Ryan Wang – at St John’s College Auditorium (entry via the gate at 8 Parks Road, OX1 3PD)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 9 Variations on a Minuet by Duport, K.573
Franz Schubert 4 Impromptus D.899, op.90
Interval
Fryderyk Chopin Nocturne op.27, no.1
Fryderyk Chopin Piano Sonata no.3 in B minor, op.58
Canadian pianist Ryan Wang already had a string of scholarships and awards behind him when he became BBC Young Musician of the Year 2024. Now he juggles studies on the dual degree programme at Harvard-New England Conservatory with an international concert career.
Mozart wrote his delightful set of variations on the road. He was travelling to Berlin to perform for the King of Prussia, whose Chamber Music Director and cellist was one Jean-Pierre Duport. A tactful tribute for his hosts. Next, Ryan gives us Schubert’s first set of Impromptus – four distinct pieces that are impossible to pin down in words since Schubertian magic can transform a march into a melody and despair to joy in the space of a few bars.
Following the interval, we have Chopin, first a nocturne and then Piano Sonata no.3. It will be interesting to hear this sonata played one week after Piano Sonata no.2 (Benjamin Grosvenor, 18 November). Sonata no. 2 is the more dramatic – it has the famous funeral march slow movement – but by no.3 Chopin has completely mastered the form. Listen out for the brilliantly virtuosic 4th movement.
Watch Ryan Wang playing Chopin Nocturne in B major, op.62