I love that she’s doing Art Tatum. She’s bringing him to a generation that doesn’t know anything about him and that’s a great thing. She’s also venturing outside of traditional classical to a classical audience.
thanks to Yuja for resurrecting this as a concert piece! Art Tatum's incredible performance of this piece conveys the ebullience and joie d'vivre that radiates from both his and Yuja's interpretation - two very different approaches yet both are convincing. It's hight time to honor Tatum and the many virtuoso jazz artists in classical music recitals.
I'm a big Tatum fanatic. Lots of negative comments about this interpretation. 1st of all 99.99% of commentors here can't play like this. 2ndly...she could have played anything else but chose Tatum. To me it means she has great respect for him to dedicate hours to learn this piece which itself renders respect. Maybe its not 100% true to form of pure stride music but she doesn't deserve the negativity here.
It sounds a lot better on the video I heard when she's playing this during an interview in her living room where she's relaxed having a lot of fun and hitting her stride. I like Art Tatum for his technical skill which many compared to classical pianists and so makes this a good pick for Ms Wang.
She deserves to be told the truth and well meant encouragement. She does NOT swing, (yet), period. If Yuja is serious about THIS realm of jazz, she needs to be weaned off sheet music. Stuff they do not teach in conservatories, because they can't hack it themselves. Yuja needs to hang out with Stephanie Trick and friends, who will give her genuine exposure to stride, not to sheet music, but to the real thing. Once she starts hearing it internally and learns to play stride and jazz by ear, she will get there. No problem for a genius with perfect pitch like Yuja, i shouldn't think. Until such time she will remain a prodigious sheet music robot. And that's the way the cookie crumbles.
I don't understand how anyone can make negative comments about this. She clearly made the interpretation her own. Very playful and has dynamic contrast. Also, I tried playing this piece and I only got through about 20 measures before quitting. Overall, amazing work!
They're comparing her classical style of playing with Art's. He just didn't have to work at it, because that was his style. That's what he lived. She is working at it and you can hear it. There's absolutely nothing wrong or bad with the playing. When you are classical vs jazz, you are using a different part of your brain for each. This is not my opinion, this is what they discovered. Art could likely improvise away on the piece all day, whereas Wang likely could not. Again, nothing wrong, just different styles.
What a talented lady! Terrific. As a jazz pianist myself, I can testify that playing this is no easy feat, even perhaps for a brilliant concert pianist such as Yuja, because it's a different discipline.
The best pianist of our time! Not because she "could" play Art to whatever level of dexterity. But because she chose to play this live in a concert, tipping her classical hat to jazz. That requires a brave and large heart and a matured head.
this interpretation is very good.... one thing a lot of people do not realise is that Art Tatum had big hands and any piano player who wants to play it must have a big stretch...
My Dad, a mostly self taught ivory tickler, idolized Tatum’s stride style. He would have loved this woman’s terrific interpretation. Dad, are you digging this?
The contrast between generous, open hearted artists like Ms Wang, and the crotchetty tut-tutting of self appointed critics is such a vast chasm - the one make magic, the other tries to drag us down .
@@nicholasschroeder3678 A critic's profession is to comment, not to play. They live and die by the quality of their commentary and not their own playing. How many coaches can swim faster, run faster, and win more matches at Wimbledon than the athletes they coach? And yet coaches are indispensable, same as critics. If everyone who cannot do something is not allowed to have an opinion on someone's doing that thing, politicians can tell most members of the public to shut up. You would not want that would you?
@@tt-ew7rx Agree that an informed and thoughtful critic is invaluable--essential really. That's why the press is so important. That said, some of the hostility directed at Wang seems mainly informed by sexism and racism. It kind of parallels the coals recently heaped recently on Biles. Both are interlopers in the minds of some, and it's resented. It's especially galling to some because they're flamboyant: they don't know their place. At least that's my take on it.
@@nicholasschroeder3678 I completely agree. However, in order to fight this sort of behaviour, we need to call that out for what it is, and show its idiocy and lack of logic. 'Critiques' coming from these kinds of motives cannot possibly be high quality and are by definition devoid of intellectual content, a pointed question or two is sufficient to establish this fact usually. Globally dissing critics, on the other hand, is not a very good method.
A musical extension of an old favourite delivered with absolute precision and panache. It is a pleasure to behold; with tinkling keys, and frequent bounding excursions which float back to the original theme. I have never seen a pianist like this. She is in full charge of everything; confident , and flawless in this sparkling rendition, and a very natural player. Thanks for posting.
I like that she is playing live the Art Tatum version of tea for two. If not, where and when could we experiment and enjoy such a live experience ? I love Art interpretation, but unfortunately he's dead, recordings are great, but music has to be listened at live ! And only few pianists have the technique needed to play a so difficult version, Yuja is certainly one of them. Her interpretation is different from Art's one, she put her actually way of feeling the piece, with all her classical background, and that's good. And she plays a written version, when Art was improvising it, then the rendition is automaticly different. Anyway it's wonderful to see a young talented Chinese female classical pianist paying tribute to a black male American jazz pianist, giving the chance to his music to be remembered and appreciated in the best way : playing this music in front of an audience. That shows how good her taste is, being able to know quality music, regardless of where it comes from. Respect.
+ mckavitt She is a classical player, in her 20. He was a jazz player, past 40. I don't espect her at all to feel the rythm in the same way as Art Tatum. And that's that who is interesting. I hope she'll maintain this piece in her repertoire, bettering step by step along the years her rendition of it. If so, we'll see (listen !) what will happen when she will be in her 40+... I don't see her like a god, i don't want her to play like the god she isn't. I prefer her humanity. If she ends up one day with a glorious version, it will be because of maturation and balance between her good points and weaknesses. Perfection at first shot is just fluke. And her staring point is not bad at all...
BABU I adore her, agree w you & have no problem about it. I have heard her play this better is all. This was, in my opinion, not one of her good days. There are others who compare her to Art Tatum but, like you, I defend her, because he was a jazz player & composer. He did this every day of his life. PS: This was her 5th encore!!
