Sunday Clas­sics: An­drew J. Yang pi­an­ist

“A prodigy, [running] the emotional gamut from brooding introspection to manic exuberance” – The San Francisco Examiner

“A gifted, sincere musician and serious artist” – Ruth Slenczynska, legendary pianist and student of Sergei Rachmaninoff

American-Icelandic pianist Andrew J. Yang has an active international performance career across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Born and raised in California, Yang grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2020, he indefinitely moved to Iceland, where he has established himself as one of the most promising musicians in the country. For three years, Yang resided in Patreksfjörður, a beautiful small village of seven hundred inhabitants in the Westfjords region of Iceland. He is the founder and artistic director of the International Westfjords Piano Festival and Iceland Piano Festival. Yang won top prizes at the 30th International FLAME Piano Competition (Paris) and the 5th Metropolitan International Piano Competition (New York City). He has also received awards from the Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition, Thaviu-Issac Piano Competition, Euregio Piano Award, and the Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition, in addition to reaching the semifinals of the 2024 International Schimmel Piano Competition and the Campillos International Piano Competition in Spain. He received the 2023 Eyrarrósin Encouragement Award from First Lady of Iceland, Eliza Reid, and a “White Rose” Medal of Honor for musical excellence from President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö.

Recent concerts include solo recitals at the Mozarthaus in Vienna, Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, Judaica Foundation in Krakow, Hoheikan in Sapporo, and performances at most of the major New York venues including Carnegie Hall, Victor Borge Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art. Yang’s most important musical mentors are the late Dr. William Wellborn and Antoinette Perry. He has also studied with and been mentored by Antoinette Perry, James Giles, Dang Thai Son, Julian Dawson, and Ruth Slenczynska. Yang received both a B.A. in Economics and B.M. in Piano Performance from Northwestern University, and an M.M. in Piano Performance from Mannes School of Music. Yang currently lives in the capital Reykjavík area, where he is on the piano faculty at Tónlistarskólinn í Reykjavik and Tónskóli Sigursveins.

For more information, please visit:www.andrewyangpiano.com.

Program:

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, op. 36

Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in F minor, K. 239, Sonata in F minor, K. 466

Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo in E-flat Major, op. 117 no. 1, Fantasie in G minor, op. 116 no. 3

Franz Liszt: Sarabande and Chaconne (from Handel’s Almira), S. 181