Yuja holds ANY amount of people in the audience absolutely spellbound. Everything about her performances exudes professional excellence matched only by her obvious JOY with what she is playing. We are lucky to be living in the same times as her. Simply bewitching !!
Not only Yuja’s extraordinary playing but also Gustavo’s interpretation and conducting combine to make this the most spectacular Rhapsody in Blue I have ever heard.
This is technically a masterpiece from the pianistic point of view. I think that Khatia Buniatishvilli’s interpretation is superior in the sense of emotional attachment. But there is no way to explain the beauty of both. Khatia and Yuja are gifts that bring the world a sense of hope for humanity.
My mother, a New Yorker, used to play the solo piano version from memory. I remember sitting under the baby Steinway and listening, entranced. Wang is such an enthusastic performer. Working on my sixth symphony now :).
Totally mesmerizing, stunning performance. Soloist and orchestra (and let's not forget the audio and camera crew) really came together and gave the crowd and online viewers a true night to remember. Even watching this via RU-vid caused goosebumps multiple times. Thanks very much for sharing!
I’m an idiot just forget what I said. Criticizing a genius is impossible. I am having difficulty comprehending genius and I know why. I have finally realized how lucky I am to just be able to observe and be a witness to it…
What a thrill. Thank you so much. Mr Gershwin and Miss Wang make an extraordinary combination. He would be quite happy I imagine. Over 7 decades. Have listened to endless renditions of this. Clearly I am most taken here.
It is, as well, a testament to the absolute genius of George Gershwin who, I am sure, writing this for Paul Whiteman's Orchestra ( I believe that's right ) in 1924 never would have thought major symphony orchestras around the world would be playing this in what, next year, will be 100 years later. Such is the power of music! And a compser with a God-given gift! I had tears in my eyes.
I have played this piece in the orchestra. so many times. This is as fine as any. It finds the balance between jazz and classical music, which is what I believe Gershwin was going for.. I think sometimes she plays too fast and loses the phrasing but this is a great piece for her and she can do it! Excellent job!
She's having fun with this....look at her impish grin!!🦁😻 Looks like Schönbrunn in the background... beautiful Vienna, miss it. Happy Birthday Yuja bless from Arizona USA 🌍😽
Clearly you never played an instrument on a higher level than single note picking. After some practice this becomes muscle memory so you don't have to explicitly memorize it and when you play it you don't even think about remembering but instead just focus on performance itself. It's flow in its purest form.
Gershwin composed this on a 4 hour afternoon train ride from Boston to New York. Paul Whiteman's orchestra had time for about 1 rehearsal before playing it in a concert in Carnegie Hall, and the rest is history! What a beautiful performance! ❤
Entirely lovable, remarkable, unpredictable and unfathomable performance by Yuja and the orchestra of such playful yet touching music by Geshwin. Thanks！
Ira Blue, you are so missed all these years later......thank you for giving me this wonderful gift, having this melody as your sign off music at the end of your show! You made the world a better place!
Ik heb van deze prachtige rapsodie al vele interpretaties gehoord, maar deze van Yuja en Gustavo is veruit de beste die er bestaat ! Wat een prachtige vertolking, en je kan merken hoe Yuja én Gustavo werkelijk zélf GENIETEN van deze wondermooie, 100 jaar oude moderne klassieke muziek. Enig !
She is the best , and this lucky old bloke has seen/heard her live playing Prokofiev piano concerto No 2 WOW ! Yuja and Gustavo together are about as cool as you can get ❤
Mir fehlen die Worte. So eine wunderbaren Aufführung. Hier spielen die Besten der Besten. Ausdrucksvoll, ein einziges wunderbares Spiel in allen Varianten. Laut leise, phrasiert, verzögert und Yuja Wang voller Freude. Wie schön und was für wundervolle Attraktionen doch Wien für seine Menschen organisiert.
I am 80 years old and this beautiful masterpiece takes me to my earliest 20 when I was a Dj at Radio Selecta un Lima Peru. Yuja and Dudamel bring Gershwin to life.. please enjoy and share
Not just playing notes by rote - impressively difficult to be sure, but she downright inhabits the instrument. The two of them, along with the orchestra, are having an intimate sonic conversation that the audience is privy to. Exceptional artist.
Fun Fact: The director (Gustavo Dudamel) was born in my city, and even more fun fact, my aunt is the neighbor of one of his grandfather's. As always being the best director in every corner of the planet.
A glorious glimpse of the creative work of God! His heavens will certainly resound with music like this throughout eternity. I hope to make a joyful noise, along with the countless thousands gathered around His throne.
Thank you so much Yuja, it’s always an absolute pleasure again to watch you and thoroughly enjoy the passion and sensitivity of your beautiful music. Please stay safe and well too xxx Mags
I don’t think I have ever seen and heard such a connection between an artist their musical instrument when she plays. She is unique and special talent.
This song brings tears to my eyes any how, but watching Yuja dance on the ivories is a treat! Even when she is embellishing this magnificent piece (yes she makes certain parts her own!) done with precision and some good old-fashioned jamming! Bravo!
For more than 60 years I have been listening to Rhapsody in Blue, and this performance made me realize for the first time that I have been listening to performers playing the notes. Yuja Wang played the _music._
This seems to be the way classical music is going now. Conductors jumping around like Zubin Mehta for a baroque chamber music piece, or Bach organists bouncing their hands up in the air like they’re playing Rachmaninoff, and what we see and hear so often is people chopping up the music like they have two meat cleavers for hands instead of observing the flow of the music and of the expressions meant by the composer. It’s sloppy. Maybe if they had a black conductor and a Jewish pianist…?
I agree 100%!!! I thought the same thing that I have heard this piece dozens of times but it was notes on a sheet of music. This is interpretation of the absolute highest order!!! She is taking Gershwin's music and mood and playing with it in the most loving manner. When you see obviously very very seasoned musicians leaning around their music stands to see how she is going to handle a certain passage, you realize you are watching a true virtuoso! The rarest of all is to find someone with that much technical facility and still plays with that much emotion/soul. We should all count our blessings!!!
This music exudes joy. Is fun. Is showing people with discipline and talent and showcasing it for others as an ensemble and a team with individuals getting moments to shine. It is truly a wonder of humanity to behold. Sometimes, humans work as a machine in war, in commerce but art is something that exhibits the best of us.