+mckavitt Thanks for your infos, and glad to see they confirm in a certain way what i think about her playing and playing again the same pieces. Best way to reach a very personnal and good version. And, at her age beeing able to play 5 encore and with this level of musicality.... And, yes, artists have "bad" (or "less good") days. She speaks about that in an interwiew, explaining that when she starts a concert, she doesn't know what will happen, and when she feels at ease and can do something with the piece (i.e. giving some life to the rythm, or/and the phrasing, accentuation, etc...), its a good day. And that is exactly what say all the better musicians in any style. She's obviously in the right tracks.
@BABU Yuja is 28 in this video. Art Tatum recorded this when he was 24. She will most certainly be better as she matures, but what is "perfection"? Her interpretation is just different. I also don't like this "classical/jazz" style rift. For me the difference between the two is simply that the former is about performing written works, and the latter is about improvising. There is no easily definable "classical" way of playing - Prokofiev sounds different from Bach for example. A classical player must be able to master MANY styles, including maybe Tatum. So I don't think the "she is classical, he is jazz" thinking should be applied. In short Wang just gives it a different flavor; it's not that she's "classical". I think that the stereotype of classical players not being able to swing may be true but it is a truth that needs to be changed.
Reminds me of when I met the lyricist of "Tea for Two", Irving Caesar, well into his 90s and virtually blind. What an angel he was! He was receiving the 1st annual Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Third Street Music School Settlement, and I was an officer of the alumni association, newly formed. You know, he wrote the lyrics for Jolson's first major hit --- Swanee! He cried when he spoke of the founder of the School, Emilie Wagner, a socialite who tried to give poor immigrants a chance to hone their musical skills at the turn of the century (not this past one, the 20th, you know WWI and all that). I'll never forget how humble he was. With all his fame and fortune, he insisted on talking most about school safety songs that he wrote for children. Now there's a real "mensch".
this woman is just amazing! saw her life in clogne last year she played schuman "Schwanengesang" and ismaely and a skrabin Piece think it was Totenmesse or sth like that... But shes sooo amazing canot describe how this was to hear her playing!!!
People are saying there’s a lot of negative comments here but all I see is praise of her great playing. Would have easy for her to pick a Classical piece but to pick a song played by Tatum takes guts. She puts her own spin on it. I thought it was great. And this is a fantastic pianist here, she’s more than capable of taking this on. Though, being critical, if I remember rightly Tatum took it into double time, which she doesn’t do.
Sad all the angry and pompous 'jazz' enthusiasts here. What may keep Art Tatum ALIVE for future generations will not simply be his marvelous recordings, but musicians like Yuja who champion his music and style .The real living world man...
Courageous beyonds words! Brilliant too! Remember that Horowitz had Tatum to his apartment for a whole afternoon. Horowitz was totally taken aback by Tatums genius. Imagine the two of them in one room. Bravo and encore to our maestro above!
"Tea for Two" was Art Tatum's signature piece. It started out as a Broadway number but among others, Tatum was the one who popularized it amongst jazz musicians. Stride master James P. Johnson said upon hearing it, that it was the first time he heard it "really played". However, this version was Tatum's showpiece in the 1930's, when he was only 24 years old - when he made his debut as the most virtuosic stride player at that time. As a result, it is expository in nature, overloaded with runs and gigantic leaps. However, I much prefer his later 1953 version, which is in my opinion quite a masterpiece. Recently, someone (forgive me for not remembering the name) uploaded the score along with the recording on RUclips. For anyone who is interested, please do give it a search. It is faster and more interesting than even this version. By the way, for anyone who wants to see a score of this one - just search my channel. Thanks in advance. :-)
If people think of Tatum's early classics as astonishing in virtuosity and inventiveness, they'd find the re-improvisations he did in the 50s other worldly. Even in his mature years he never stopped getting better, and by then his mastery was so complete and polished that his playing had no where to go except to places inaccessible for 99% of the population. As great as his later version (1953) of Tea for Two is, I don't think many concert pianist would attempt it.
She makes anything she touches "fun" again. Even classical. Her clothes/costumes must cost a fortune, now accepted part of her persona; as I said, "fun."
I would judge Art Tatum's interpretation of this song as a composition in its own right (variations on a theme by Vincent Youmans). I am so glad that some very talented and patient person has been able to produce written music from his incredible interpretation. Hence, we can enjoy this brilliant performance by Yuja Wang. It is just silly to say that she is imitating Art Tatum. Is she imitating Chopin when she plays his work? Her performance and interpretation is her own and I love it. It does swing and features some very well executed stride technique!
Yeah, but Art was improvising. Every time he played the piece he played it differently and he could do so endlessly without repeating himself. So I think it's a little different from playing a composition by a classical composer. Having said that, I'd call it a fine tribute, perhaps, rather than an imitation.
I think what's quite amazing here is that she obviously has a great interest in music outside of classical and is probably something she plays in her downtime due to her primary focus being the classical reportoire. There very few classical pianists who could pull off a piece like Tea for Two as Yuja Wang did here. In saying that, comparing it to Art Tatum's recordings is not something that should be done, not only because he was solely an improvisor, and almost blind at that because of cataracts on his eyes. Furthermore, out of any pianist of any school or genre or playing, I personally had not heard a more incredible pianist as him. He was more phenomenal than many could imagine. I believe Rachmaninoff and Horowitz saw him play and both pretty much felt that he was the greatest pianist alive at that time. You only need to listen to any of his recordings to realise very quickly the greatness of the man
@@timotot123 for technique and harmonic improvisation Art Tatum is the greatest jazz musician Of All Time, let alone jazz pianist. He doesn't get enough credit because he didn't compose new standards and didn't change the direction of jazz (as Miles Davis repeatedly did). So it's great to see Yuja Wang perform his improvisations.
To me that's the problem with Wang's performance...it's so square and she probably is too (no offense to her). I applaud her for the effort because its courageous in the sense that she must know what's coming to her for even attempting this in public. Its not her genre and definitely not her vibe. Plus... once you hear the unhinged virtuosity and creativity of Tatum's renditions there's really no going back from that.
