Pianist Wang builds bridge from 'heart to fingers'
By Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times (01/12/10)
Building a career as a solo pianist is rarely easy. Hundreds of talented young pianists graduate from the world's conservatories and universities every year. Finding a place for themselves in a crowded field can be daunting.
Xiayin Wang, a young pianist who will make a set of appearances in Chicago starting next week, seems to be finding her way. Born in China and a prize-winning student at the Shanghai Conservatory, she came to the United States in 1997 for college-level work at the Manhattan School of Music. She has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and her recently released CD of music by Scriabin is full of color and an infectious sense of propulsive rhythm.
As an artist, Wang (her name is pronounced sha-EEN wong) grew up in two worlds. Her father plays the erhu, a traditional Chinese instrument that resembles a two-string fiddle, and her training in Shanghai focused relentlessly on developing a proper keyboard technique. But she studied Western classical music, whose greatest piano works require a strong emotional commitment as well as formidable technique. Straddling two worlds, she said, has given her an unusually flexible approach to her career. She enjoys playing jazz and tango as well as classical music.
"It's a very different image to the ears,'' Wang said of the traditional Chinese music she heard at home. But she was fascinated by music's ability to convey emotion, and she soon imitated the tunes her kindergarten teacher played on the piano. Though her parents didn't want to push her, she started piano lessons at age 5.
"Everything is on a very tight schedule. Everyone is required to do their best,'' she said of the Chinese educational system. At the conservatory, children practiced three hours a day, closely supervised by their teachers. She is immensely grateful for the technical command she acquired there.
By college, however, she was ready to expand her focus.
"Music is the universal language,'' Wang said. "It expresses the same emotions, but in a different tone. I was very fond of that bridge from one's heart to the fingers. There is a link among all styles of music. It is how we express ourselves. It has the same path, the same purpose, but just with different techniques."
Wang's upcoming local appearances include:
• 7 p.m. Thursday, Border's Books and Music, 830 N. Michigan. Wang will perform pieces included on her new CD, "Scriabin: Piano Music,'' and sign CDs. Free.
• 12:15 p.m. Feb. 19, Sherwood Recital Hall, Columbia College Chicago, 1312 S. Michigan. Free. WFMT-FM (98.7) will broadcast Wang's recital live.
• 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23, Nichols Hall, Music Institute of Chicago, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston. Recital to include works by Haydn, Bach, Ravel, Scriabin and the Chicago premiere of a set of preludes by Richard Danielpour titled "Enchanted Garden.'' $20. Call (800) 595-4849.
Freelance contributor Wynne Delacoma was the Sun-Times classical music critic from 1991 to 2006.