Amy J. Yang, Piano
Sunday September 21, 2008 at 2:30pm
Programme
- Bach - Capriccio on the Departure of My Most Beloved Brother, BWV 992
- Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2, "Tempest"
- Tsontakis - Sarabesque for Sarah Rothenberg (2003)
- Schumann - Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Bio
Hailed by Harris Goldsmith of The New York Concert Review as "a magnificent artist and poet: everything she touches turns to gold‑‑a Midas touch for tone and music", twenty‑four‑year‑old pianist Amy Jiaqi Yang has captured first prizes at many competitions and has performed in various renowned venues in the United States, Europe and Asia. Most recently, she gave chamber performances for First Lady Laura Bush at The White House, at Philadelphia Art Alliance's Connoisseur Series, and at St. Paul Chapel at Columbia University. Future engagements in 2008 include Ms. Yang's debut recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, recitals at the 180 Maiden Lane Concert Series, The Juilliard School, and The Woodstock Trail Mix Concert Series in New York; chamber recitals at The Rembrandt Club in Brooklyn, The Curtis Institute of Music and The Yale School of Music, in Istanbul, Turkey; a tour with Musicians from Ravinia on the U.S. east coast; and debut concerts at the OK Mozart Festival and the prestigious Marlboro Festival.
As a solo performer, Ms. Yang has concertized in U.S. cities, including New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco; and also abroad in cities in Poland, Verbier in Switzerland, and Shenyang in China. In 2000, her appearance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall took place under the auspices of the International Sonatina and Sonata Piano Competition. A young guest artist of the Lubus International Chamber Music Festival of Poland, Ms. Yang in 2002 toured Poland with recital programs of Frederic Chopin and those of her father, Hua Yang. In May, 2006, she was presented by the Tri‑Institutional Noon Recital Series at Rockefeller University in New York City. Foundations who have featured Ms. Yang in performance include the Chopin Society of Texas, Hous ton Young Artists' Concert, and the Kosciuszko Foundation of New York.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Yang has performed chamber recitals at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Goddard Foundation and Lincoln Center's Rose Studio in New York City, Philadelphia's Academy of Music and Art Alliance, and in Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco. She has formed a profound duo partnership with the violinist Adrian Anantawan since their meeting at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2002. They have performed in most of the above venues and continue to work together today. Future concerts with Mr. Anantawan include a recital at the Rembrandt Club in Brooklyn, New York, in 2008. In the summer of 2005, Ms. Yang was invited by violinist Ida Kavafian to appear as a young guest artist at Music from Angel Fire in New Mexico where she collaborated with artists as Ida Kavafian, Peter Wiley, Tara Helen O'Conor, and Lauren Skuce. For the summer of 2008, she will make her debut at the OK Mozart Festival where she will perform solo repertoire and chamber repertoire with Ani and Ida Kavafian, Fred Sherry, Anne‑Marie McDermott, and Paul Neubauer. She has also been invited by violinist Miriam Fried to tour with Musicians from Ravinia from March‑April, 2008. They will be featured in concerts in Chicago, Boston, Miami, and New York City. From a chamber recital with cellist Efe Baltacigil, Peter Dobrin from The Philadelphia Inquirer remarked, "Yang¼made sense of complex passages by deftly highlighting one voice among many¼[and] elevated joy to the edge of rapture while still in control of a totally refined sound."
Ms. Yang has garnered first prizes at the International Sonatina and Sonata Piano Competition, the Lennox National Young Artists Competition, the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition (Corpus Christi), the International Corpus Christi Young Artists' Competition, where she also received the grand prize, and the National Chopin Piano Competition of the Kosciuszko Foundation of New York City.
She has been a soloist with the Richardson Symphony, Corpus Christi Symphony, Woodlands Symphony, Symphony North, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, and Houston Symphony. Ms. Yang has participated in Music Academy of the West, PianoFest, Verbier Academy, Music from Angel Fire, and the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia Festival. In the summer of 2008, she will attend the Marlboro Festival in Vermont. Her performances have been heard on radio broadcasts in Poland, across the U.S., and on National Public Radio.
Ms. Yang studied with Timothy Hester after emigrating to the U.S. in 1995. In 2006, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Claude Frank, and in 2008, completed her Master of Music degree under Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School.
In her spare time, she enjoys composing, drawing, painting, photographing, and other creative endeavors. Her compositions have been premiered at Juilliard's Double Visions series.
JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL POST-CONCERT EVENT!
We are excited to be opening the 2008/09 Trail Mix Series with a most unusual opportunity for our music loving friends. On Sunday, September 21, at 2:30 pm our season begins with rising star pianist Amy Jiaqi Yang. Immediately following this concert at 5:30 pm, we’d like you to join us for a private reception being hosted by acclaimed composer George Tsontakis at his home overlooking the Ashokan Reservoir.
Mr. Tsontakis has extended this unique invitation with the hopes of both supporting the ongoing work of Trail Mix and honoring the afternoon’s artist, who will be performing his Sarabesque for Sarah Rothenberg (2003) as part of her program. During this casual gathering, we’ll hear more from Amy Jiaqi Yang, our host will speak about his work, refreshments will be served and good company will be shared. Admission to this special event is $45, including your afternoon concert ticket. Please make reservations in advance, as space is limited.
The compositions of George Tsontakis are regularly performed worldwide, with over 100 performances of his major works during the past two years alone at venues including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Berlin’s Philharmonic Hall and London’s Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore Hall. He is also the recipient of two of composition’s most prestigious awards -- the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award (2005) and the Charles Ives Living by the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2007).
After completing a three-year Meet the Composer Residency with the Albany Symphony, George Tsontakis is now the 2008-09 Composer in Residence for the Chamber Society at Lincoln Center and is in the process of composing a new work to dedicate the re-opening of Tully Hall this February.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
2:30 pm: Amy J. Yang at the Olive Library. Admission $20
5:30 pm: Special Composer and Artist Reception. Admission $25
To make a reservation, please call (845) 657-6864 or email woodstockpianos@aol.com
