Lunchtime Concert - Yang Yang Cai (piano)

Yang Yang Cai (piano)

Chopin, Preludes No.7-12

Chopin, Rondo Op.16

Chopin, Etude Op.25, No.5

Chopin, Etude Op.10, No.

Chopin, Nocturne Op.48, No.2

Ballade No.3 in Ab Major

Yang Yang (b. 1998) began her piano studies at the age of five with Noor Relijk and later continued her education under the tutelage of renowned professor Jan Wijn. After ten years of study, she graduated with the highest distinction from the Conservatory of Amsterdam in 2019. In 2023, she earned her diploma from the prestigious Accademia Pianistica di Imola, where she studied with Enrico Pace. The following year, she completed her Master’s degree at the Conservatory of Amsterdam under the guidance of Frank van de Laar. Currently, Yang Yang is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music in London with Norma

Fisher.

Yang Yang has participated in masterclasses with esteemed teachers such as Ronald

Brautigam, Boris Berman, Matti Raekallio, Jacques Rouvier, Klaus Hellwig, Alexander

Gavrylyuk, and Arie Vardi. In 2019, she further refined her musicality through a workshop at Maria João Pires’ Belgais Center for Arts, focusing on deepening her personal connection with music.

Her performing career, which began at the age of nine, has taken her to many of the major concert halls in the Netherlands, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Muziekgebouwaan 't IJ, Royal Theater Carré, DeLaMar Theatre, and Muziekgebouw Eindhoven. Internationally, she has graced the stage of Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle, earning praise from critics.

Yang Yang is committed to an honest and sincere interpretation of the music she performs.

She believes music is a universal language, and in each performance, she seeks to create a connection with her audience that goes beyond words. Through her transparent and heartfelt approach, she aims to make music accessible to everyone.

Prizes

At just nine years old, Yang Yang represented the Netherlands at the International Steinway Festival in Hamburg, Germany. In 2015, she was invited to perform in T aipei by the Dutch Trade and Investment Office in T aiwan. She has participated in various festivals, including the Delft Chamber Music Festival, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Festival Wonderfeel, Lowlands Festival, International Chamber Music Festival Schiermonnikoog, and Aspen Music School and Festival.

Yang Yang has won numerous awards throughout her career. In 2008 and 2012, she took first prize at the Steinway Piano Competition (Netherlands). She also won the Junior Final of the Young Pianist Foundation Competition in 2013, performing Mozart’s 14th Piano Concerto with the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra. In 2017, she received the Classic Young Masters Award. Most notably, in 2019, she won the Grand Prix Youri Egorov at the Young Pianist Foundation Piano Competition, performing Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto under the baton of Jean-Bernard Pommier with the Conservatory of Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, she was awarded the Marina Bondarenko Memorial Prize at the T el-Hai

International Piano Masterclasses.

Acknowledgements

Yang Yang is grateful for the support she has received from numerous organizations,

including the VandenEnde Foundation, Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds, Ars Donandi, NL T alentenfonds, Muziekfonds Stringendo, Fundatie van Renswoude The Hague, VSBfonds, Dr. Hendrik Muller Fonds, and Cultuurfonds. She also has the privilege of playing a Steinway & Sons D-274, generously provided by the Voorlinden Foundation

Presented in association with Royal college of Music