Listen to her perform Brahms - Op 119

This was from a recital Ms. Yang gave on Nov 4th here in Minneapolis.

The Brahms was third on the program, and before sitting at the keyboard, she took a moment to speak about the piece. "Brahms wrote [of the first Intermezzo], 'this Intermezzo should be played as if you've woken up in the morning and you have nothing to look forward to that day, and you start sinking back into bed little by little.'"

I like when performers break down that sometimes "icy wall" between performer and audience. For me, it's a nice reminder that they are, like the rest of us, human.

Also on the program: Libermann's Gargoyles (knocked out of the park!), Beethoven's Op 31 No 3, the Brahms, and Schumann's Carnaval (she should eventually record this.)

Enjoy,
Daniel

Yes, I agree. While the idea of addressing an audience - something I hear more and more of - may have been appropriate to "break down [the]icy wall," Ms. Yang's uhm... hesitations and uhm... stumblings were uhm... and ahh... well just a little, ahh... embarrassing to sit through. As her artistry matures, perhaps she can also learn a little more about public speaking. If you plan to address an audience, prepare your comments so that you can deliver them with some skill and finesse.

Moreover, getting the audience into a laughing mode while discussing the despair of the opening Intermezzo and the comment : "just doesn't get sadder" provoking audience laughter seems hardly a skillful way of handling her audience. What was she thinking?

Regards,

Daniel -

Thanks for sharing - this was a beautiful performance.

I'm working on the first Intermezzo myself and Ms. Yang's interpretation was helpful to me.

I did notice that Ms. Yang appears to hum while she plays. Did you pick up on that as well ??

She is a very good pianist. She performed Beethoven Concerto 3 in my area not too long ago, but I had to work that night. =(

EDIT: I like talking to the audience in recitals. But I don't do it every time.

@Ridicolosamente: Many thanks for the link - listening to that has made my weekend! I love it when someone makes such familiar pieces suddenly sound fresh and different, as Joyce Yang did with Op.119, the lightness of No.3 especially. If I could magically edit her performances, there are two main things I'd want to change:

1) In no.2 bars 23-26 and 87-90, those 1/16 notes sound almost as harsh as machine gun fire! For example, what I hear in bar 23 is a poor melody trying to sing soulfully while being drowned out by 12 stampeding notes: "OOO OOO EEE EEE AAA AAA EEE EEE OOO OOO EEE EEE"!

2) In no.4, the Rhapsody, for me there is too abrupt a change of tempo at bars 61-92. The composer doesn't mark any change, even poco meno mosso, but Yang jumps from slightly faster than 120 beats per minute to just under 100 (not even including the dramatic pauses on the sustained chords). I'd prefer any tempo change here to be much more subtle, so there's a pulsating, nervous energy throughout this section.

But apart from those two little quibbles, I really liked her performances. She's made me fall in love with these pieces all over again, which I see as a very high compliment.

@BruceD: I don't think Joyce Yang put the audience in "laughing mode". Some people are inclined to laugh nervously at the thought of very serious/heavy matters, and she allowed a spontaneously outlet for audience members to shake this nervousness out of their system and prepare themselves for some emotionally intense music, while at the same time giving everyone some background to the works and her personal connection to them. Quite skillful handling of the audience, in my opinion. I didn't find her hesitations particularly offputting, but I see what you mean on that point.

I'm currently working on Op. 119 and I liked her performance very much. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for providing the link. It's always good to hear a new interpretation of Brahms.
As for breaking down that wall by addressing the audience - I wish performers would not do it. I find it distracting at best. If the performer has thoughts about the music, why not write a short essay to be printed in the program. Then the audience members have a choice whether to read it or not, instead of being required to listen to a speech when they may want to hear music only.
The ritual aspect of traditional concerts helps me to focus my attention for the music. Having some separation between performer and audience is desirable. While the performer is on the stage, I'd rather not think of them as human like the rest of us.

