Yuja Wang at Carnegie Jan 28, 2023
Last night was one for the ages. It was certainly a once in a lifetime event even for the storied Carnegie Hall, which has seen more than its share of historic one night stands over its 100+ year history. Yuja Wang came down from her spaceship and performed all four of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos plus the Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The concert lasted over 4 ½ hours (not including her encore). Rachmaninoff, the last of the great romantic composers, was surely smiling from the beyond.
The concert had a wrinkle as the performance was stopped about a minute into the 3rd movement of the first piece (Rach 2) because someone in the audience had a heart attack. Fortunately, Yannick announced from the stage 3 hours later, that the man had surgery (probably a cardiac stent) and survived. (Considering the demographics of a classical music concert audience, I’m surprised I haven’t seen this before.) Yannick was so gracious by saying “we say music is life, but life itself is even more important” as he announced the man’s successful outcome. They restarted the concert from the beginning of the 3rd movement.
The concert was simply extraordinary. Sheer talent and artistry in the extreme. I’ve made over 70 trips around the sun and saw something I have never seen before. At the end of the last piece (Rach 3), Yannick got on his freakin’ knees on stage and bowed to Wang 3 times. Now that is something you don’t see every day and most likely I will never see it again. Just in case you needed convincing that we all just witnessed something very special, all doubt was removed when you saw the musicians going crazy at the end by banging their music stands with their bows and applauding as vigorously as the audience as if they just saw some imaginary concert that was a combination of a Beatles reunion on the Apple rooftop, Sinatra at the Sands, Fitzgerald in Berlin, Freddie Mercury at Wembley stadium and Van Cliburn in Moscow ( he received a 9 minute standing ovation). I lost count of how many curtain calls Wang took
before her encore.
Her dresses may not be as famous as her playing, but she did not disappoint there either with a change during each intermission. Don’t be fooled by the fashion side show. (The Kinky Boots outfit brought down the house to thunderous applause
before she played). This is an artist of immense substantive talent. She could wear a potato sack. Nobody would care.
Rach 2 (left) Rach 1 (right)
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Rach 4 plus Rhapsody (left) Rach 3 (right)
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It is worth noting that there is a long history of Rachmaninoff and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Rachmaninoff first conducted his masterpiece 2nd symphony with the Philly Orchestra in 1909, where it remains a signature work for the Philadelphians to this day. (He was a triple threat as composer, conductor and one of the greatest pianists of his era). The Philly connection is also augmented by the fact that Yuja Wang is Curtis Music School graduate and has played with Yannick and the Orchestra many times. The same program was performed in Philly the previous 2 nights (as opposed to all 4 concertos plus the Rhapsody in 1 concert as done yesterday) which prompted Yannick to say in an interview that the magic of their chemistry could never have happened if they did not know each other well musically, which they surely do.
