in explosive precise speed and it's moving.

@@YaYousef5 Only boomers, ? So that’s according to the voices in your head

@@bobgriffith1810 Damn Bob, you got me! 👏👏

@@YaYousef5 Boomers are all over 65 years old now. Boomer is a lazy person’s term for “anyone who doesn’t agree with me, who may or may not like blues based soloing…etc.”

@@YaYousef5 Given that boomers invented punk rock and thrash metal, your observation may not be quite as astute as you believe it is.

Exactly, she is an athlete. But not the artist

Yuma Wang is world 1st Pianoathlete

She is also a very attractive woman. Her dresses almost make her performances adult entertainment.

@@andyschultheiss5128 Not at all.

@@atagadol Explain to us ..why she is NOT an "artist". Furthermore, explain to us....who is (give examples please) an "artist". And lastly, are you an "artist"? Yes or No?

Excellent point. It's the same way many guitar lovers mistakenly evaluate who is a better guitar player merely in terms of speed of playing or technical proficiency. There is a lot more to music than just technical skill. Some of the most beautiful compositions ever written or played are actually quite simple and slow !

I was gonna write something similar regarding the limited notion of virtuosity.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I just finished listening to her Rach II. A great live exhibition, great touch, great personality, and I love her tempo. I don't want to make comparisons, too complicated. I love Ashkenazy and Argerich versions, and to some extent I also enjoy Pollini's and Matsuev's. I can't place Yuja's interpretation with respect to the others under a technical point of view. All I can say is that I found it as engaging and emotionally significant as my favorite ones.

@@DaveJ6515 ⁹8

Four full concerti? I didn't know any orchestra or concert hall would program something like that. That would be an extremely long concert.

@@musiclover148 It was a marathon performed in late January, in the afternoon and evening. She wore a different outfit for each piece!

@@musiclover148 I think someone collapsed during the second and had to be taken to hospital.

@@jaygatz4335 When I watched this video, I thought it should have mentioned her sartorial reputation, as well! These are not Alfred Brendel's outfits that we see her performing in.

Check out Yunchan as well. The dude is incredible.

Yes. Have watched many of her vids. Barely possible to believe a human can do that. But, she does.

More Speed but...less music imho

best comment..

yes not human indeed, where is the music, the emotion, the humanity? Tori Amos is much nicer to hear on piano..

@@safje2005 she's still young though. That side will mature. Agree about Tori though 🙂

I saw her too when she visited our country. I attended her concert in Curitiba. It was amazing.

She is one of those extremely rare "savants" when it comes to the piano. She was born with her chops whereas we mortals have to spend decades trying to be one-onehundredth as good as she is. It's as simple as that.

Wife and I were at that concert also. Only concert of hers we've been to, and it was FANTASTIC! Yuja is coming to Philly again, next year, for a recital.

damn! i am so jealous of you. i HAVE to hear (and see) her live once.

Just curious, what were the criticisms you had of her prior to 5 years ago?

Aucune âme, de l'IA....

She has done quite a bit of Beethoven. I think she has done all five concertos, at least the first four and she did the Hammerklavier sonata

It's Bach that I want to hear! We need a Yuja Wang Goldberg Variations!

her rendition of the hammer is superior to all others, esp in that astonishing adagio. she has sad she needs to read and think more to do justice to beethoven. cant wait for bach.

She played Hammerklavier at Carnegie Hall, there’s a NY Times review of it available online

Agreed. I've played Rhapsody in Blue for more than 30 years. I've never heard anyone play it like she plays it. She's out of this world. How pleased would Gershwin have been? Too bad we can't bring back some of the great composers from the dead to get their reactions.

As someone learning the violin, the memory side of things is the easy bit! By the time you've practiced a piece like this for months on end your fingers know where to go! But she's quite some pianist; in a league of her own...

