Yuja Wang - Superstar Pianist Plays Too Many Encores

From WQXR and Carnegie Hall, this is Classical Music Hapio, a new podcast hosted by me, pianist Manny X. Every episode I'll speak with a special guest about their relationship with music will delve into their love of some surprising and not so surprising musical pieces, and see your classical queries and take part in playful musical games.

Today's guest is one of Classical Music's brightest stars. Born into a musical family in Beijing, she soon rose to international acclaim, performing with some of the world's greatest musicians, ensembles and conductors. In recent years, she has done projects as varied as a Rahmanan of Marathon, playing all five piano and orchestra pieces in a single day,

and a concert incorporating David Hachney paintings.

Last year, she won her first Grammy for the album The American Project.

It is my dream to become the President of her fan club. You're the one, a great pleasure to welcome you to the show. No, sorry. Thank you. What have you been doing?

“Did you grow up in a musical home where your parents both musicians?”

Yep. Mom, dancer, father, percussionist. Dancer. Dancer, yeah, crazy. No.

In the very disciplined, you know, that people mentioned about my posture, that's all we're doing. Well, you do look in fabulous physical shape. Well, she wanted me to be a dancer. I see.

I escaped it by pretending I liked the piano, and then I became pretty real. Actually playing on the piano was fun in the beginning because I can translate this course. But now, everything's so visual. I'm only good at sight reading. I cannot praise anything.

No, but you are a phenomenal side reader, in fact. For people who may not understand that term, sight reading is simply, you have a piece of music that you don't know. And the music is in front of you. Yeah.

And you try and play it as you're looking at it the first time.

Yeah. And you are in fact phenomenal at it. I know that at one lesson you actually sight read the Bartok first violin sonata. Oh. A company, someone.

Yeah. Yeah. But after that, I don't remember. Yeah. Well, that's not important, especially these days with iPads and so on.

Exactly. Yeah. I also know you listen to a lot of music and you know a lot of music. Does hearing other music influence how you play. So let's say you play Beethoven sonata, but you've heard the nine symphony.

Oh, for sure. Yeah. Or the string quartet is like getting into that composer's language. Like their complete works. Like if I do a Bartok concert, I'll hear the blue beer castle, which I actually really like.

I would hear that again. Can you give me an example, like I saw that you recorded a Beethoven sonata, or was 31 number three called The Hunt. [music playing]

“Are there things in other Beethoven pieces that would connect to that do you think?”

There were three of them and I just, it's like elegant humor. And I find that in the first one. Yeah. Yeah. It's like he wrote out when pianists kind of play two hats again.

Absolutely. It's very funny. [music playing] And there's just lots of humor in this one as well. Like it sounds like he's written out when we screw up in the concert.

Like there's a scale where it's triplets. [music playing] Too many, too many notes for the right rhythm. Yeah, yes, yes. I love, uh, yeah, I love that little humor in that.

It's also in the key of he flat. So I thought there might be pieces that have, you know, horns stuff and things like that. Oh, yeah. You know.

They also like horns of a song. There being B flat or E flat for me. Like obviously you flat the Emperor concerto.

“So is that you kind of connect a little bit because of the horn things?”

Maybe. Maybe. Yeah. See, I don't even remember that sonata. That's okay.

There's no need to remember that. [laughter] There are pieces that I learned before 20. I can be drunk in those sleep and whatever. And I can be varnal piano and then I can just, it just comes out.

It's, so it's permanently remembered.

Well, but part of it is because you play an incredible range of repertoire.

You play so many pieces. And one of the things I wanted to ask you about was how do you keep them going. So for example, you play Czechoski concerto in Toronto. Yeah. You're doing the piece by route of aura.

Right. I mean, these are... But that I'm using my iPad. But you still have to get your hands to go to the right place. Well, that's lots of elbows.

Actually. So there's different muscles. Yeah. But I know that you, for example, let's talk about playing the five pieces of Rahman enough in one day. Yeah.

There's an incredible number of notes that you have to keep working on and be accurate with.

How do you find time? Well, there are a lot of, like, say Rah three, I played so many times throughout the year, singly. And two also. Okay.

And then I remember four. I was in for one season. I was playing a lot because it's fabulous piece and exquisite and actually, just my one of my favorite. But then just put them all together.

It's about a amount of notes that you have to play in a recital. Anyways.