Wonderful to see a Chinese Woman Pianist with good taste giving everything. Horowitz would be smiling along with Art Tatum and Vincent Yeomans. Thank you.
Very respectful arrangement of Tatum…nice stride too! I feel like I’m in a piano bar listening to a conservatory student after a few drinks when I hear it.
Really, people. This was a fifth encore piece from a generous performer. I enjoy listening to the performance for its own sake. Think of the listeners who are being introduced to Tatum for the first time in a playful way. Quit being so judgmental and self-righteous.
No, she does NOT. It sounds too wooden. It simply doesn't swing. Remember? It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. She is and probably always will be a virtuoso sheet music player, but she ain't a natural born "musician" like Nahre Sol, here on RUclips, Yohan Kim, Joey Alexander, Stephanie Trick... , who all do NOT NEED sheet music. For kicks, listen to Stephanie Trick by way of contrast. Boy, does SHE swing, hers is the real thing. A non English native speaker will never be credible if cast in a Shakespeare play, and an English speaker will never sound like a Chinese. There are only two exceptions I know of, Mark Roswell alias Dashan and Andrew Dawrant who owns sinophone.org and only very few pianists where I buy the crossover. To this here I'm politely clapping but am not impressed.
Such mediocre, underrating and pathetic comments about a genius of our time that we should be thankful for its existence and our opprotunity to even watch and LISTEN to her majestic performances of an incredibly giant repertoire. Everything about her is simply fantastic. Her image, body language, her artistic vision, her energy, let alone an incredible flawless techique, she always plays all the notes, she's always articulated, with such ease. She is a class of her own. She is simply uncomparable. Just get over it. I mean, everybody with good music taste simply goes CRAZYYY about herr!!!
Her sound at one piano sounds as if she's playing 3 or 4 pianos. The sour grapes below need to learn to listen without preconceived requirements. Accept it for what it is, a superb classical pianist's version of a jazz standard. Connoisseurs of the arts learn to encounter each version independent of other versions. Comparisions are futile ego exercises; embrace what you don't understand until you understand it.
Concertista maravilhosa que parece moldar novos encantos as peças que interpreta. Que seus Dedos Velozes sejam a inspiração para os compositores em musicas extraordinárias ! Vida Longa, Sucesso e Parabéns !!!
David Fabros Essa deusa dos Dedos Velozes nos leva facilmente a admiração por um dos gigantes do jazz Arthur Tatum. Por isso admiro e gostaria de assistir seus concertos maravilhosos ! FELIZ NATAL !!!
She's got the chops and someday she'll pick up the jazz feel too. Jazz plays out of the beat, whereas most other type of music is on the beat. In jazz, the melodic line is secondary to timing, pacing, beats, and spirit. Simply put, you must feel it to understand.
Classical music uses a different part of the brain. This has been well documented. It's why you don't see many classical players have a side career in jazz, and vice versa.
Ya that was good. I've just recently gotten into listening to Art Tatum. He's definitely a prodigy...even Rachmaninoff was blown away by Tatum's playing, evidently. So, Wang has her own take on the Tatum classic arrangement. I will say that Tatum does Tatum unlike anyone else, and he's evidently just riffing/improvising the whole time, more or less, with an incredible range of variations. Nevertheless, I commend Wang for the effort and performing it to her audience.
Actually the Vincent Youmans/Otto Harbach song Tea for Two comes from the 1924 musical No No Nanette, and Shostakovitch arranged it (in under an hour for a bet, so the story goes en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahiti_Trot) as "Tahiti Trot".
I listen to a fair amount of classical music, but my first love is jazz. And for as talented as most classical musicians are, I always felt, generally speaking, that jazz musicians were more accomplished, not because of their technical skills, but because of their ability to improvise. I always thought a classical musician could play anything there is to play - as long as they were told what and how to play it. But when it comes to truly improvising? Not so much. Andre Previn has a few jazz recordings and I always came away thinking that they were somehow lacking. Noted jazz critic, Leonard Feather, once said that Art Tatum was the greatest improvisor, regardless of instrument. Personally, I think the student, Oscar Peterson, may have surpassed the teacher, Tatum. But we will save that debate for a later time. Anyway, Yuja Wang’s performance, although not entirely improvisational since much of it is nearly identical to Tatum’s recording, (and I don’t want to base my opinion on one performance), clearly can hold her own in the jazz arena. This was truly outstanding, and a very nice tribute to a great jazz legend.
{Google translation} Yuja Wang, guest of the 105th concert season of the Società del Quartetto di Vicenza, granted the enthusiastic public of the Teatro Comunale (sold out) no less than 6 encores, including this version of Art Tatum's song *"Tea for Two". Municipal Theater of Vicenza, Wednesday 18 February 2015 *Actually Tatum's improvisation on Vincent Youmans' composition Tea for Two.
It's strange. After listening to this and going back to the original recording by Tatum, I somehow managed to appreciate Tatum's musicianship even more. I I think Yuja is trying to put flair here, but Tatum achieves Horowitzian ease in his old recording. To communicate with such ease of feeling, I think, is the mark of a supreme master. Only few achieve this. Yuja may be a truely gifted virtuoso, but compared to Horowitz or Arrau she must mature even more. Well, that's what I think.
@JoyfulHearts1000 I bet she could still play Rachmaninov with plenty of pizzazz for her fifth encore. She’s just not a jazz pianist, admit it, people. It would not take anything away from her accomplishment in classical music.
+Peter Fritz Walter Tra-ta-ta-ta-ta.......!!! Did you mean: Yuja Wang is well lubricated (the money, Sex sells) Chinese sewing machine? Yuja Wang (product) = Sex sells + sex sells + sex sells + ... !!! this woman is tumor of the cancerous mafia in the Classical music, unfortunately majorities knowledge of the Classical music is low so types like her get away.
