Press

“It is almost unfair to confront a critic with the level of excellence achieved by pianist Joyce Yang. What is one to say after hearing an innovative program in which stunning technical skill was equalled by impressive interpretive sensitivity? … presented with the total conviction and nearly superhuman technical control… Seldom is one treated on the same program requiring such unrelenting accuracy, melting lyricism and sheer energy as heard here, played as close to perfection as one could reasonably desire.”
—Sarasota Herald Tribune

“Astonishing virtuoso with tremendous suggestive power and imagination”
—Neue Zurcher Zeitung

“Communicative Artist… She played with impeccable articulation and admirable integrity. Her phrasing was supple yet never distorted. She blended Romantic flair with musicianly elegance. Her virtuosity and command were never in doubt.”
—New York Times

“Every person in the hall knew they were in the presence of greatness. And when Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto was concluded, the deafening roar from the audience left no doubt whatsoever about how Yang’s performance was received. The excitement was palpable.”
—Naples News

“For now, let it simply be said that under Yang’s supple, clarifying fingers, the music sounded not only credible, but inevitable.”
—Louisville Courier Journal

“We love you!” So a man said out loud as Joyce Yang prepared to play her last encore Tuesday evening at Bass Performance Hall. The audience chuckled, and most probably would have agreed. That tells you something about the impact the Korean pianist had on audience at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition when she was a bubbly 19-year-old. And it tells you something about her natural way with audiences that, after the briefest of pauses, she responded Tuesday by saying, ‘I’ll find you later.’ The audience guffawed, and loved her all the more.”
—Dallas Times

“Physically, she’s a picture of confident relaxation, attacking the concerto’s (Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto) wide leaps as though they were fun. Musically, she’s a natural, with a strong sense of rhythm and the ability to make every phrase leap off the page. Her sound is exquisite: In loud passages, Prokofiev’s often-dissonant chords were never just clumps of notes, but had definition. In soft passages, she had the courage to whisper, and even drift off into a reverie- but a reverie so musically compelling that the audience followed her wherever she went”
—Colorado Springs Gazette

“Magnetic.
Powerful.
Mind-boggling technique.
Joyce Yang has grabbed concertgoers by their hearts and pulled them to the edge of their seats.”
—Fort Worth Star Telegram

“Her playing was beautifully refined with flashes of personality. The performance was so crystalline, so nearly perfect and inspiring that all you could say was ‘wow’”
—Arizona Daily Star

“In recent recitals, Yang revealed poetic and sensitive pianism. Here, she showed herself capable of hurling thunderbolts. The contrasts between orchestra and soloist in the opening movement were that much more startling for the detail and power in Yang’s playing. The lyrical second movement was a poignant beam of light out of darkness, while the finale resolved in a blaze of triumphant sounds.”
—Washington Post

“Mr. Maazel led a taut performance (of Bernstein’s “Age of Anxiety”), and the orchestra played this dark-hued music vividly and with a sharp edge. But the standout was Joyce Yang, who gave a knockout performance of the alternately poetic, fiery and occasionally jazz-tinged piano line.”
—New York Times

“Pianists took the spotlight for the second consecutive weekend…with Joyce Yang burning up the Benedict Music Tent with a phenomenal Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 1 on Sunday.”
—Aspen Times

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