Biography
Born in 1987 in Beijing, Tianwa Yang started studying the violin at the age of four. She progressed quickly with her winning six out of the seven violin competitions she entered. At the age of ten Tianwa Yang was accepted by Professor Lin Yaoji at the Central Conservatory of Music Beijing. By the age of eleven, she had already received many invitations for solo recitals, as well as for concerts with orchestras. Media in Hong Kong described her as „Pride Of China“. After hearing her perform at the 1999 Beijing Music Festival, Isaac Stern praised her talent and invited her to study with him in the USA. In 2000, she became the youngest artist ever worldwide to record the 24 Caprices of Paganini, at the age of 13.
Her European debut was in 2001 in Prague, where she played the Mendelssohn violin concerto with the Czech Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. In 2003, she played Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in the Munich National Theatre with the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera (Bayerische Staatsoper). Recitals in Paris, Stockholm, Frankfurt and Vienna quickly followed.
In 2003, Tianwa Yang was awarded a special two-year scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to study chamber music. Since then she has been living in Germany. She is receiving important inputs from Jörg-Wolfgang Jahn, Anner Bylsma, Heinrich Schiff, Antje Weithaas and Rainer Kussmaul.
In 2004, Tianwa Yang began to record the complete works of Sarasate (to be released on 7 CDs) for NAXOS.
She received the Volkswagen Foundation prize "Star of Tomorrow" from Seiji Ozawa in 2004; she was also awarded the “PRIX MONTBLANC 2006”.
In 2005, she performed a recital at the Schwetzingen Festival that was broadcast live by the SWR.
In 2006, two of her concerts were broadcast live: at the Montpellier Festival by Radio France and once more at the Schwetzingen Festival by the SWR, and she recorded Volume 2 of the complete works of Sarasate.
In 2007, Tianwa Yang was invited to perform at the NAXOS 20 Year Anniversary concert at Wigmore Hall in London.
Recitals in Germany and France, a tour of Germany with “Klassische Philharmonie Bonn” (Tchaikovsky Concerto) with concerts in Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Stuttgart, Munich, Hannover, Nuremberg, Karlsruhe and Wiesbaden followed. She also recorded the last CD with Sarasate’s compositions for violin and piano, Volume 3.
2008 proved to be a busy year for Tianwa with a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall broadcast live by Deutschlandradio Kultur, many recitals and concerts in Germany and two concerts with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. She gave her North-American Debut at the closing concert of the 2008 Virginia Arts Festival with the Virginia Symphony, conducted by JoAnn Falletta. She recorded Volume 4 and 5 of the complete works of Sarasate with the Navarra Symphony conducted by Ernest Martinez-Izquierdo, to be followed by a tour of China. In December, she will perform a concert to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Sarasate’s death in Pamplona – on that occasion, she will play on Sarasate’s own Stradivari violins.
Tianwa Yang appeared with a major American symphony orchestra for the first time, the Detroit Symphony conducted by Günther Herbig, to unprecedented critical acclaim.
Discography
Pablo de Sarasate Vol.1
Spanish Dances: Serenata Andaluza; Balada, a.o.
Tianwa Yang (Violin); Markus Hadulla (Piano)
Label: Naxos- 8.557767
Pablo de Sarasate Vol.2
Concert Fantasies
La forza del destino, Zampa, Martha
Tianwa Yang (Violin); Markus Hadulla (Piano)
Label: Naxos- 8.570192
Yang Tianwa 13-years-old plays
Paganini 24 Caprices
Nicolò Paganini: 24 Caprices Op.1
Label: Hugo classical HRP 7225-2
Carl-Flesch-Akademy -
9th Lions Club Prize-Winner's Concert 2006
Max Bruch: violin concerto G minor, Op.26.
Tianwa Yang, Violin (Bruch)
Baden-Badener Philharmony,
Conductor: Werner Stiefel
Label: Bella Musica BM 31.2416