Bruce, your post had me laughing. I was unsure which way you were going as I read it. I much agree that she doesn't get an A for public speaking, but it doesn't bother me. In this instance, her thoughts are what I find interesting, regardless of how eloquently presented. Now, if she were a college level professor, priest, politician etc., I would have much higher expectations, and be severely critical.

Carey, I definitely noticed the humming throughout the performance, but I was unsure if it was coming from Ms. Yang, or someone in the audience. I have her disc from the Van Cliburn competition, and maybe I missed it, but don't remember noticing any humming during those performances.

Ferdinand, you have an interesting point. I'll add that while I do enjoy a little "speech", my concept of this is something in the range of 1-2 minutes, not a full-blown lecture. I find it hard to believe that something so short would be unendurable for anyone. I think it's a way to highlight some aspect of a piece that's important to the performer, and the oral format helps to make it more memorable.

Deborah, how's Op 119 coming along for you? I know I couple months back you said you breezed through the first two Intermezzos fairly quickly? Have you been working on the Rhapsody? I must say, Ms. Yang's performance re-kindled my appreciation of this work. I'm contemplating talking to my teacher about taking up the set next semester, but I have so much other music on my mind, I have no idea what I'll end up doing next.

Daniel

My progress has slowed down a lot because I'm back to working 10 hour days teaching school. I'm polishing and memorizing #2 for a master class I'm participating in next month, along with Bach P & F in A flat WTC book one. I've been working on Intermezzo #3 but I'm having trouble getting the gentle, playful sound I want. I think it's mostly due to a lack of solid practice time. I hope to put in some serious work on it over winter break. I haven't started the Rhapsody yet. I've also been working on too many pieces and have recently narrowed it down to the Bach and 119 #2 for the master class. I'm very greedy when it comes to music and I want to learn too much, too fast, so I'm trying to pull in the reins a bit an slow things down. (Not to mention the fact that I'm home with the flu and haven't touched the piano in a week.) Thanks for asking, Daniel.

Joyce Yang is a true gem of an artist. Not only is she a phenomenal technician, fully equipped with enormous capabilities to play some of the hardest works of the piano repertoire - such as Prokofiev No.2, No.3, Rachmaninoff 3rd Concertos - she is also a true musician that always has something to say. As someone else commented earlier, I love how old masterpieces that have been played for decades can immediately sound fresh and re-inspired when played by such imaginative pianists! This Brahms Op.119 is one of such fine examples. Unfortunately, I don't think what is currently on YouTube under Ms. Yang does her justice... I have heard her play many, many times, and her Schumann Carnaval is exceptional - but her earlier YouTube performance sounds green to my ears.

Perhaps this is personal taste, but I enjoyed Ms. Yang's speaking tremendously. So what if she's not a perfect public speaker? That's the job of our politicians, most of who, may I remind everyone, hire professional speechwriters. There are so few performing artists today who are even comfortable enough to speak to an audience. I applaud Ms. Yang for having the courage and will to do so - and I thought her speaking was fine, anyway. I like the way it seemed unscripted and spontaneous, just like you'd want the music to be. I look forward to hearing her again, sooner the better!

And read teleprompters.

I enjoyed Joyce Yang's performance.

I agree. It adds a burden on the listen in the audience to make that jump from the performer as speaker to the performance of the music itself, which is inevitably coming from a more rarefied mental space. And that's true even when I am interested in what the performer might have to say. There's this weird jolt of having to adjust from one to the other.

The only time I think it is useful is when the music really needs some introduction and explanation, as might be the case in something really new or wildly unfamiliar. And even then it can backfire, as I witnessed once at an orchestral performance of new music in an idiom not familiar to most, where the conductor managed by his pre-performance chat to convince many audience members that it was going to be tough going indeed, which of course alienated a good chunk of the audience before they even heard a note.

thanks for the link to that gorgeous piece of music.

Don't think Yang has more uhm and ah than Obama without teleprompter :-)

He is most remarkably not glib when without his teleprompter.

We don't do politics here.

thank you for posting - it has inspired me to play this next semester (op. 119)

m.