“But do you feel like you have to work 24 hours a day sometimes?”

No. You're not that big a practiceer. No. In some of those issues. I did a big fat wrong note in the Czechowski.

I was like, well, even if I tried to play wrong note there. That's nice. That's one wrong note. Yeah. Out of what?

17 million. But it was a very obvious one. Well, that's okay.

But then sometimes, like, as I get older, I always use horror.

It's as examples. Like, you know, I got the emotional cross. That's why matters. Yeah. So about the wrong note.

I totally agree. Yeah. Of course. But, but in fact, you do play very, very accurately. And I'm always amazed.

“I was going to ask you, do you have to have special ways of practicing those things?”

No. I think in my 20s, I did lots of pieces like that. Or the Carmen. Or the Bumblebee. So I was also physically more in the condition to do so.

And you're just really praised to someone. And just let it go because you don't think about it. And of course, if something happens, not a big deal.

But I just always a big deal.

I'm just always so. No, it's really like shut down the brain. I think. Uh-huh. Because now I'm actually like, oh, but what expression.

And then is like, oh, that was not the right answer. So you mean you could close off a little bit and just let your hands do it. I heard that's how people improvise. And I still haven't found that. You know, I readings part of brain lights up.

And then improvises actually the same brain that lights up for blind people. So it's completely opposite of set reading. And I haven't found that spot yet. You job. I'm hoping you can help me answer some questions about classical music from our WQXR listeners. We've invited them to submit their queries.

And we're going to do our best to answer them. And if we don't know the answer, we'll just make one up. Here's a question from Danny from New York.

“What is the difference between a piano sonata and a piano concerto?”

Thank you for allowing me these questions. So would you like to take this? Sure. Well, piano sonata and piano concerto is in the same form, but concerto involves an orchestra.

Excellent answer. Okay. But there's also something called sonata style. Which would simply mean that in a certain period in the period of heightened Mozart. The idea is that there is a section called the exposition which starts the music.

Right. [Music] Then there's a middle section which develops. [Music] And then there's a recapitulation which is a recapitulation of what we started with.

[Music] And that's kind of a standard form.

Exactly. So the difference is how you define the word. But certainly what you said was absolutely right. Sonatas are either for one instrument, maybe two.

But basically a concerto is for more instruments.

It's with a soloist. Right. Right. That's a good solo dancer. Thank you, Danny.

[Music] You played a fabulous concert which ended with the four-shopened ballads. Hmm.

“Do you have any sense of story when you play a piece of music?”

I mean, is a ballad, for example. Oh, yeah. That's all about narration. Do you have an actual picture or is it kind of- I kind of disdrunk scenarios, I guess.

But I guess it's just like a general emotion.

And then I kind of see what happens on stage. And then I try to think about it in a bigger structure of the four of them in one story. Wow. Brotherless stories. But let's say it's a Beethoven sonata.

Do you feel there's a story? I think I feel the frame like an architect more than the story. Yeah, the harmonic language. I see, so harmony plays a big part in it. For sure, yeah.

The story for me, I can think about it when I practice it, maybe. It helps imagination. But I feel like, oh, I should come from the intrinsic language of the piece. When you do a set of pieces like the Chopin Ballads, there's such a long history of performance of that music.

I heard you were born in.

No, forget my recording. Forget my recording. But there are people from the 20s and 40s. For Japan's time. You must have listened to a lot of those things right over the years.

Do you feel that influences you directly or is it something you assimilate? I try not to. I mean, I feel like pieces that I really internalize and record it and felt like I'm so convinced by what I want to say that I. I treat do not have a preset idea of it. Uh-huh.

So I try not to hear a piano playing. I started doing that when I was in my teens. I see. That's why I heard so much like symphonic. I try not to have anything influence, but if I have a question, I'll kind of consult a recording.

Yeah. To see what they did. Well, now for instance, we do have recordings of Rachmanino playing the pieces. I wonder did that affect you at all? Yes.

None of those very cheesy sentimentality.

“You know, if people are like, oh, you should take more time and like, did we hear off my note playing?”

[music] So you're kind of strong. I mean, that that does it. Well, the Rach 3 is definitely a lot of Horowitz recording. There's 2.

I think there's someone with Ormendi. I remember the cover of the CD. Where he's bowing, kind of. Yeah, same orchestra, actually. Yeah, I grew up with the one with Riner from Chicago.

