Joyce Yang won the silver medal at the recent 12th Van Cliburn Competition. She also received first place for the best performance of a contemporary piece; and first place for the best performance in chamber music (with the Takacs string quartet.) If you have a chance, take a look at the DVD of the competition--where her chamber performance is briefly shown. A testament to the respect and chemistry between her and the Takacs string quartet is that she has been invited to perform with them on one of their next tours.
Joyce Yang is young but she is not a newcomer--she came from Korea to study at Juilliard and won a competition to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of thirteen, playing the same Prokofieff Concerto #2 that she performed in the final concerto round of the Van Cliburn. Her playing is clean and musical. There is a maturity and a grasp of the music that is palpable. Plus, she has a charismatic personality that imparts passion and a plucky sense of humor. What I can't figure out is how someone with such thin arms and fingers can play with such stamina and musicality. She "gets" really complex music, like the Vine sonata...and then rolls right into the Liszt right afterwards.
Joyce Yang has the potential to become a truly great pianist. How she matures as an artist and grows as a person will be watched with great interest. Buy this CD!! I hope she records with the Takacs Quartet--buy that one too if it comes along!
