Yuja Wang to be the focus of a UBS Soundscapes: LSO Artist Portrait concert series
Sarah Kirkup
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Gramophone Award-winning pianist Yuja Wang is the subject of a UBS Soundscapes: LSO Artist Portrait in 2014. She will perform three concertos – Beethoven’s Third, Prokofiev’s Second and Rachmainov’s Third – at the Barbican from February 9-20, before touring to the Far East from March 1-8.
Created by the LSO, UBS Soundscapes is a three-strand programme that focuses on giving world-class performances worldwide, nurturing talent by working with emerging composers, and connecting communities through its LSO Discovery programme. As the chosen artist for 2014, Chinese-born pianist Wang will, in addition to performing high-profile concerts with the LSO under Daniel Harding, give a free lunchtime concert and hold a masterclass at LSO St Luke’s.
Now 26, Wang is regularly praised for her phenomenal technique, as well as her charismatic stage presence. Reviewing her DG album ‘Fantasia’ in June 2012, which was a Gramophone Choice recording, Bryce Morrison wrote: ‘Wang is clearly one of the major talents of our time and her playing throughout is of an astonishing verve, style and dexterity.’