@gullivior has uploaded a bunch of Art Tatum performances to RUclips, often contrasting two or three versions of the same song from different periods in Tatum's career. To own or stream, I recommend starting with the Decca 1930s recordings if you don't mind the hiss and crackle; if you do his late solo sessions for Pablo records are clean if not quite so jaw-dropping. It really helps to hear several plain renditions of each song so you know the raw material before he blows it to smithereens 😉, and people have spent years decoding all the motifs and quotes from other songs and composers he tosses in. To understand Tatum's modus operandi: He would hang in the back room of after-hours jazz clubs, drinking beer and chatting up girls, while all the other pianists tried to outdo each other on stage in "cutting competitions." Eventually Tatum would go to the piano and reinvent everything the others attempted but with more advanced harmonic structure and played twice as fast. He destroyed the best barrelhouse, boogie-woogie, New Orleans, and stride pianists, leaving them sobbing in the corner. He responded to 40s and 50s innovations in jazz but those styles form his "muscle memory." Hearing Yuja Wang perform his flights of improvisation is like seeing a ballet created from a brawl between Bruce Lee and 20 ninjas... I like it!
This is so fucking skillful... Yuja loves Tatums music. He's probably the only pianist in the world she would have been able to learn from, as much as technique is involved. #Halbgöttin
Yuja's improvisations remind me, (and i mean this in only the most positive fashion!) of the very skillful playing of a multiple-manual, restored theatre organ, where the artist intertwines variations of the original theme with the original melody! She has a very exciting style combined with her remarkable and pleasant contact with her audience!
Mike B Yuja's not improvising here (except for the long trill near the end). She's playing a Tatum transcription. But even so, she's doing it beautifully.
TheGrandBrand I wasn't referring to her other performances. I wrote in my previous post that she's not improvising HERE. She's playing a transcription as written; I have the sheet music. She deviates very little, if any, from it. Nothing wrong with that, though.
+TheGrandBrand She needs to practice this more or not play it at all, she is no Gabriella Montero as we all heard, but i guess she wanted to see if the folks would be receptive. NOT
It’s an flawless performance, but a main part of jazz is the new ideas with every unique performance because people don’t perform other people’s solos.
One of Nicky Benedetti's pieces of advice for performance is to think of a single adjective to describe the character you want to put across in a piece. It seems to me that Yuja Wang is thinking 'nonchalant' despite the outrageously difficult arrangement (I tried playing it).
Yuja IS a lovely, charismatic person first, then a classical sheet music genius who has all my respect and affection for her prodigious achievements in that realm, BUT she simply ain't no ad lib player, YET. WITH SOME TUTORING under the wings of NATURAL BORN JAZZ/BLUES pianists who could be her MENTORs despite Yuja's technical superiority, eg Stephanie Trick & her husband Paolo, Pierre-Yves Plat, Beegie Adair, Peter Nero, Dick Hymann, Monty Alexander, Dave Ruosch,... she WILL conquer both worlds.
![Yuja Wang: Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue [HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ce3OERuCY0E/mqdefault.jpg)
I love that she’s doing Art Tatum. She’s bringing him to a generation that doesn’t know anything about him and that’s a great thing. She’s also venturing outside of traditional classical to a classical audience.
Bringing art Tatum to a hall full of grey hair.. jk i get your point
Rrtt
Can She ?
ruclips.net/video/yPuiDrXp2XA/видео.html
The gray haired people in this audience have a much better chance of knowing Art Tatum’s music than anyone under 40.
That's because she's probably one of a handful of people since Tatum who's got that unbelievable level of technique to be able to play like him
thanks to Yuja for resurrecting this as a concert piece! Art Tatum's incredible performance of this piece conveys the ebullience and joie d'vivre that radiates from both his and Yuja's interpretation - two very different approaches yet both are convincing. It's hight time to honor Tatum and the many virtuoso jazz artists in classical music recitals.
I'm a big Tatum fanatic. Lots of negative comments about this interpretation. 1st of all 99.99% of commentors here can't play like this. 2ndly...she could have played anything else but chose Tatum. To me it means she has great respect for him to dedicate hours to learn this piece which itself renders respect. Maybe its not 100% true to form of pure stride music but she doesn't deserve the negativity here.
It sounds a lot better on the video I heard when she's playing this during an interview in her living room where she's relaxed having a lot of fun and hitting her stride. I like Art Tatum for his technical skill which many compared to classical pianists and so makes this a good pick for Ms Wang.
George Dreher i
She deserves to be told the truth and well meant encouragement. She does NOT swing, (yet), period. If Yuja is serious about THIS realm of jazz, she needs to be weaned off sheet music. Stuff they do not teach in conservatories, because they can't hack it themselves. Yuja needs to hang out with Stephanie Trick and friends, who will give her genuine exposure to stride, not to sheet music, but to the real thing. Once she starts hearing it internally and learns to play stride and jazz by ear, she will get there. No problem for a genius with perfect pitch like Yuja, i shouldn't think. Until such time she will remain a prodigious sheet music robot. And that's the way the cookie crumbles.
@@mikedaniels3009 A prodigious sheet music robot? And you are?
Spitting nonsense 🙄
There's NOTHING she can't play, unbelievable talent and greatness
I don't understand how anyone can make negative comments about this. She clearly made the interpretation her own. Very playful and has dynamic contrast. Also, I tried playing this piece and I only got through about 20 measures before quitting. Overall, amazing work!
They're comparing her classical style of playing with Art's. He just didn't have to work at it, because that was his style. That's what he lived. She is working at it and you can hear it. There's absolutely nothing wrong or bad with the playing. When you are classical vs jazz, you are using a different part of your brain for each. This is not my opinion, this is what they discovered. Art could likely improvise away on the piece all day, whereas Wang likely could not. Again, nothing wrong, just different styles.
What a talented lady! Terrific. As a jazz pianist myself, I can testify that playing this is no easy feat, even perhaps for a brilliant concert pianist such as Yuja, because it's a different discipline.
The best pianist of our time! Not because she "could" play Art to whatever level of dexterity. But because she chose to play this live in a concert, tipping her classical hat to jazz. That requires a brave and large heart and a matured head.
Nowhere near. Debargue is better at jazz but Marc Andre hamelin is best living or dead pianist
@@ciararespect4296 Ohkay!
Ho avuto la fortuna di assistere a questo concerto a Vicenza. Che dire, impressionante, veramente strepitosa!
Anche lo credo io.
