With musicianship of “pure poetry” (Seen and Heard International) and “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal), pianist Derek Wang is drawing increasing acclaim in wide-ranging appearances as soloist, collaborator, and communicator.

A proponent of the music of Franz Liszt, Derek was awarded second prize at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in 2022. His final round performance with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic conducted by Christian Reif was hailed as “spectacular” by de Volkskrant. The prize, which includes three years of concert engagements, follows on the heels of first prize at the inaugural New York International Liszt Competition in 2021, for which he was awarded an all-Liszt debut recital in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Recent performances as recitalist include a five-concert tour of the Netherlands and debuts for the Fazioli Concert Hall series in Italy, the Nohant Festival Chopin in France, the American Liszt Society in New York, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, and the Florida Keys Concert Association. In chamber music, Derek is a returning guest artist at the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and the Moab Music Festival in Utah, as well as recital partner to violinist Robert McDuffie in Rome, at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, and most recently, with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico in Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto for Violin and Piano.

In 2024, Derek performed with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and conductor Xian Zhang as finalist of the Concours musical international de Montréal and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Rory Macdonald as prizewinner of the Hastings International Piano Competition.

Deeply experienced in contemporary music, Derek held a three-summer-long fellowship position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival under conductors Donald Crockett and Timothy Weiss, performing a total of over fifty works of the 20th and 21st centuries including premieres of works by the festival’s composition fellows. He has also appeared as soloist with the AXIOM Ensemble at Juilliard conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky. Derek’s repertoire includes concertante works by John Adams (Grand Pianola Music), Elliott Carter (Double Concerto for Piano and Harpsichord), and Unsuk Chin (Double Concerto for Piano and Percussion). Most recently, he partnered with violinist Sophia Stoyanovich on the album Rue Paradis: Chamber Works of Patrick Stoyanovich, released on Bridge Records and hailed as “a standout” by Fanfare.

Derek is widely praised for his ability to speak about music to audiences of all kinds, and in formats ranging from traditional pre-concert talks to podcasts and other digital media. In 2023, he produced a series of episodes of WQXR’s long-running Young Artists Showcase as guest host. Previously, Derek appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk video series, emceeing, interviewing, and performing with young instrumental soloists of From the Top, America’s leading showcase for young musicians. In 2020, Derek launched the American Stories podcast series with violinist Sophia Stoyanovich to examine and celebrate American identity through music in performance, illuminated by personal histories and reflections from featured guests including a nurse on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, an adventuresome family of five living in an RV, a poet and founder of a Black artists’ cooperative, and a long-haul truck driver.

In a multimedia collaboration between animation and music, Derek has performed the études of Chopin live as a synchronized soundtrack to the short film collection Magic Piano and The Chopin Shorts, produced by Academy Award winner Hugh Welchman. He has brought the family-friendly immersive concert experience to the Film Society of Lincoln Center for its 2012 premiere, to the Dallas Opera House, and on two tours of China that spanned nine cities. He has also performed and discussed the films’ impact on young audiences as a guest speaker at the EG conference in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California and at the La Ciudad de Las Ideas conference in Puebla, Mexico.

Derek holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard, where he was the recipient of a Kovner Fellowship and the Joseph W. Polisi Prize for exemplifying the values of the artist as citizen. In 2024, he received an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music. His principal teachers have included Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, and Boris Slutsky. He continues his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany in the studio of Arie Vardi.

For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.

Updated September 2024. Please do not alter or abridge without permission.

With musicianship of “pure poetry” (Seen and Heard International) and “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal), pianist Derek Wang is drawing increasing acclaim in wide-ranging appearances as soloist, collaborator, and communicator.

A proponent of the music of Franz Liszt, Derek was awarded second prize at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in the Netherlands in 2022, which followed on the heels of first prize at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021.

Recent performances as recitalist include a five-concert tour of the Netherlands and debuts for the Fazioli Concert Hall series in Italy, the Nohant Festival Chopin in France, the American Liszt Society in New York, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, and the Florida Keys Concert Association. Derek is a recital partner to violinist Robert McDuffie, with regular appearances at the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado.

Deeply experienced in contemporary music, Derek held a three-summer-long fellowship position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival under conductors Donald Crockett and Timothy Weiss, performing a total of over fifty works of the 20th and 21st centuries including premieres of works by the festival’s composition fellows. He has also appeared as soloist with the AXIOM Ensemble at Juilliard conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky. Most recently, he partnered with violinist Sophia Stoyanovich on the album Rue Paradis: Chamber Works of Patrick Stoyanovich, issued on Bridge Records and hailed as “a standout release” by Fanfare.

Derek holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard, where he was the recipient of a Kovner Fellowship and the Joseph W. Polisi Prize for exemplifying the values of the artist as citizen. In 2024, he received an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music. His principal teachers have included Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, and Boris Slutsky. He continues his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany in the studio of Arie Vardi.

For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.

Updated September 2024. Please do not alter or abridge without permission.

With musicianship of “pure poetry” (Seen and Heard International) and “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal), pianist Derek Wang is drawing increasing acclaim in wide-ranging appearances as soloist, collaborator, and communicator. A proponent of the music of Franz Liszt, Derek was awarded second prize at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in the Netherlands in 2022, which followed on the heels of first prize at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021. Deeply experienced in contemporary music, Derek held a three-summer-long fellowship position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival under conductors Donald Crockett and Timothy Weiss, performing a total of over fifty works of the 20th and 21st centuries. Derek holds degrees from Juilliard and from the Yale School of Music. His principal teachers have included Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, and Boris Slutsky. He continues his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany in the studio of Arie Vardi. For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.

Updated September 2024. Please do not alter or abridge without obtaining permission.