Oh, okay. Or actually RCA Victor symphonies. Sorry, I think. I could be that one. But that's from the 50s.

[music] We have another caller inquiry. Betsy has a question about on course, okay? Hi, manny. My name is Betsy from Courtland Manor, New York.

My question has to do with on course. When do you decide to do an on-court?

“And if you do, how do you decide which piece to play?”

I'm interested in this because I've been to concerts where the audience was calling for an on-court and the performer didn't do one and other concerts where the performer did five. Thank you. [laughter] Okay, well, this is Eugen.

This is a perfect question for you because you are the queen of on-court. Sometimes. How do you decide on how many or how few or any it all? Well, I try not to play too many when I'm playing Contrudos. Because I did get a lecture from Leon Fleischer in Rovenia when I was before 20.

And then, of course, back then, I have like Turkish March Carmen or this showy stuff. And he said, "I completely cheap and a gorgeous performance of Beethoven." And also, he felt like musicians on stage. They were not supposed to be obliged to be forced feeding. Those tragic pieces.

So, it's very conflicting instructions I get. But, of course, I also got grilled in Zern when I did two Raphael Contrudos which I thought was enough. And then they had a symphony after the Contrudos. So, without the information, so I didn't play on-court.

“And then I was asked by three journalists saying, "How can you be so mean?”

So cool to your fans." Wow. So, I really don't have an answer. I feel like whatever I do is probably wrong. So, I just...

I started so many anchors when I did recitals. And especially the recital in Vienna. Because I really feel bad. My first half was Trimberg Opus 25. And I feel like I should give all-in some bones in the end.

But then my feedback from audience was like, "We love the third part of the recital." Which is all in corporate. So, sometimes I didn't go for like, half an hour. But also, it was nice to play in a gorgeous hall. I want to play those pieces.

This is like meeting all-friend to check out the acoustic to feel where I am physically, musically, emotionally and spiritually. After I played all that. Betsy, it's actually a great question because I've been to a number of U.J. concerts.

And I never know how many you're going to do and how you're feeling.

But it's very exciting and it's wonderful. And I hope you keep it up and just keep playing more and more on course. With an orchestra, there's sometimes a problem. Because first of all, there's union rules for overtime. Exactly.

And they don't want to sit there for extra time. Exactly. So, that's one issue, but I have to say I disagree with Leon about cheapening things. I think it's fine.

“I think it's very, I think it's wonderful to play a beautiful performance of Beethoven Concerto.”

Yeah. And then to play fabulous performances of everything you do like Trist Trist Pulse Garden. It's great. It's absolutely great. Anyway, I think it's a great question.

Thank you, Betsy. I hope this answers a little bit. I'm Maniacs and you're listening to classical music happy hour. We'll be back in just a moment with more of our conversation with You Joong. I'm Maniacs.

Let's go back to our conversation with You Joong. This show is called the classical music happy hour. Oh, it's a drink. That's what I'm allowed to ask you. What is your favorite drink after a long day?

If it was really heavy today, something smoky and spicy, so it's like something was... A sausage? [laughter] I'm a scout.

Mr. Penel or something? Okay. If it's a lighter day, gin honk. 30 gin. Yeah.

I like olive, momentous.

“What's the best book you've ever read about music if you can pick one?”

I was at any novel by Mara Kami. I'm also a big fan. For example, like 184, he starts with the Yannatrix and Funyata. Yes. What's on my mind?

Great.

What is the first album you bought with your own money?

Probably your shop had, man. I doubt it. Well, city day sounds so long ago. Yeah. Yeah.

It's under you or Claudia or Mata or... Yeah. Somewhere in China. [laughter] Is there a first piece of music you fell in love with?

Yes. Does it sound like my tricholsky? Okay. Beautiful. And then shop on all turns.

You were asked about a favorite piece. And you brought up the Procophia of Scythian Sweet. You know, first time I ever heard it was last night. Oh. I listened to it last night.

What do you think?

It's very dramatic and powerful.

It's a bit like the suck. Exactly. The suck. It's the right of Sprint. It's funny.

They're parts of it. Which actually they have almost same notes. E and you know those that... What about the Scythian Sweet draws you?

There's something primal about. Very primal, very mythical, very before human had civilization.

“I think that's what attracted me about Procophia.”

It's that childlike energy is just raw. You travel all the time. Do you love or hate the actual process? I hate security. I hate waiting.

