Internationally acclaimed pianist Joyce Yang electrified her audience Sunday, March 13 at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center. Undoubtedly, the 24-year-old virtuoso brought new life to the pieces she played with riveting and impassioned artistic flair. After Yang’s opening
Internationally acclaimed pianist Joyce Yang electrified her audience Sunday, March 13 at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center. Undoubtedly, the 24-year-old virtuoso brought new life to the pieces she played with riveting and impassioned artistic flair.
After Yang’s opening piece “Gargoyles Op. 29” by Lowell Lieberman, a charming Yang told the audience she offered it as “the shocking appetizer that gets all your senses going.”
We must thank her for that, because there couldn’t have been a better way to instantly take hold of the audience’s attention. Filled with a balance of extraordinary musicianship and courageous intimacy, an intrepid, uninhibited Yang performed with unwavering power enveloped with deep sensitivity.
It felt as though booming thunderstorms were met with quiet rain and the blossoming of fragrant flowers throughout Yang’s performance. Yang looked like a strand of golden sunlight in her pale yellow gown that cascaded to the floor with sheer, light movement.
In speaking with the artist regarding how it feels to be in Hawaii, she said, “It’s a very special feeling… There is a common, positive, open energy from people as a whole. It’s much more welcoming, more relaxed. I would say I feel more free in a way.”
This is precisely how Yang delivered each piece for her Kauai audience, with a freedom rarely exhibited on stage by musicians of her aptitude.
Julliard-trained, Yang was signed with Opus 3, formerly ICM (International Creative Management) as its youngest pianist, barely a teenager at the time. In addition to many achievements and awards, in 2010 Yang was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, one of the most prestigious prizes in classical music.
In spite of it all, Yang gives credit and appreciation to her aunt in Korea, who introduced her to piano at four years old. Yang’s parents have supported her musical journey and have sacrificed living in the same country for more than a decade in order for their daughter to pursue her music career. “What they did for me is crazy,” said Yang.
Yang candidly spoke to the audience and shared that she relates to Lieberman and Debussy in the way that “envisioning colors and shapes help me make music.”
Regarding Chopin, Yang said, “It doesn’t take envisioning. Everything is so organic. It’s like trying to describe what air is like.” Profound words from a woman so young of age.
Before Beethoven’s “Sonata No. 3” Op. 31 in E Flat Major, which is widely known as “The Hunt,” Yang encouraged finding humor in the piece. She told the audience, “I hope you smile at least once.”
The audience did more than smile as they generously gave numerous standing ovations to a well-deserved Yang. Many were moved to tears.
After the concert, Yang generously offered herself to concertgoers by taking photos and signing autographs. A down-to-earth, spirited young woman with a charismatic approach to life is how Yang radiates on and offstage.
When asked about future aspirations during an interview, Yang said, “I think that finding a group or someone that can make music with me in a way that heightens both our skills is a tremendous find… I learn so much about what I want to do with music when I play with someone else.”
“I really have to treat it one concert at a time. I firmly believe that I’m as good as my last concert. Each evening needs to be somehow a step up from my last time,” said Yang.
Fireworks are sure to go off as Yang completes her 2010-2011 tour.
