Tianwa Yang – A Star in the Festival Sky

During this year’s Mozartfest Würzburg, Tianwa Yang made a remarkable impression as the festival’s Artiste étoile, appearing in 13 concerts.

Already at her debut performance with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Antonello Manacorda, and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Markus Thiel praised her on Merkur.de as “world-class,” noting that she stood out in particular for her “exquisite tone” as well as her “intensity and […] energy.”
This was followed by Mozart and Beethoven violin concertos with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Dinis Sousa. Mathias Wiedemann wrote in the Mainpost: “It is total artistic freedom that arises from perfect mastery of the instrument and a deep engagement with the piece.”

In addition, the audience was treated to a mammoth project that Tianwa Yang undertook with her longtime duo partner Nicholas Rimmer: the performance of all of Beethoven’s violin sonatas in two concerts.
“The Yang/Rimmer duo, whose harmonies are seamless, can construct sonic structures of symphonic proportions, yet they also embrace Beethoven’s minimalism with equal conviction. Not a single casual note is over-staged, nor is any silence overplayed,” wrote Mathias Wiedemann of the Mainpost, who thoroughly enjoyed the evenings.

“Anyone who has ever seen Yang in concert is familiar with this exceptional musician’s versatile musical intelligence and inexhaustible technical prowess,” wrote Paul Schäufele in the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
And Tianwa Yang proved this once again in subsequent concerts, such as the “Music at Noon” series, where a large audience was treated to three performances of Ysaÿe and Bach sonatas in a very special setting: the crypt of the cathedral.
Equally impressive was the chamber music concert featuring Jörg Widmann, Erika Geldsetzer, Lily Francis, Lukas Sieber, Dana Barak, and Nicholas Rimmer. As part of this event, Tianwa Yang also performed the world premiere of the Jupiter Etude, which Jörg Widmann had composed specifically for the festival and the Artiste étoile—a work in which the violinist sets technical standards while simultaneously evoking a sense of intimacy.
In the meantime, Tianwa Yang could also be seen at the MozartLabor, where she served as a chamber music instructor, engaging with young musicians.

Tianwa Yang’s imaginative sound and astonishing virtuosity could likewise be admired in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto at a special event—the “Nachtmusik” in the Hofgarten of the Residenz.

Listen for yourself: The opening concert will be rebroadcast on BR Klassik on July 29 at 6:03 p.m.!