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Sarah Tuan: Precision, Clarity, and Heart

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Sarah Tuan plays at the Shoemaker salon

Sarah Tuan

I was impressed when I saw pianist Sarah Tuan play for my Juilliard Extension class. So I was thrilled to attend her January 31st, 2026 recital at the Shoemaker salon on Central Park West. Despite New York’s frigid weather, the salon was filled to capacity.

Ms. Tuan entered the room to infectious cheers from her supporters. She briefly reviewed the first half of the recital, noting that she likes to include Chopin due to her transformative experience participating in the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2021.

Chopin Mazurkas

The recital opened with three mazurkas. Although in triple time, a mazurka is in no way a kind of waltz.  In Opus 24 No. 3, Ms. Tuan’s rhythmic control and perfect fermatas created that authentic mazurka sway. In crowd-pleaser Opus 33 No. 3 her sparkling trills were the stuff of magic. Opus 50 No. 1 was lighter on charm and heavier on dance.

Grieg: Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7

Sarah Tuan NYC January 31, 2026

Sarah Tuan described this work as stark, romantic and almost tragic. Her pace was unforced, neither as showy as Denis Matsuev or as withdrawn as outlier Glenn Gould. She promoted Grieg’s tense colors with precision and clarity, showing a lot of power and strong command of the instrument. I loved her reflective second movement (Andante molto) and her stately Alla Menuetto.

Debussy: Arabesque No. 2 in G Major

Ms. Tuan spun the bird-like trills of this playful arabesque with ease. The middle section softened and flowed, then the luminous trills returned before the final pianissimo. I prefer Sarah Tuan’s performance to Debussy’s, because unlike Debussy she didn’t rush the conclusion.

Schubert: Sonata in A Major, D. 959

Sarah Tuan’s Sonata clocked in at 35 minutes, requiring a lot of stamina. For this writer, the highlight of D.939 was the Andantino. Ms. Tuan’s restrained performance of this anguished, sighing eight-minute movement was crystal clear, tearing at the heartstrings while perfectly-voiced hands cooperated and contrasted. To hear Sarah Tuan play Schubert’s Andantino at the Shoemaker salon, click below.

 

Sarah Tuan with Robin Shoemaker

Satie: Je Te Veux (encore)

After such a weighty program, Satie’s lightly sentimental waltz was an ideal encore. Ms. Tuan played with humor, flirtatious rubato and sensuous voicing, charming the room as the concert drew to a close.

Final Thoughts

Sarah Tuan is a confident, versatile pianist who does not engage in keyboard theatrics. At times she would lean back and her gaze would lift, but mostly she watched her hands. Sometimes she sang silently, with an occasional smile. She clearly loves what she does.

As to artistry and technique, Ms. Tuan has it all. Her Grieg was excellent, her Schubert was profoundly moving, and her Satie encore delightful. Keep an eye on her website for future performances.

 

Elegant Piano by Richarlita You in NYC

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Richarlita You at Central Park West

Richarlita You

On Saturday November 15th, 2025, I attended Richarlita You‘s recital at Robin Shoemaker’s salon on Central Park West, New York.

Richarlita You is currently returning to the stage after a two-year hiatus. Her repertoire for this concert was more a musical biography than a typical concert program. Each work represented a segment of her journey from childhood in Taiwan to life in the United States.

Schubert Impromptu B-flag major D.935 No. 3

Ms. You opened with Schubert’s delicate, wistful B-flat Impromptu. She described it as a reflection of her childhood, and of the moment she committed to becoming a pianist. I thought I recognized that moment in the sober, almost somber close of this otherwise uplifting work.

Liszt: La Campanella

Liszt’s notorious étude followed. While there was some tension in the delivery, it was vigorous and entertaining. I particularly enjoyed watching the pianist’s repeated-note technique from my front-row vantage point.

Scriabin: Sonata No. 2 in G# minor Op. 19 “Sonate-Fantasie”

The emotional center of Richarlita’s program began with Scriabin’s Sonata. In it she recognized echoes of her early years after crossing the ocean to the United States, finding a “path that we shared” in Scriabin’s oceanic composition. Her interpretation was heartfelt and evocative.

Richarlita You

Debussy: Clair de Lune

For Richarlita You, this work is a personal refuge. During her challenging early months at Juilliard, Spotify serendipitously selected Debussy’s Clair de Lune for her while she walked around Lincoln Center under a full moon. Her luminous performance carried that sense of serenity.

Brahms: Intermezzo in A major Op. 118 No. 2

Introducing Brahms as her favorite composer, Richarlita You mentioned the poignant story of Brahms’ love for Clara Schumann. The Intermezzo in A major Op. 118 No. 2 was Richarlita’s way of inviting us all to take a moment to think about the people that we love, and to cherish the precious relationships that we have with our loved ones.

True to the composer’s Andante teneramente (tender) marking, Richarlita’s Intermezzo wrapped us in warm, melancholic beauty.

