Pianist to watch

Deutsche Grammophon has signed Yuja Wang to its roster. The 20-year-old, Beijing-born pianist’s debut disc will feature sonatas by Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, and Ligeti.

In 2002 Yuja won the Aspen Music Festival’s concerto competition and subsequently studied in Philadelphia with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute, graduating last year. In 2006 she received the Gilmore Young Artist Award. She has since worked with conductors including Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas, Osmo Vänskä, David Zinman and Sir Neville Marriner. Wang will also premiere the Piano Concerto by Jennifer Higdon this year, originally written for Lang Lang.

In a statement, DG president Michael Lang said: “After first hearing Yuja Wang in recitals – and then meeting this remarkable woman and learning that she is not only a fine artist but also will be a terrific spokesperson for the next generation of classical musicians – it was obvious that Deutsche Grammophon and Yuja would be a perfect match.”