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You are here: Home / Archives for Pianists

Pianist Wynona Wang in South Kingstown, RI

Monday, October 10th, 2022 by Ken Leave a Comment

Wynona Wang

Wynona Yinuo Wang at Core Memory Music

Wynona Wang

I first met Chinese pianist Wynona Wang at a house concert in New York in 2021. I was so impressed that when I learned she was to play as a Concert Artists Guild artist in Rhode Island on October 8th 2022, I had to attend.

Core Memory Music

Core Memory Music, Rhode Island

Core Memory Music

The Core Memory Music venue in South Kingstown, Rhode Island is a 3 to 4 hour drive along the I-95 corridor from New York. The time commitment made me hesitate, but fate intervened in the form of a message from Craig Maynard, founder of Core Memory Music. Could I swing through Manhattan and pick up Ms. Wang on my way?

And so early on concert day, I pulled over in Midtown to collect my passenger. I didn’t recognize her at first, because New York is full of young Asians in skinny jeans. But up close she was the same Wynona Yinuo Wang whom I predicted would be signing autographs for us in a few years. I felt the weight of my responsibility to get this remarkable pianist to Rhode Island in one piece, on time, and rested. When she dozed off en route, I felt a sense of accomplishment.

Wynona Wang rehearsing at Core Memory Music, RI

Ms. Wang rehearsing

As we arrived at Core Memory Music, a technician was making final tweaks to the sparkling 9-ft Steinway. Ms. Wang had told me that she finished learning one of the program works just a few days earlier. She needed time on the concert instrument to get ready. Soon enough, she was riffing through elements of the program.

Wynona’s Wang’s Program

The program for this event was unusually focused. It spanned compositions from a period of just 14 years at the start of the 20th century. As Ms. Wang explained to us, these works shared a common theme of grief that each composer interpreted differently.

  • Scriabin: Valse, Opus 38 (1903)
  • Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin (1917)
  • Janácek: Piano Sonata 1.X.1905 “From the Street” (1906)
  • Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux Op 39 (1916)
    • No 1 in C minor
    • No 2 in A minor
    • No. 8 in D minor
    • No. 9 in D major

In pre-recital chat, Ms. Wang identified Rachmaninoff as the composer she felt most passionate about. This may explain why I find myself so attuned to Ms. Wang’s interpretations. Indeed the entire program was a feast.

The opening Scriabin Waltz was a flowing, melodious aperitif from a bygone age. In retrospect it served mostly to warm the audience up for what was to come.

Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin is a baroque-style suite written in memory of friends lost in war. Wynona’s interpretation was elegant and restrained. Her second movement (Fugue) was impeccably timed, like jeweled clockwork. And I particularly loved her Forlane, a jazzified dance whose descending minor seconds gave me shivers. The closing Toccata was deftly executed but felt a little out of place.

In contrast, Janácek’s Piano Sonata staggers with pain. Ms. Wang’s slower second movement was spellbinding. At times she appeared immobile, her fingers barely moving. After the last notes faded, the audience was silent for 15 seconds. Partly this was because of the ambience that the pianist had evoked. But also it was because this work is unfinished, and Ms. Wang chose to let the audience feel that.

Rachmaninoff Études-Tableaux Op 39 No’s 1, 2, 8, 9

While Rachmaninoff constituted only a quarter of Ms. Wang’s recital, he overshadows much of the other repertoire with the sheer massiveness of his music (as well as his hands). Some of his works are “Russkaya Dusha” (Russian soul) personified. including these Études-Tableaux.

I hardly know where to begin with the Opus 39 Études Tableaux.  Ms. Wang’s No 1 in C minor rocked us beyond words. She has so much power, and Core Memory Music’s Steinway D has such a magnificent bottom octave, that she left us stunned in our seats.

Then there’s No. 2 in A minor, my personal favorite ever since I heard it played by my friend Ivan Gusev. Ivan, I know a Chinese pianist who takes this work to another level. Her name is Wynona Wang, and you need to hear her. I recorded her performance, here on YouTube.

As if that were not enough, Wynona also gave us No. 8 in D minor and No. 9 in D major. I am at a loss to describe how these works impacted the Core Memory Music audience. In their own words, I heard “wow, yay, bravo, BRAVO!!”. In the words of Craig Maynard, our host, “So, Rachmaninoff is smiling. Wherever he is, he’s smiling”.

Closing Thoughts

Wynona Wang is a confident, impressive pianist who totally wowed the Core Memory Music audience. She plays with such authenticity and conviction that Mr. Maynard and I wondered, were she to make mistakes, whether we would even notice.

Ms. Wang has the passion, musicianship and audience appeal that are essential for success. We hope that her time with Concert Artists Guild will help her evolve to her full potential.

 

Filed Under: Concerts, Pianists Tagged With: Concert Artists Guild, Core Memory, Core Memory Music, Craig Maynard, Janacek, rachmaninoff, Ravel, Wynona Wang, Wynona Yinuo Wang

Hollywood Romance by pianist Yoonie Han

Monday, December 21st, 2020 by Ken Leave a Comment

Hollywood Romance

Hollywood Romance (Universal Music)

Yoonie Han’s new album

Pianist Yoonie Han (yooniehan.com) is an award-winning concert pianist, currently living in Hong Kong. She first caught my attention at a piano recital in New York in April 2019.

I greatly enjoyed Ms. Han’s recital, and took home a signed copy of her Steinway & Sons CD Le Rossignol Eperdu. So when she told me about her new album Hollywood Romance, I couldn’t wait to explore it.

Hollywood Romance (Universal Music, Nov. 2020)

Hollywood Romance consists of 13 tracks of romantic-style classical music used in Hollywood movies. Some tracks are original piano works. Others are piano transcriptions or arrangements.

