Cliburn 2009: May 22 - June 7
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closeThursday, May. 14, 2009
Cliburn Confidential: Amy J. Yang
A series of conversations with the competitors
Amy J. Yang
(last name pronounced young)
Nationality: Chinese/American
Born: Shenyang, China
Lives: New Haven, Conn.
Age: 25
Musical beginnings: "My parents started me on piano at age 3 1/2 . I took about five years off between ages 8 and 13. But at about age 13, I realized that my life would not be complete without the piano."
Reason to love her: She’s a Texan! Her family emigrated from China when she was 11 and moved to the Houston area, later settling in Katy — the city she lists under "permanent address" on her Cliburn application. (She is studying at the Yale School of Music.)
When she is not playing piano: "I love to draw and sometimes paint." And she is taking a sculpture course at Yale. She is studying the classical guitar. "But I am just a beginner. As you can tell, the arts mean a lot in my life."
Favorite composers: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Brahms
But don’t ask her about Top 40: "I’m actually not too passionate about the pop-music genre."
Serious about entertainment: Yang’s list of favorite movies includes Leonard Bernstein’s Harvard lectures and "anything by Ingmar Bergman." When asked to name a favorite TV show, her response is "PBS."
Was previously in Fort Worth: "When I attended the 11th Van Cliburn competition [in 2001]."
What she is looking forward to about this Cliburn: "Everything. There’s nothing to lose." She takes greatest satisfaction as a performer in "that constant discovery of yourself within the music" and reaffirming "the magic of art — how it can bring people together."
If she could live anywhere: "I would like to live in the United States or Europe. I would have to relearn my Chinese if I went back to live in China."
Learn more and hear her play: www.amyjyang.com
— Punch Shaw, Special to the Star-Telegram
Bass Hall
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