It's practice, no biggie

@@monstergaminghd1083 There's a young Korean violinist called Sohyun Ko (aged 17 now) who said she practiced 11-12 hours a day when she was younger... Still not LingLing though! Lol. She met up with a new tutor in America (Zukerman) who advised her to practice less and 'live' more which she did. But blimey 12 hours a day...

She was already very good at a young age. Combine talent with tons of practice ant that is the result. I do thing she lived more lives to pull this of 😅

I feel that “gifted” is an understatement. She is incredibly gifted.

That's the amazing thing about these clips, and others. She's not just ripping it as fast as she can go. There's tremendous touch and feel in there as well. Those arrangements are expressive, accented, with volume swell and reduction. She does all of that bang on.

I think artist don't appreciate being called "Gifted"

It's less being gifted and more being drawn to something. The more you're drawn to something, the more you'll want to practice it. Now combine that with her high intelligence and great work ethic and there ya go.

Yes, and a lot of practice, too!

NOOOH!!!

@@thepianocornertpc Yesssssssss!! At first I was sad about our view but it turned out to be a fantastic experience.

I like this idea. (My kids once complained that the tickets I bought - late - for the ACO and Tawadros brothers were terrible because they couldn't see the fingers of the performers!

Agreed. Why anyone would long for front row seats at that kind of performance, I can't imagine. Worst position, can't see anything.

Saw her twice and I want to see her again from the side just for this idea. Would love to see her do her magic at that angle.

@@georgescancan7503 lol

@@georgescancan7503 Wow you are really looking for attention🤣 aren't you

she used to say that she only has been playing 1 hour a day since she was 6. After seeing her alla turca encore, i call her a liar!

@@conannanoc8768 hmmmm.

I dont think you can get this good with just a lot of practice

I was friends with 2 DMA students years ago at UT Austin- Dohee and Claire. The both practiced insanely. I video taped their recitals and would hang out in the practice rooms and one thing I recognized was a Passion and Love for the music. You have to love something so much to injure yourself through the hours of practice- pretty much bruised fingers and hands. The maintenance they had to go through to keep this up, It looks effortless but is not. And yes, 8 hours of playing a day for years and years. It pays off, but is a sacrifice...

@@cozmicpfunk Agreed. Your love and passion for music spurs you on, so much so that you don’t realize how much time you’ve spent accomplishing each goal. But truly, if someone is leaving a practice session bloodied and bruised, he or she is not practicing correctly. Carpel tunnel, tendinitis, spine and back pain can be death to a musician.

Saw her?..HOPE YOU HEARD HER

@@christopherczajasager9030 "saw her" means seeing her playing on stage in a concert hall.

@@stringsvirtuoso3521 I do speak, read and understand English...and know a but about podium life as a concert pianist.

Another one to watch is Marc Andre Hamelin.

Superhuman comes to mind..

you could use insane, ridiculous, crazy, like everyone else who lacks vocabulary.. at least you admit to it

She is amazing. Objectively speaking. But i can't stand listening to her because, for all her intellectual curiosity, for all the transcendence of her virtuosity, which you describe so well, she remains chained to the ideal of speed for speed's sake. I'm sure that she knows exactly why people want to see her and hear her. I've heard amateurs play slow and simple passages much better than she does.

I feel the same way you do. It’s impressive but it is just TOO fast!

About as wrong as it could be! @@marcusonesimus3400

@@marcusonesimus3400 FYI, Rimsky Korsakov scored the original at 200bpm. The composer intended for it to be played extremely fast. Yuja seems to be in the neighborhood of 200bpm, she's doing what Rimsky Korsakov intended. think of bees or flies. Think of how hard it is to swat a fly. They're always faster than you.

Watch her Rach 2, & then talk to me about speed for speed's sake. The tempo is +/- epsilon relative to other recordings -- including Rachmaninov's! This is a solo show piece, but when she's playing with an orchestra the tempo is the conductor's to set, not by her.

