Pianist Joyce Yang’s Hot Summer Includes Rach 1 with New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center (July 2, 3) and in Vail (July 25)

Joyce Yang’s summer engagements include a high-profile collaboration with the New York Philharmonic in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The pianist – who has been praised by the New York Times for her “vivid and beautiful playing” – performs with the Philharmonic and conductor Bramwell Tovey as part of an all-Russian program titled “Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Friends” in the orchestra’s popular Summertime Classics series on July 2 and 3 at Lincoln Center. She rejoins the orchestra out west on July 25 in the same work during the Philharmonic’s Colorado residency at the Bravo! Vail festival. Yang also brings her “jaw-dropping technique and tremendous flair” (Aspen Times) back to the Aspen Music Festival, where she plays Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Aspen Chamber Symphony under Osmo Vänskä (July 18); a solo recital (July 23); and chamber music with violinist Augustin Hadelich and guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas (July 26), reprising their “Tango, Song and Dance” program which the trio premiered at the Kennedy Center this past spring. 

Yang – who was silver medalist in the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at age 19 and a 2010 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient – is renowned on four continents for her way with Rachmaninoff. Over multiple seasons, she appeared as soloist in the composer’s complete cycle of works for piano and orchestra with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under Edo de Waart. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel headlined its culminating review this past April: “Yang Rocks the House with Rachmaninoff.” The critic went on to praise her “enormous palette of colors and tremendous emotional depth” in this repertoire. Earlier this month “Joyce Yang owned Rachmaninoff” (Kansas City Examiner) in her performances with the Kansas City Symphony.

For her Australian recital debut at the Sydney Opera House, Yang played some of Rachmaninoff’s works for solo piano. Reviewing the concert, The Australian newspaper said: “Sustaining a rich, full-bodied tone and propulsive drive, Yang captured the volatile nature and shimmering textures of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Sonata, while the delicate, reflective accounts of Earl Wild’s transcriptions of three Rachmaninoff songs illustrated her sensitive side.” Yang recorded those solo pieces on her second Avie album, Wild Dreams, released in March of this year. Audiophile Audition lauded her interpretations for their “diaphanous arpeggios,” adding, “her big chords and parlando filigree also convey a true Rachmaninoff acolyte’s sense of style.”

Yang made her New York Philharmonic debut with Lorin Maazel at the age of 20 performing on the orchestra’s tour of Asia, making a triumphant return to her hometown of Seoul, South Korea; she made her Philharmonic subscription debut at Avery Fisher Hall the following week. Subsequent appearances with the Philharmonic have included the opening night of the Leonard Bernstein festival in 2008, at the special request of Maazel in his final season as music director. The New York Times pronounced her performance in Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety “a knockout.”

Yang is also a keen chamber musician, and for the July 26 concert at the Aspen Music Festival she reunites with her frequent duo partner, violinist Augustin Hadelich, and with guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas. The three performed together at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in April for the premiere of an evening length program called “Tango, Song and Dance,” built around André Previn’s three-part work of the same name, which they are reprising in Aspen. The Washington Post said, “The music was delightful and well-played by three crack musicians.” 

A complete list of the pianist’s upcoming engagements follows, and additional information may be found at her web site: www.pianistjoyceyang.com. High-resolution photos may be downloaded here. 

Upcoming summer engagements

July 2, 3

New York, NY

Avery Fisher Hall

New York Philharmonic / Bramwell Tovey

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1

July 18

Aspen, CO 

Aspen Music Festival 

Aspen Chamber Symphony / Osmo Vänskä

Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor

July 23            

Salida, CO 

Aspen Music Festival 

Salida High School Auditorium

Recital

July 25            

Vail, CO

Bravo! Vail

Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater

New York Philharmonic/ Bramwell Tovey 

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1

July 26

Aspen, CO

Aspen Music Festival

“Tango, Song & Dance” 

With Augustin Hadelich, violin; Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, guitar

August 2, 3

Bridgehampton, NY

Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

Mozart: Piano Trio in B-flat major, K. 502

Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47