On the evening of December 16^th, Yuja Wang, a world-known pianist, appeared at the NCPA and starred in the grand finale of NCPA Piano Virtuosos 2023. After a lapse of seven years, The concert kicked off with Messiaen’s piano piece Le Baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus and ended with Beethoven’s last sonata. A gluttonous feast of piano music was thus presented to the audience by Yuja Wang with her superb virtuosity and profound thinking.


In the contemporary world of classical music, Yuja Wang stands tall as a central figure capturing much acclaim from a great many music fans. Early this year, she accomplished a magnificent concert by playing five Rachmaninoff masterpieces without a break – up to four and a half hours, in one breath - with her consummate playing skills and artistic attainments displayed in full view on the strength of her intense physical and mental energy. Yuja Wang, who is brave in making breakthroughs and meeting formidable challenges, is not only highly skilled, but keen on pondering deeply and striving for perfection. When it came to the highly challenging and significant repertoire, she said that we begin and end in silence. These works are themed love, enlightenment, improvisation and fond remembrance. After countless struggles, we will have a taste of peace and strength.


Yuja Wang started the concert with Le Baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus in order to quickly draw the audience’s attention, but that was a great challenge. Having a composed personality, she got into the groove rapidly and touched the keys delicately, creating a quiet, solemn atmosphere in dynamic tone colours. Le Baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus, and Regard de l’Esprit de joie, an acoustically grand and texturally complex piece that followed, are both from 20 Regards sur l’enfant Jésus, a piano suite by Messiaen. This piano masterwork boasts wild artistic imagination and unequalled artistic techniques. Yuja Wang gave her mind wholly into the performance and took the audience to a grand world of music created by the composer. She had interpreted Scriabin Piano Sonatas in her debut album, published by DG. She rendered Piano Sonata No. 7, a magnum opus of the style created by the composer in his later years. The edgy, novel harmony and nontraditional musical texture flowed fluently and compactly on her fingertips, delivering on quiet joy. In Debussy’s L’Isle Joyeuse, Yuja Wang captivated the audience with a beautiful picture of exquisite, spiritual timbre and a well-controlled pedal. Worries forgotten, the listeners immersed themselves in a joyful paradise.

In the second half of the concert, Yuja Wang played Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 first. The beautiful parabola-like melodic lines and distinctive “Chopinesque” harmonies disclose the piano poet’s inner world full of melancholy, despair, defiance and struggles. Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32 pushed the concert to a new high. As the composer’s swan song, this piece consists of only two movements - a solemn prelude and an adagio cantabile, which represent Beethoven’s reflection over his life. Interpreted in depth by Yuja Wang, it came under free control after a long struggle. There appeared a long trill at the end of the piece, sounding like brilliant stars stretching across the sky. Meanwhile, the concert returned to tranquility.

Tomorrow evening, Yuja Wang will continue to share her world of music with the audience.