It has not gone unnoticed that Canada has been dominating the world of classical piano. Every year since the beginning of this decade, a Canadian has won a major international piano competition. Bruce Liu of Montreal made headlines in 2021 by being the first Canadian to win First Prize in the prestigious XVIII Chopin Piano Competition. ‘
That same year, at age 16, Calgarian Kevin Chen became the youngest ever winner of the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition. This was followed by his First Prize wins in the Geneva International Music Competition (2022) and the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition (2023). In September this year, Jaeden Izik-Dzurko from Salmon Arm, B.C., won the Leeds International Piano Competition.
The latest Canadian to take the classical world by storm is 17-year-old Ryan Wang from Vancouver. He is the winner of BBC Young Musician 2024, the renowned competition that has launched the careers of celebrated artists like cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and violinist Nicola Benedetti.
Ryan is no stranger to piano competitions. Before his BBC win, he already has a long list of international awards on his resume, including the Prix Corto from the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Although he does not come from a musical family, he showed an early interest in the instrument. He started piano lessons at the age of four, and within a year, he was performing his first solo recital at Carnegie Hall. The adorable five-year-old also charmed the world when he appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Since then, he has been performing recitals and with orchestras all over North America, Europe and Asia.
Ryan is currently in his last year of secondary education at Eton College in the UK, where he is on a music scholarship, and received his Artist Diploma from the École Normale de Musique de Paris in France in May 2024. We spoke to Ryan about his journey and recent BBC win.
Growing Up in a Musical World
Naturally, the label of prodigy has followed Ryan all his life. But, thanks to his parents who always put his childhood first, he has taken that with a grain of salt and never let it shape him. “My parents really shielded me from too much exposure, and I’m really glad they did because I think child prodigies need to grow and develop to become an artist.”
Not only did he have an all-rounded childhood, Ryan feels he has not missed out on being a teenager. He has many interests outside of music like running, skiing and playing basketball. Hanging out and bonding with people is important to him, especially because playing the piano is very solitary.
The world has been watching Ryan since he was five years old. It is obvious from the many YouTube videos of his early performances that he was a fearless child who just loved the attention and being on camera. As he gets older, he has developed more self-awareness, knowing that “people are watching”. To help with his nerves, his strategy is to, “focus on the music and what I want to say to the audience.”
Besides his teachers, Ryan is inspired by many pianists. Someone he especially looks up to is Singaporean American pianist Kate Liu, who won the Bronze Medal at the 2015 Chopin Piano Competition. “I think she has a very distinctive artistic voice. Her music is incredibly touching. I watched her once in person, and it was just incredible what she does.”
The BBC Young Musician Competition
Ryan feels that competitions have helped him grow as an artist and as a person. “I’ve had to learn a lot about myself through doing competitions because they really push you to the limit.”
Of all the competitions Ryan has taken part in, the recent BBC Competition was his most memorable. “The BBC Competition is highly respected in the UK. It is the biggest competition in the world for young people.”
The five rounds of the competition lasted about six months. He took miniatures of his recital programs and put them into short programs for each round. For the final round, he chose to play Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. “I set aside 2 weeks in my summer holidays to learn the Rach Two, to really get to know the piece well.
“Rach Two is just so beautiful and has the best melodies. It just matched what I wanted to say, and I felt it captured my artistic voice. I love romantic music. And Rachmaninoff really just spoke to me.”
Renowned Trumpeter Alison Balsom, one of the BBC Competition judges, praised Ryan for his “extremely rare ability to communicate something other-worldly — and embody the music,” which, along with “his flawless technique, he was able to reveal his soul with such honesty […] it’s exhilarating on any level to hear a teenager express this level of artistry.”
His Musical Voice
When asked about how he approaches the music and connects with his audience, Ryan says he first thinks about the aesthetics. He often has strong, almost stubborn ideas about his interpretation of a piece. “I know what I want to do with the piece. I always follow my intuition, my own feelings,” he says.
“If you think about how it affects you, and how it changes your life, then it will come. It will show through your music, and once you find that, that’s your artistic voice. When you know what the music means to you, it will come through in the playing, and through to the audience as well. And I think what makes someone’s music touching or exciting is that voice.
“At the end of the day, music is about beauty and sharing emotions. I think musicians pay attention to very small details, and it’s very easy to get caught up in them. But if you look at the big picture, it’s all about beauty.
“You always have to study the score, and you have to respect the composer. But in the end, it comes from within you. It’s about how you feel in your heart and soul. If you don’t follow that, your playing won’t be honest.”
Ryan Wang plays Chopin Nocturne in B major op. 62 no. 1 on July 30 2024:
Next Steps
Even though Ryan will be graduating from secondary school next year, he has not decided on his next moves, although he seems to gravitate towards staying in Europe. Right now, his focus is on performing as much as he can.
He is set to perform in Toronto on January 5, at the Li Delun Music Foundation’s New Year’s Concert, in which he will play Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Toronto Festival Orchestra. More engagements in the UK and France are to follow in the new year. In addition, Ryan hopes to foray into performing in continents like South America and Africa that he has not yet set foot in.
Ryan is especially drawn to the music of Chopin. His debut album is a collection of Chopin preludes that were recorded live from a performance in Bordeaux. Even though he is tight-lipped about future recordings, he hinted that they are in the plans. Aside from Chopin, he also loves compositions by Schubert and Liszt, and is a fan of Baroque works from Handel and Scarlatti. He would like to discover and perform more music by Schubert and Brahms.
Ryan is certainly an inspiration to many young pianists. When asked about his advice to them, he replies, “I think it’s very easy for young players to be swayed by different opinions in music, because music is so subjective. But if you feel passionately about something, you should listen to your own voice, because that’s how artists are made. Music is an art and artists should always be creative. And, as long as you enjoy it, the audience will enjoy it as well.”
- Ryan Wang will perform at the Li Delun Music Foundation’s New Year’s Concert on January 5, 2025, at the George Weston Recital Hall, Meridian Arts Centre in Toronto. Get tickets and more information [HERE].
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