Scarlatti at the Sottile

Pianist Yuja Wang wowed the Sottile Theater on Tuesday night at the finale of this year’s International Piano Series at the College of Charleston. It was an astonishing display of speed, precision, and power by a 22-year-old with oodles of raw talent and skill.

Yuja Wang

The pieces she played were perfect for featuring her virtuosity, her breathtaking command of the keyboard, and her ferociousness. Undaunted—almost brazenly—she met every technical challenge that Scarlatti, Brahms, Chopin, and Stravinsky threw at her, which you can read more about in Lindsay Koob’s program notes.

Born in China, Yuja attended the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She later moved to Canada to study at the Mount Royal College Conservatory, and then to the United States and the Curtis Institute of Music where she graduated in 2008. Since then she’s been touring the country and making it easy for critics to flex their superlatives.

I don’t envy reporters who have to meet a short deadline, especially late at night, and I appreciated William Furtwangler’s post-performance review for the Post & Courier. Nevertheless, amidst the enthusiasm during and after Yuja’s playing, I could not help but feel that something was missing from her bravura performance.

On reflection, I realized that Yuja’s mesmerizing talent camouflaged the fact that she is still young, still gaining experience as a stage persona, and still discovering the full artistry within her craft. She came on stage more like a gymnast preparing to tackle the balance beam. Barely acknowledging the audience, she kept her head down, remained expressionless, performed the task at hand, and left. A brief smile crossed her face as she was bowing, and for that instant you could feel the audience wanting more reciprocation to their spirited applause.

Although she played the piano brilliantly from the outside—attacking it like a tiger—she did not ply the instrument from inside-out. She did not coax the music out of the keys, note by precious note, and hand it to her listeners the way that the most artful musicians seem to do. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that she dazzled, yet did not enchant. That she thrilled, yet did not enthrall. That her speed, precision, and unbelievable control notwithstanding, she did not engage or transport the audience emotionally.

I was awed watching Yuja do seemingly impossible things that most pianists cannot do. But skill, admirable as it is, takes a musician only so far. In Yuja’s case it has already taken her very far, but imagine the great distances she might travel when her artistry and stage presence catch up with her physical skills. Then she will play not only “the fastest Flight of the Bumblebee on record,” but the most lyrical and lucid. My guess is that she may even slow down a little as she discovers new found depth and aplomb.

(Read Lindsay Koob’s review .)

Enrique Graf

One final word warrants mention here about the International Piano Series and Enrique Graf who deserves praise for bringing this program, and this quality of musicians, to Charleston. Hopefully in future more people can be inspired to reap the benefits of these rich performances and make Charleston even more of a must stop for great artists. Thank you, Enrique.