The reason you don't hear more people playing Tatum is simply they can't.
Rubbish, Yuja did...
Neither could she play
stop fooling yourself@@juniperwoodgreen4090
they can’t IMPROVISE like Tatum.
HUGE difference between “playing like” and “ improvising like” Art Tatum.
@@juniperwoodgreen4090 she played the notes more or less.
this interpretation is very good.... one thing a lot of people do not realise is that Art Tatum had big hands and any piano player who wants to play it must have a big stretch...
Not even stretching does a few spreads but cheats on others
Out of this world and universe! You go, girl! 🌹❤️
Terrific rendition performed by one of the very best pianists
My Dad, a mostly self taught ivory tickler, idolized Tatum’s stride style. He would have loved this woman’s terrific interpretation. Dad, are you digging this?
I have watched this many times, and never tire of it....truly a masterpiece recording version of this!!
The contrast between generous, open hearted artists like Ms Wang, and
the crotchetty tut-tutting of self appointed critics is such a vast chasm - the one make magic, the other tries to drag us down .
@B Bop Well said, I love watching and listening to Yuja Wang, she, is such a wonderful young pianist.
They're idiots. Bitter and envious at someone who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and desperate to poke holes. Losers
@@nicholasschroeder3678 A critic's profession is to comment, not to play. They live and die by the quality of their commentary and not their own playing. How many coaches can swim faster, run faster, and win more matches at Wimbledon than the athletes they coach? And yet coaches are indispensable, same as critics. If everyone who cannot do something is not allowed to have an opinion on someone's doing that thing, politicians can tell most members of the public to shut up. You would not want that would you?
@@tt-ew7rx Agree that an informed and thoughtful critic is invaluable--essential really. That's why the press is so important. That said, some of the hostility directed at Wang seems mainly informed by sexism and racism. It kind of parallels the coals recently heaped recently on Biles. Both are interlopers in the minds of some, and it's resented. It's especially galling to some because they're flamboyant: they don't know their place. At least that's my take on it.
@@nicholasschroeder3678 I completely agree. However, in order to fight this sort of behaviour, we need to call that out for what it is, and show its idiocy and lack of logic. 'Critiques' coming from these kinds of motives cannot possibly be high quality and are by definition devoid of intellectual content, a pointed question or two is sufficient to establish this fact usually. Globally dissing critics, on the other hand, is not a very good method.
A musical extension of an old favourite delivered with absolute precision and panache. It is a pleasure to behold; with tinkling keys, and frequent bounding excursions which float back to the original theme. I have never seen a pianist like this. She is in full charge of everything; confident , and flawless in this sparkling rendition, and a very natural player. Thanks for posting.
love this girl !!! genius !! brilliant !!! stunning !!
None other than Yuja Wang. Very creative❤️
Lucky audiences! Getting 5 encores out of Yuja Wang.
I like that she is playing live the Art Tatum version of tea for two. If not, where and when could we experiment and enjoy such a live experience ? I love Art interpretation, but unfortunately he's dead, recordings are great, but music has to be listened at live ! And only few pianists have the technique needed to play a so difficult version, Yuja is certainly one of them. Her interpretation is different from Art's one, she put her actually way of feeling the piece, with all her classical background, and that's good. And she plays a written version, when Art was improvising it, then the rendition is automaticly different.
Anyway it's wonderful to see a young talented Chinese female classical pianist paying tribute to a black male American jazz pianist, giving the chance to his music to be remembered and appreciated in the best way : playing this music in front of an audience.
That shows how good her taste is, being able to know quality music, regardless of where it comes from. Respect.
BABU Strange, normally I'd agree w you, but here, she doesn't seem at ease & the rhythm seems to suffer for it. Alas.
+ mckavitt She is a classical player, in her 20. He was a jazz player, past 40. I don't espect her at all to feel the rythm in the same way as Art Tatum. And that's that who is interesting. I hope she'll maintain this piece in her repertoire, bettering step by step along the years her rendition of it. If so, we'll see (listen !) what will happen when she will be in her 40+... I don't see her like a god, i don't want her to play like the god she isn't.
I prefer her humanity. If she ends up one day with a glorious version, it will be because of maturation and balance between her good points and weaknesses. Perfection at first shot is just fluke. And her staring point is not bad at all...
BABU I adore her, agree w you & have no problem about it. I have heard her play this better is all. This was, in my opinion, not one of her good days. There are others who compare her to Art Tatum but, like you, I defend her, because he was a jazz player & composer. He did this every day of his life. PS: This was her 5th encore!!
+mckavitt Thanks for your infos, and glad to see they confirm in a certain way what i think about her playing and playing again the same pieces. Best way to reach a very personnal and good version. And, at her age beeing able to play 5 encore and with this level of musicality.... And, yes, artists have "bad" (or "less good") days. She speaks about that in an interwiew, explaining that when she starts a concert, she doesn't know what will happen, and when she feels at ease and can do something with the piece (i.e. giving some life to the rythm, or/and the phrasing, accentuation, etc...), its a good day. And that is exactly what say all the better musicians in any style. She's obviously in the right tracks.
@BABU Yuja is 28 in this video. Art Tatum recorded this when he was 24. She will most certainly be better as she matures, but what is "perfection"? Her interpretation is just different. I also don't like this "classical/jazz" style rift. For me the difference between the two is simply that the former is about performing written works, and the latter is about improvising. There is no easily definable "classical" way of playing - Prokofiev sounds different from Bach for example. A classical player must be able to master MANY styles, including maybe Tatum. So I don't think the "she is classical, he is jazz" thinking should be applied. In short Wang just gives it a different flavor; it's not that she's "classical". I think that the stereotype of classical players not being able to swing may be true but it is a truth that needs to be changed.
classy artist on top of her game stop saying crappy stuff about someone wonderful
"Wonderful": ruclips.net/video/tjksOkB4Sd0/видео.html
Mario DiSarli A woman can’t wear what she wants to wear?
@@mariodisarli1022 stfu
You mean in a public classical music concert hall? No.