Chi-Lien Hung: Memories (from Five Pieces for Pianoforte)

Richarlita You found  Chi-Lien Hung’s Memories in a bookstore by accident. The score reminded her of her home town and the land she grew up in  (Taiwan). This light, reflective pentatonic gem had an authentic Chinese feel.

Richarlita You with Robin Shoemaker

Balakirev: Islamey “Fantasie orientale”

Balakirev’s Islamey is a notoriously difficult work. The composer himself acknowledged that he couldn’t play some parts of it. Originally written in 1869, Balakirev revised it in 1902, adding alternative passages (ossias).

This was Richarlita You’s debut performance of Islamey, a bold way indeed to mark her return to public performance. Aside from the difficulty, this was a musically interesting experience. It is based on folk music from the Caucasus in Russia, giving it a certain brooding Russian taste.

Final Thoughts

Richarlita You’s recital was a brief musical autobiography, presented with elegance and considerable skill. The program’s personal thread was fascinating, and the intimate salon setting made the experience all the richer.

For those who missed this performance, the same repertoire is listed for her Groupmuse recital scheduled for Saturday January 17th, 2026.

 

Stephanie Tang at Core Memory Music

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Stephanie Tang at Core Memory Music

Stephanie Tang in Rhode Island, August 2022

Stephanie Tang

On Saturday August 13th, 2022, I visited Craig Maynard’s Core Memory Music venue in Rhode Island to see London-based Chinese-American pianist Stephanie Tang.

Some pianists (Roving Pianist included) prefer to isolate prior to performing. But Ms. Tang’s innate confidence allowed her to mingle with ease, describing her program and fielding questions from us during the pre-concert discussion.

Thus, when she took her seat at the 9-foot Steinway concert grand, the audience had already warmed to her.

Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in F major K.445

Domenico Scarlatti’s K.445 Keyboard Sonata in F major is, well, very Scarlatti. Of the 500+ sonatas that he wrote, it is fairly typical. Rippling, twirling runs leap between the pianist’s hands, framed by recurring left-hand punctuation.

This piano was well-suited to Scarlatti. The low end was clean, reminiscent perhaps of Beethoven’s time, although more powerful. And Stephanie used the lightest pedal, ensuring that the brightness of the instrument did not blur her nimble fingerwork.

Stephanie after Beethoven

Stephanie after Beethoven

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10 No. 2

Ms. Tang described this early Beethoven work as humorous and cheeky. And throughout her performance, her appropriately theatrical facial expressions were priceless.

We are not accustomed to thinking of Beethoven as entertainment, but under Ms. Tang’s hands this overtly mundane Sonata was in fact a lot of fun.

To judge by her expression afterwards, she enjoyed it at least as much as her audience did.

Stephanie Tang plays Chopin in Rhode Island

Stephanie playing Chopin

Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61

Stephanie guided the audience through Scarlatti and Beethoven, but everything changed when she transitioned to Chopin. The artist was a different pianist for Chopin, becoming the medium instead of the message.

Chopin spoke directly to us through Ms. Tang, making for an enchanting performance. Her pacing was so naturally fluid that the concept of rubato seems unnecessary.

In the moments of silence after the last notes, I felt the entire audience sigh.

Schubert: Four Impromptus, D. 899

After such sublime Chopin, anything else would seem anticlimactic. Ms. Tang solved this by closing with Schubert Impromptu’s.

These mostly well-known concert pieces are quintessential Schubert: lavishly romantic and with sufficient drama to support some entertaining pianistic flair.

Ms. Tang’s flair was to throw in keyboard theatrics. Most notably she pulled the “Lang Lang Whip”, a shamelessly flashy gesture where the pianist whips her left arm down and away from the keyboard. Now I can call it the Lang Tang Whip.

Encore: Schumann Davidsbündlertänze Op. 6 No. 2 Innig

The concert closed with this very short, serene work by Schumann.

Stephanie Tang in Rhode Island

Stephanie Tang in Rhode Island

Meeting Stephanie

The glue that made this event special was not the venue, the piano or the music. It was Stephanie Tang herself. Friendly and at ease with her audience, she was generous with her time and fun to be around.

This hard-working, multi-faceted pianist has a busy calendar and a bright future.

Closing Thoughts

Core Memory Music is Craig Maynard’s labor of love. Concerts take place at his solar-powered home which contains a casual, high-ceiling performance space with excellent acoustics and comfortable seating.

The piano is a full-sized C&A Steinway D (see What is a Steinway C&A piano). It has glittering silver pins, a translucent upper mid-range and sonorous bottom octaves that excel as pedal notes in e.g. Bach/Liszt Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV 543.

I share these details because Core Memory Music is a piano-lover’s paradise. Craig recruits excellent young musicians from Yale, Boston and now from the Concert Artists’ Guild. This was the third concert here that Roving Pianist has attended, and it won’t be the last. See https://corememorymusic.com/ for information about upcoming events.