This is beautiful classical piano, played by an accomplished pianist. The recording quality is excellent, and the performances lush. Here are some tracks that caught my attention.

Rachmaninoff: Andante Cantabile (Paganini Rhapsody var. 18)

This concerto-like work for piano and orchestra is used in various movies, most notably Somewhere In Time (1980). It is one of Rachmaninoff’s most filmic compositions.

Ms. Han’s arrangement is clean and and convincing. Her interpretation is warm, conservatively paced and characteristically luminous. She stretches Rachmaninoff’s crescendos without breaking them, and closes with serene beauty. Here is video from the recording sessions.

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

Many pianists play this faster than Gershwin’s molto moderato, but not Ms. Han. Her judicious pacing and restrained crescendos evoke grandeur that I am not used to from Gershwin. The resulting musical experience feels somehow wider and deeper, more movie-like.

Puccini: O Mio Babbino Caro

Before listening to this track, I watched soprano Elisabeth Nefeli sing the aria. That was not a good way to approach this piano arrangement! Ms. Han weaves an elegant tapestry of arpeggios, and Puccini’s soulful melody flows and ebbs under her hands as it should. But Puccini fans waiting to hear heart-wrenching soprano high kicks may be disappointed, because a piano just can’t do that kind of thing.

Schubert/Liszt: Ständchen (Schwanengesang D 957 No 4)

Ms. Han’s liquid touch and Schubert’s flowing melodies work well together. Hear this on YouTube at Liszt: Schwanengesang, S. 560 (after F. Schubert).

Where to get Hollywood Romance (links from the artist)

  • Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gw/album/hollywood-romance/1540051411
  • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7h7Kr94IxEh48PydgM2mBc
  • QQ Music: https://y.qq.com/n/yqq/album/004PkYOw3sNAi3.html
  • Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B08NWBZSDJ

The album is available as a CD overseas, but not in US markets at this time.

[Roving Pianist writes independent reviews and has no financial stake in sales of this product]

Filed Under: Pianists Tagged With: elisabeth nefeli, Gershwin, hollywood romance, rachmaninoff. puccini. piano. pianist. o mio babbino caro. liszt, review, Rhapsody in Blue, Schubert, Standchen, universal music group, Yoonie Han

Pianist Tiffany Poon meets Fans in NYC

Sunday, August 19th, 2018 by Ken Leave a Comment

Tiffany and Ken in Central Park

Tiffany Poon with Ken Turner in Central Park, NYC

Tiffany Poon on Social Media

Tiffany Poon is an aspiring young classical pianist whose YouTube channel has over 64,000 subscribers at the time of writing.

Tiffany is also active on Instagram as tiffanypianist.

Tiffany’s Mission

While many pianists are active on social media, few define their goals as clearly as Tiffany Poon. On her personal web site she states that her goal is “to inspire all generations, the old and the new, to appreciate classical music using social media”.

What Fans Want

In another social forum, Tiffany Poon told her supporters that she wants “to break the boundaries and take you with me inside the world of a classical pianist“.

This is exactly what fans like myself want from a pianist like Tiffany. For us she is already a star, because she has many formal performances on YouTube and she’s really good. If you heard her play, you would never guess that she is only about 20 years old.

It’s Personal

I have exchanged pleasantries with top rank pianists at CD signings. Some are generous of spirit, but at root it’s impersonal. That’s not to say that Khatia Buniatishvili or Yevgeny Kissin don’t appreciate their fans, but we must all be one big blur to them when they are on tour.

In contrast, an emerging pianist like Tiffany is actively building her fan base. Having studied music at Julliard and now at Yale. she is on track to an elite career. Social media engagement can be a competitive advantage, and she works hard on her vlogs (video blogs) to engage us.

When Ms. Poon made the gutsy decision to meet fans personally in New York, it was not to be missed. Around 25 of us made it to Central Park in the stickiest heat of August to meet her at Bethesda Fountain.

Tiffany’s Vlog

Tiffany Poon’s YouTube channel contains her vlog, filmed and edited by the pianist herself. She also does livestreams. These videos are uniquely Tiffany: well-presented, chatty, unpretentious and informative. She is a natural in front of the camera, talking to us as if we were friends sitting across from her at a coffee table.

Among my favorite vlogs is Mix – Can You Hear the Difference Between Before & After Piano Tuning? | Tiffany Vlogs #21. during which Tiffany and her viewers learn some neat stuff about piano tuning.

We have also been with Tiffany in practice rooms at Julliard, commuting to school in New York, eating out with her parents, in a supermarket, in a dining hall, and even on her one-way road trip from New York to Yale.

Meeting Tiffany

When I found Tiffany in Central Park, she looked as cool and presentable as in her vlogs, despite the humidity. She recognized me instantly (goodie points!) and chatted individually with everyone who came to meet her. We were a diverse group of all ages (but predominantly young) from all over the world, many of whom seemed quite awed to be in her presence.

Tiffany herself was uncharacteristically at a loss for words. Neither she nor any of us had thought about what we would do once we got together! There was no piano to fill gaps in conversation, no edit function to cut out awkward moments, no beer to cool us down and loosen us up. This was a real life experience that Tiffany had initiated, a bridge between performer and audience. We hung out with her until thunderclaps chased us out of Central Park.

It was almost sad that nobody at the fountain other than us knew that a leading pianist of the Post-Millenial generation was present that evening. I think again of Tiffany’s ambitious mission and how important it is in this age, when a Chopin Etude on your media device may be referred to as a “song”.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Pianists, Piano Blog Tagged With: Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, Khatia Buniatishvili, pianist, Tiffany Poon, yevgeny Kissin

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