Reminds me of when I met the lyricist of "Tea for Two", Irving Caesar, well into his 90s and virtually blind. What an angel he was! He was receiving the 1st annual Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Third Street Music School Settlement, and I was an officer of the alumni association, newly formed. You know, he wrote the lyrics for Jolson's first major hit --- Swanee! He cried when he spoke of the founder of the School, Emilie Wagner, a socialite who tried to give poor immigrants a chance to hone their musical skills at the turn of the century (not this past one, the 20th, you know WWI and all that). I'll never forget how humble he was. With all his fame and fortune, he insisted on talking most about school safety songs that he wrote for children. Now there's a real "mensch".
She`s truly wonderful and so is the amazing Hiromi.
Good to hear this great tune written by Vincent Youmans.
Cool idea for an encore at a classical concert.
Yujia is so talented! I like this version of Tea for two!
+Cindy Chan its fom art tatum. he improvised it and someone transcribed
So talented, thank you Yuja, just love listening to you....AND your so beautiful.
you're
I love that music. Her playing is lovely. The current generation of teens probably don"t know it.
this woman is just amazing! saw her life in clogne last year she played schuman "Schwanengesang" and ismaely and a skrabin Piece think it was Totenmesse or sth like that...
But shes sooo amazing canot describe how this was to hear her playing!!!
Ruth Boh you mean saw her live?
She's so great she actually brings tears to my eyes a little bit every single time in joy!!!😮
She takes it through so many mood shifts. I adore this version. It does Art proud.
People are saying there’s a lot of negative comments here but all I see is praise of her great playing. Would have easy for her to pick a Classical piece but to pick a song played by Tatum takes guts. She puts her own spin on it. I thought it was great. And this is a fantastic pianist here, she’s more than capable of taking this on. Though, being critical, if I remember rightly Tatum took it into double time, which she doesn’t do.
Yuja is a fenomenal musician, amazing, I'm in love with her!!!
Sad all the angry and pompous 'jazz' enthusiasts here. What may keep Art Tatum ALIVE for future generations will not simply be his marvelous recordings, but musicians like Yuja who champion his music and style .The real living world man...
Yuja é genial ! O teclado do piano chega a ser pequeno para acolher sua técnica e seu talento ! Bravo !!!!!!!!!
Courageous beyonds words! Brilliant too! Remember that Horowitz had Tatum to his apartment for a whole afternoon. Horowitz was totally taken aback by Tatums genius. Imagine the two of them in one room. Bravo and encore to our maestro above!
so inspiring ! Yuja you are fantastic
Yuja is a treasure on the piano (and to the ears) .... tickles the irories sooooooooooo well! ❤
"Tea for Two" was Art Tatum's signature piece. It started out as a Broadway number but among others, Tatum was the one who popularized it amongst jazz musicians. Stride master James P. Johnson said upon hearing it, that it was the first time he heard it "really played". However, this version was Tatum's showpiece in the 1930's, when he was only 24 years old - when he made his debut as the most virtuosic stride player at that time. As a result, it is expository in nature, overloaded with runs and gigantic leaps. However, I much prefer his later 1953 version, which is in my opinion quite a masterpiece. Recently, someone (forgive me for not remembering the name) uploaded the score along with the recording on RUclips. For anyone who is interested, please do give it a search. It is faster and more interesting than even this version. By the way, for anyone who wants to see a score of this one - just search my channel. Thanks in advance. :-)
If people think of Tatum's early classics as astonishing in virtuosity and inventiveness, they'd find the re-improvisations he did in the 50s other worldly. Even in his mature years he never stopped getting better, and by then his mastery was so complete and polished that his playing had no where to go except to places inaccessible for 99% of the population. As great as his later version (1953) of Tea for Two is, I don't think many concert pianist would attempt it.
This wonderful young lady can make me
more emotional than anyone else
I simply love Her 😘
She makes anything she touches "fun" again. Even classical. Her clothes/costumes must cost a fortune, now accepted part of her persona; as I said, "fun."
Спасибо за прогулку и прекрасное настроение.😊❤😊
And I sing again, wonderful sounds. Thank you.
I would judge Art Tatum's interpretation of this song as a composition in its own right (variations on a theme by Vincent Youmans). I am so glad that some very talented and patient person has been able to produce written music from his incredible interpretation. Hence, we can enjoy this brilliant performance by Yuja Wang. It is just silly to say that she is imitating Art Tatum. Is she imitating Chopin when she plays his work? Her performance and interpretation is her own and I love it. It does swing and features some very well executed stride technique!
Yeah, but Art was improvising. Every time he played the piece he played it differently and he could do so endlessly without repeating himself. So I think it's a little different from playing a composition by a classical composer. Having said that, I'd call it a fine tribute, perhaps, rather than an imitation.
I think what's quite amazing here is that she obviously has a great interest in music outside of classical and is probably something she plays in her downtime due to her primary focus being the classical reportoire. There very few classical pianists who could pull off a piece like Tea for Two as Yuja Wang did here. In saying that, comparing it to Art Tatum's recordings is not something that should be done, not only because he was solely an improvisor, and almost blind at that because of cataracts on his eyes. Furthermore, out of any pianist of any school or genre or playing, I personally had not heard a more incredible pianist as him. He was more phenomenal than many could imagine. I believe Rachmaninoff and Horowitz saw him play and both pretty much felt that he was the greatest pianist alive at that time. You only need to listen to any of his recordings to realise very quickly the greatness of the man
@@timotot123 for technique and harmonic improvisation Art Tatum is the greatest jazz musician Of All Time, let alone jazz pianist. He doesn't get enough credit because he didn't compose new standards and didn't change the direction of jazz (as Miles Davis repeatedly did). So it's great to see Yuja Wang perform his improvisations.
@@skierpage Wouldn't say "the greatest jazz musician of all time". Let's just say one of the greatest, I mean there was Bird...
To me that's the problem with Wang's performance...it's so square and she probably is too (no offense to her). I applaud her for the effort because its courageous in the sense that she must know what's coming to her for even attempting this in public. Its not her genre and definitely not her vibe. Plus... once you hear the unhinged virtuosity and creativity of Tatum's renditions there's really no going back from that.
beautiful, a great classical pianist mastering a great "classical" jazz peace !