The initial excitement of going to see a new place is definitely gone. Because I've been doing this since 2016. But after I just took three weeks off. And it kind of came back. I was excited to go.

And like it needs to practice to be on stage actually.

Because the first concert I rehearsals find sounded great.

And then you know there's 2600 people only. What they all sucked up the sound. And then I was on stage. I was like, this is not high sounding in the rehearsal. And then I kind of all of a sudden got released on couches.

Like do I have my sound? So it's important to keep playing. To keep just feeling comfortable on stage. And to be kind of up for it. It's in pajamas for three weeks.

And you know where it hurts the most after the first concert. My feet. But I just wanted to know about the, you know, when you say it's no longer exciting to come to a new place. You probably have made friends almost everywhere.

Yeah. So we do keep in touch. Yeah.

And there's a kind of comfort in that probably.

In that and you can tell us in good fast. I do look forward to someone cleaning my room. It's a nice opening laundry. You know, I like that part on the road. But I think it's mainly the security.

And going through immigration. That's a drill. And sometimes you go through that in the morning.

“Or like, if you are before you have to be in front of the people.”

Yeah. To play. It's like a dichotomy of. Yeah. Yeah.

To a very glamorous one. Speaking of glamorous. I know you like wearing high heels. Mm. I don't.

I'm short. You know. For whatever reason. But I don't understand. How you manage.

I can teach you. But you actually. You have no education. You have no issue using the pedals. With those incredibly high heels.

I know. And you've just, you've just learned to do it. And sometimes they are platforms. So you really don't feel it. And you know, I used to pedal.

Now another pedal to turn pages. Right. You actually do that. That's tricky. That I do have to practice with the high heels to know the.

You know. You know. Right. Right. And you're able to do it while you're still playing the piano.

Yeah. That's why someone. You know, it's functional to wear a short dress. Because then I know where to pedal is. I can't see it.

I never thought of that as a reason for anything.

But that's fine. It's very liberating to know where your pedal is. Here's another question that I know you're just going to love. Okay. My name is Sunny.

And I'm from Mobile, Alabama. My question is, have you ever been presented with an instrument for a performance that you simply didn't want to play? Would you like to take that? Actually, my thing is I hate piano selection. You know, we have that luxury sometimes in, we also choose pianos for halls.

Sometimes. Yeah.

“I chose it for the Disneyland Holiday and then actually, if you want to go, I played outside.”

This is really sh*t piano. And they told me, I'm the one who chose it. Like, well, it was better before. Yes. It's terrible.

It kind of depends on the mood. It's, it's bad to pick a piano for a hall because every other pianist is going to say, "Who picked this piece of paper?" Everybody. I know it's hard to pick because you are not in the room.

Right. Because you don't know. Right. And I feel like one piano is like a more ring-top and more bang-based. Like I want a boonie.

And some piano has a more mellow and more blended middle. And I just want to both of them.

I mean, you know, if it's a good piano, you'll play on it.

“Because there are people that want things exactly one way.”

You know, and I don't think you're like that. Give me one piano and give me two hours of preparing. Yes. On stage. Not in a garage.

And so I'm used to the acoustic. But of course, now I realize a changes completely when there's thousands of people coming in, especially in winter with their coats. And it's not so much about the brand of piano. And it's more individual piano.

Oh, totally. And also the action. And maybe something that you can do something less friction, more sound. But as long as I have that, one, two hours of adjusting to it. Yeah.

I will feel like it's my own instrument. Yeah. So there you are. Thank you, Sonny, for the question. I was completely blown away by that concert you did.

One other thing. That was really, really fantastic because you did three really, really difficult pieces. Both from the conducting and playing point of view. I just thought it was phenomenal. I'm curious.

What do you think the challenge of conducting is? Why do you want to play without conductor?

Well, like I always said, I feel like playing control.

It's basically just like playing tremor music with a bigger group. And I always, when I play control, I know very well who's playing what's right. Right. At least the old pieces.

It's all started from Claudio, where listening is a key. And of course, you're just part of this is Claudio Abado. Yes. I feel comfortable when I play conductor.

And actually, truth pieces, that's not Beethoven or Mozart or Chopin, even because I'm trying to avoid the 2D part. That's the hard part for me.

“Because there you have to actually do the conducting and not play.”