I get that Rick choose these pieces given how the majority of his audience knows little about classical music, but some pieces are sublime in their beauty. The Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini is one piece beginner classical listeners can get into, the the second piano concerto and finally the sublime third.

Correct in all respects. But the centre of attention remains Yuja Wang. That is why the tempo is chronically, needlessly fast. I dislike sluggish tempi. I also don't want to be pushed relentlessly, as a listener, unless the music is supposed t express a feverish state of mind. But who needs a fever all the time? The main legitimate reason for playing fast is to show larger pulses with fewer (or subtler) subdivisions. A conductor can only beat so quickly without looking pretty stupid.

What good is technique when you haven't the compositional skills to fully utilise it? Technique has come a long way in the modern age, lots of technically impressive players, but the compositional side is lacking - I mean just listen to the radio lol.

I was going to post something similar. Technique at this level is probably way above anything we have ever seen or heard. OK great. What matters is how she performs the actual music. Her ability enables her to perform as the composers could only dream. I have never read a negative review, despite easy targets of dress, youth etc. She is outstanding and we are lucky to have her in our lives.

@@mikevanneste What? The composers played their pieces exactly as they wrote them. Ms. Wang doesn't play them better than they did. Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist. So was Prokofiev. So was Bach. So was Mozart. So was Chopin. Someone might cite Beethoven's compositions after he went deaf, but he was also a virtuoso before that happened. As for her technique being "way above anything we have ever seen or heard," I take it you've never seen/heard Martha Argerich? Ms. Wang isn't on that level yet. Nobody else is either.

@@Ken5244 Lots of performers have performed pieces better than the composer. Of course many of the composers you listed were virtuosos. However, they were dedicated to the craft of composition as much or more so than the art of performance. The fact that they could play their music doesn't mean they were the best at playing it. The recordings of Prokofiev, Ravel, or Rachmaninoff at the piano offer insight into what they had in mind, but I would much rather hear Martha Argerich's or Yuja Wang's Prokofiev 3rd than the composer himself. (And yes, I own all 3). Bob Dylan admitted that he might have written "All Along the Watchtower", but that Jimi Hendrix "owned" the performance of it.

@@brianwhittemore9091 I don't know that I agree that there are "lots" of performers who performed pieces better than the composer in terms of their technique. I suspect such performances are the exception rather than the norm. Of course, I'm referring to the elite players I mentioned in my first posting, rather than some of the 'lesser' composers/players throughout history. Modern performers, certainly from the 20th Century forward, have had the luxury of playing the great works on amazing grand pianos that Bach and other composers never had at their disposal, so of course those more modern performances will sound better overall than, say, a Bach prelude & fugue played on a clavichord or harpsichord. But any list of players who've had better technique than Bach did would be extremely short. I agree that many of the great composers were dedicated to the art of composition, but they were also virtuoso players. Their composition skills didn't come at the expense of their playing virtuosity. In fact, some of them grew to almost resent their own virtuosity when demand for their performances sometimes exceeded the popularity of & demand for their compositions. Prokofiev, as you probably know, was one of them for awhile. A lot of those guys would've been among the most renowned and respected players even if they didn't also compose. It's interesting that you mention Argerich and also Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto, because her version of it from 1977, with Andre Previn conducting, is one of my favorite pieces of all time. I don't think Wang comes close to that Argerich performance, but that's just my personal taste. I have never heard a recording of Prokofiev himself playing it, so I can't comment on the comparison. That said, Martha Argerich is one of the aforementioned exceptions rather than the rule. She's better than 99.99999% of humans that have ever played a keyboard, so saying that her version of any piece is better than the composer's itself wouldn't be hard for me to believe.

So true!! And an amazing surfeit of incredible women pianists - Helene Grimaud, Khatia Buniatishvili, Beatrice Rana, Valentina Lisitsa, and Alice Sara Ott (who sadly is battling MS). And in the jazz world, Hiromi Uehara is surreal.