Don’t say. This is great. Love it. Art Tatum’s version!
Wonderful to see a Chinese Woman Pianist with good taste giving everything.
Horowitz would be smiling along with Art Tatum and Vincent Yeomans.
Thank you.
Absolutely incomparably magnificent !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, you could always compare her to Art Tatum
Fantástica su interpretación ❤
Very respectful arrangement of Tatum…nice stride too! I feel like I’m in a piano bar listening to a conservatory student after a few drinks when I hear it.
Really, people. This was a fifth encore piece from a generous performer. I enjoy listening to the performance for its own sake. Think of the listeners who are being introduced to Tatum for the first time in a playful way. Quit being so judgmental and self-righteous.
She plays so fantastic that I think I am listening to Art Tatum.
This is not a simple cup of tea :-)
She makes her piano into a delightful playground
hearing & watching her is going crazy !
is there any kind of music Yuja Wang can NOT play?? This young lady could make a piano 'talk'
No, she does NOT. It sounds too wooden. It simply doesn't swing. Remember? It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. She is and probably always will be a virtuoso sheet music player, but she ain't a natural born "musician" like Nahre Sol, here on RUclips, Yohan Kim, Joey Alexander, Stephanie Trick... , who all do NOT NEED sheet music. For kicks, listen to Stephanie Trick by way of contrast. Boy, does SHE swing, hers is the real thing.
A non English native speaker will never be credible if cast in a Shakespeare play, and an English speaker will never sound like a Chinese. There are only two exceptions I know of, Mark Roswell alias Dashan and Andrew Dawrant who owns sinophone.org and only very few pianists where I buy the crossover. To this here I'm politely clapping but am not impressed.
Can she improvise more lyrical instead of just technical?
I know I am a century late, but if you go to ~1:05, you will notice that she skipped half of the piece. The skipped is the hardest part btw.
Such mediocre, underrating and pathetic comments about a genius of our time that we should be thankful for its existence and our opprotunity to even watch and LISTEN to her majestic performances of an incredibly giant repertoire. Everything about her is simply fantastic. Her image, body language, her artistic vision, her energy, let alone an incredible flawless techique, she always plays all the notes, she's always articulated, with such ease. She is a class of her own. She is simply uncomparable. Just get over it. I mean, everybody with good music taste simply goes CRAZYYY about herr!!!
Tatum himself would like it, I bet.
Her sound at one piano sounds as if she's playing 3 or 4 pianos. The sour grapes below need to learn to listen without preconceived requirements. Accept it for what it is, a superb classical pianist's version of a jazz standard. Connoisseurs of the arts learn to encounter each version independent of other versions. Comparisions are futile ego exercises; embrace what you don't understand until you understand it.
`Caitlin Maher ~
Thankyou so much for this uinderstanding reaction. This is an extraordinary pianist giving it everything she's got
Wow, thanks for the posting, Tatum.
Concertista maravilhosa que parece moldar novos encantos as peças que interpreta. Que seus Dedos Velozes sejam a inspiração para os compositores em musicas extraordinárias ! Vida Longa, Sucesso e Parabéns !!!
Paulo Da Costa essa é a interpretação de art tatum
Paulo Da Costa m
David Fabros Essa deusa dos Dedos Velozes nos leva facilmente a admiração por um dos gigantes do jazz Arthur Tatum.
Por isso admiro e gostaria de assistir seus concertos maravilhosos !
FELIZ NATAL !!!
She's got the chops and someday she'll pick up the jazz feel too. Jazz plays out of the beat, whereas most other type of music is on the beat. In jazz, the melodic line is secondary to timing, pacing, beats, and spirit. Simply put, you must feel it to understand.
Classical music uses a different part of the brain. This has been well documented. It's why you don't see many classical players have a side career in jazz, and vice versa.
Ya that was good. I've just recently gotten into listening to Art Tatum. He's definitely a prodigy...even Rachmaninoff was blown away by Tatum's playing, evidently. So, Wang has her own take on the Tatum classic arrangement. I will say that Tatum does Tatum unlike anyone else, and he's evidently just riffing/improvising the whole time, more or less, with an incredible range of variations. Nevertheless, I commend Wang for the effort and performing it to her audience.
Love the dress!
The tune is called TAHITI TROT from Shostacovtch (Russian) (just like the world famous second waltz) ...TAHITI TROT is used in the film TEA FOR TWO..
ruclips.net/video/NYJUJ_qzVWY/видео.html
Actually the Vincent Youmans/Otto Harbach song Tea for Two comes from the 1924 musical No No Nanette, and Shostakovitch arranged it (in under an hour for a bet, so the story goes en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahiti_Trot) as "Tahiti Trot".
Sure and I suppose you are going to tell me next that Big Ben is not the tower?
@@gavinfc thanks for correct info 👍🏻
Pretty good for someone who isn't Art Tatum and isn't a jazz musician.
I listen to a fair amount of classical music, but my first love is jazz. And for as talented as most classical musicians are, I always felt, generally speaking, that jazz musicians were more accomplished, not because of their technical skills, but because of their ability to improvise. I always thought a classical musician could play anything there is to play - as long as they were told what and how to play it. But when it comes to truly improvising? Not so much. Andre Previn has a few jazz recordings and I always came away thinking that they were somehow lacking.
Noted jazz critic, Leonard Feather, once said that Art Tatum was the greatest improvisor, regardless of instrument. Personally, I think the student, Oscar Peterson, may have surpassed the teacher, Tatum. But we will save that debate for a later time. Anyway, Yuja Wang’s performance, although not entirely improvisational since much of it is nearly identical to Tatum’s recording, (and I don’t want to base my opinion on one performance), clearly can hold her own in the jazz arena. This was truly outstanding, and a very nice tribute to a great jazz legend.
We can only imagine Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Yuja Wang having fun together with this!!!
"Tea for two" is authoring on the american jazz pianist Art Tatum(1909-1956)
+Jacob S. Preciado- I thought Shostakovich
Jacob S. Preciado American, like any nationality, is written w a capital A.
Great rendition by a talented and beautiful women.