Exactly. So it's super comfortable when I'm playing because from the musicians, it's clear because your bass is speaking with music. I don't know for sure. It reads all this better than it's not like you're also more free.

It's not like we're doing it the same way all the time. So we're together. I might do it differently, but we're still together, because everyone's flexible and knowledgeable at that moment. I suppose with a smaller symphony or a Chikovsky symphony at some level,

there's going to be leadership because when you have 16 first violins,

you probably at least have to follow one of the violinists. In a certain sense, it's the idea of complete democracy in an orchestra is very difficult, just because of that. But you can come close to do it, right?

Yeah. Yeah. No, I understand. But you haven't thought about, for example, doing Mauler 6. I know how it starts.

It's just a big thing. It's a little long and I don't think you can stand on my heels for all that. No, I don't agree with you. I don't agree with you. I don't agree with you.

I don't know how to press post. That's very confusing. I understand that too. Yes, I can. I'm sight reading really well for piano, but then when I see those scores,

it's reading a score is actually a huge challenge. It is.

“And you have to practice it because when you read the notes,”

it's a fifth or it's five, five notes away or four notes away or whatever it is. And we and the real conductive people that conduct this music have to really learn how to do that. Yeah, yeah. And it's a lot of practice. Well, I for one would love to see you in flat shoes doing a Mauler symphony.

Okay. I'm just saying. It's very whiny. Yeah. The Mauler over the shoes.

The Mauler. The Mauler, okay. We're here to challenge you today. You've got with a game. We're calling the newly dead game.

We'll give you some clues on how a famous composer dies. And you tell us which answer is correct. Are you ready? Yes. Composer number one.

Alexandra Straubin. Russian composer who loved the ideas of dark magic and mysticism. But it was an everyday morning ritual that led to his demise. A, getting his hand stuck in a coffee grinder and bloody with it.

C, going out for the newspaper and getting trampled by a horse.

“Or D scrolling through his phone and having a sudden heart attack.”

Wow. They're also unlikely. I see. It's actually not as easy as I thought. What was the first one?

The coffee, I think, is a beard. Is it? It's the beard. It's the shaving. It's the shaving.

Alexander Straubin cut himself shaving. Developed a pimple that led to blood poisoning. And that killed him. So composer number two Beethoven. That's Ludwig von Beethoven to you.

It's 1827. He is in his bed dying of what most historians think was probably liver disease.

“What kind of considerate gift did his publisher send it?”

Was it wine? No, was it? A very expensive fruit basket from Harry and David. The one with fruit chocolate in four cheeses. B, a new Steinway piano featuring his name, etched in gold on the side.

C, a royalty check for 250 pounds sterling. And they waved their usual fee. D, a case of wine. Oh. I said wine.

You're absolutely right. A case of wine. It's Beethoven's. His Beethoven's. A Beethoven's.

Dying with a failing liver.

“His publishers thought you know what he needs.”

He really appreciates a case of wine. Wow. And as a matter of fact, apparently Beethoven's last words were pity. It's come to late. It's a composer number three.

François of Hyden is known as the father of the symphony.

They never have the mother of the symphony.

It's kind of annoying. I think. And we'll get to there. But when he died, there was something missing from his burial. What was missing?

Oh, there's a lot of this burial. This is a little further. A, his wife. She never once visited. B, his lucky baton, which he very specifically has to be buried.

It's right hand until the end of time. See his car keys and walls. D, his head. I guess he's baton. Or say his wife.

Actually, the answer is his head.

He's head. His head. Hyden's head was robbed from his grave for a few days. After burial, by a budding frenologist. Yeah, who kept it on his mantelpiece for a while.

And when he got caught, he gave a fake head back, which was rebarried with Hyden. And it wasn't until 145 years later that Hyden was reunited with his and skull. But because so much time had passed, I figured they'd leave the original skull in their anyway. Because who can really be sure about this thing. And so there are actually two skulls buried with Hyden to this day.

Oh, wow. Well, we're at the end of this episode of classical music happy hour. You, Joanne, thank you for joining us today. My pleasure. Hi, Maniacs.

Classical music happy hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes I call its foundation and by Lyndon Elson. Our production team includes Lauren Persell, Joiner. Ileen Delahante. Laura Boyman. Elizabeth Nunna-Maker.

David Norville. Christine Hearskovitz. And Edia. Our engineering team includes George Wellington. Irene Trudele and Chase Coolpot.

Classical music happy hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hill.