Awesomeness! Great!
IO INNAMORATISSIMA DI QUESTA SUPER SUPER PIANISTA......HA MANI CHE SEMBRANO VOLARE.....MI UNISCO AGLI APPALAUSI.....👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏💜
Sin lugar a duda alguna, Una elegida. Brillante, sensual, impecable.
She is perfect !!! :-O
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ORIMA PRIMISSIMA THANKS :-)
Wonderful!!!!
Goddess of the piano!
she sounds great
{Google translation}
Yuja Wang, guest of the 105th concert season of the Società del Quartetto di Vicenza, granted the enthusiastic public of the Teatro Comunale (sold out) no less than 6 encores, including this version of Art Tatum's song *"Tea for Two".
Municipal Theater of Vicenza, Wednesday 18 February 2015
*Actually Tatum's improvisation on Vincent Youmans' composition Tea for Two.
It's strange. After listening to this and going back to the original recording by Tatum, I somehow managed to appreciate Tatum's musicianship even more. I I think Yuja is trying to put flair here, but Tatum achieves Horowitzian ease in his old recording. To communicate with such ease of feeling, I think, is the mark of a supreme master. Only few achieve this. Yuja may be a truely gifted virtuoso, but compared to Horowitz or Arrau she must mature even more. Well, that's what I think.
It may be because she's tired ... after all, this is her 5th encore?
Her rendition is full of bravura, but lacks fluidity, she is no jazz player but technically gifted she for sure is. I cannot really enjoy this.
@JoyfulHearts1000 I bet she could still play Rachmaninov with plenty of pizzazz for her fifth encore. She’s just not a jazz pianist, admit it, people. It would not take anything away from her accomplishment in classical music.
She's the greatest ever and she is a jazz player as well!
Phenomenal!
+Peter Fritz Walter Tra-ta-ta-ta-ta.......!!! Did you mean: Yuja Wang is well lubricated
(the money, Sex sells) Chinese sewing machine? Yuja Wang (product) =
Sex sells + sex sells + sex sells + ... !!! this woman is
tumor of the cancerous mafia in the Classical music, unfortunately
majorities knowledge of the Classical music is low so types like her get
away.
+Mario DiSarli because of her dress? be a man you idiot! she is an awesome piano player
two thirds of original version. Looking forward to hear full version next time
This young genius is full of love and good things - there is no one even close !!
Marvelous Art Tatum's jazz music digested by a classical musician. The result is faboulus !
Superb.......wonderful
so what does that say about her admiration of Art Tatum?
Anyone know any more pieces like this? I loved this performance
RazzerRaw. Art Tatum, it was his name.
@gullivior has uploaded a bunch of Art Tatum performances to RUclips, often contrasting two or three versions of the same song from different periods in Tatum's career. To own or stream, I recommend starting with the Decca 1930s recordings if you don't mind the hiss and crackle; if you do his late solo sessions for Pablo records are clean if not quite so jaw-dropping. It really helps to hear several plain renditions of each song so you know the raw material before he blows it to smithereens 😉, and people have spent years decoding all the motifs and quotes from other songs and composers he tosses in.
To understand Tatum's modus operandi: He would hang in the back room of after-hours jazz clubs, drinking beer and chatting up girls, while all the other pianists tried to outdo each other on stage in "cutting competitions." Eventually Tatum would go to the piano and reinvent everything the others attempted but with more advanced harmonic structure and played twice as fast. He destroyed the best barrelhouse, boogie-woogie, New Orleans, and stride pianists, leaving them sobbing in the corner. He responded to 40s and 50s innovations in jazz but those styles form his "muscle memory." Hearing Yuja Wang perform his flights of improvisation is like seeing a ballet created from a brawl between Bruce Lee and 20 ninjas... I like it!
A thousand times fantastic.
Io vado matta per questa YUJA.....È UN VERO FENOMENO...........
This is so fucking skillful... Yuja loves Tatums music. He's probably the only pianist in the world she would have been able to learn from, as much as technique is involved.
#Halbgöttin
Not sure she learned much.
Yuja's improvisations remind me, (and i mean this in only the most positive fashion!) of the very skillful playing of a multiple-manual, restored theatre organ, where the artist intertwines variations of the original theme with the original melody! She has a very exciting style combined with her remarkable and pleasant contact with her audience!
Mike B Yuja's not improvising here (except for the long trill near the end). She's playing a Tatum transcription. But even so, she's doing it beautifully.
3e3op88
Eh, she doesn't play it note-for-note, she plays it different every time from what I've listened to
TheGrandBrand I wasn't referring to her other performances. I wrote in my previous post that she's not improvising HERE. She's playing a transcription as written; I have the sheet music. She deviates very little, if any, from it. Nothing wrong with that, though.
+TheGrandBrand She needs to practice this more or not play it at all, she is no Gabriella Montero as we all heard, but i guess she wanted to see if the folks would be receptive. NOT
cuanta pavada. Será envidia ???
semplicemente bravissima!
It’s an flawless performance, but a main part of jazz is the new ideas with every unique performance because people don’t perform other people’s solos.
BRAVO !!!
brava*
Superb! :):)
Благодарность родителям за гены, за воспитание, за любовь.
Lady, you are a STAR !!!!!
One of Nicky Benedetti's pieces of advice for performance is to think of a single adjective to describe the character you want to put across in a piece. It seems to me that Yuja Wang is thinking 'nonchalant' despite the outrageously difficult arrangement (I tried playing it).
Art Tatum has flipped the world upside down
I am always amazex by her artistic talent AND her physique. How does she manage to perfect both?
Yuja IS a lovely, charismatic person first, then a classical sheet music genius who has all my respect and affection for her prodigious achievements in that realm, BUT she simply ain't no ad lib player, YET. WITH SOME TUTORING under the wings of NATURAL BORN JAZZ/BLUES pianists who could be her MENTORs despite Yuja's technical superiority, eg Stephanie Trick & her husband Paolo, Pierre-Yves Plat, Beegie Adair, Peter Nero, Dick Hymann, Monty Alexander, Dave Ruosch,... she WILL conquer both worlds.