Vancouver’s own piano virtuoso and long-time Vancouver Symphony Orchestra friend, Avan Yu, performs Rachmaninoff’s thrilling Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini from April 25 to 27 at the Orpheum Theatre. Bramwell Tovey leads the orchestra in Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres midi d’un faune and Stravinsky’s Petrouchka.
“(Avan Yu) has killer fingers and what’s more, he has a definite ear for tone.” - The Vancouver Sun
In addition to his three Orpheum performances on Vancouver Symphony Orchestra subscription series, Mr. Yu will accompany the VSO on its Central Canada Tour from May 1 to 4, 2009 as featured soloist. The tour was planned around an invitation from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa as part of BC Scene, a celebration of the arts and cultural scene in British Columbia. The tour will take the orchestra to Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.
Last month, Avan Yu embarked on a two-week concert tour in Spain. He gave successful recitals in Vitoria, Seville, Penaranda de Bracamonte, Gijon, Oviedo, Avilces, and Santander. The last time the pianist was in Spain was in August 2008, when he won the Silver Medal and the Audience Prize at the 16th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition. Launched in 1974, the Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition takes place every three years and has become one of the most important piano competitions in the world today. In a span of less than two weeks, the contestants had to play five different concerts, including two concertos with orchestras as well as a chamber concert with the Casals Quartet.
At age 21, Canadian pianist Avan Yu has already performed in recital and with orchestras on four continents, captivating audiences with his extraordinary musicianship and ability. He is the only pianist to win first prize in both the junior and senior divisions of the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition. He made his debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the age of fourteen, and in October of this season, made his successful New York debut at the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall. Mr. Yu first came to national attention by taking first prize at the Canadian Chopin Competition at the age of 17, after having won the Canadian Music Competition in both 2001 and 2002.
Avan Yu, piano
At the age of 21, Canadian pianist Avan Yu has already performed in recital and with orchestra on four continents, consistently captivating audiences with his extraordinary musicianship and prodigious ability. He is the only pianist to win First Prize in both the Junior and Senior Divisions of the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition. During a recent tour of Quebec and Ontario for Jeunesses Musicales of Canada, Claude Gingras of Montreal's La Presse wrote, "Avan Yu is destined to become a very important pianist."
Most recently in August 2008, Avan captured the Silver Medal and the Audience Award at the prestigious 16th Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain. As a result, he will be performing in various European venues during the coming seasons.
Avan made his debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the age of fourteen in a performance of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. According to the Vancouver Sun, "He was astonishing, bringing out all the piano's harmonic depths and especially the music's poetry." Avan was then immediately re-engaged to perform the same work for a gala Summer Concert before an audience of 8,000 people. Since that time, he was engaged by the VSO for five of the six most recent seasons, including performances of the Chopin Concerto in F minor, the Prokofieff Second Piano Concerto, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition as part of their RussiaFest. This spring he will appear on the VSO’s PricewaterhouseCoopers Masterworks Silver Series at the Orpheum and then will be their featured soloist when they tour Central Canada performing in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City.
In the past few years, Avan has collaborated with orchestras such as the Dresden Philharmonic, Real Filharmonia de Galicia, Victoria Symphony, Ottawa Symphony, Windsor Symphony, Xiamen Philharmonic in China, Orchestre Philharmonique of Morocco, B.C. Chinese Orchestra, Seattle Northwest Philharmonia, and Seattle Youth Orchestra.
On October 13th of this season, he made his successful New York debut at the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall. In addition, he has performed for the CBC, the Chopin Club in Warsaw, UNESCO, Vancouver Women's Musical Society, Far East Broadcast Corporation, Canadian Vocal and Performing Arts Society, Vancouver Chopin Society, Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver as well as a tour of ten Chopin recitals in British Columbia. Avan has also been invited by Debut Atlantic to tour the Canadian Atlantic Provinces in the 2009/10 season.
Avan Yu first came to national attention by taking first prize at the Canadian Chopin Competition at the age of seventeen, after having won the Canadian Music Competition in both 2001 and 2002. He was a prize winner at the International Radio Competition for Young Musicians in Prague (with violinist Nikki Chooi), the Fourth Tchaikovsky International Music Competition for Young Musicians in Xiamen, China, and at the Fourth Concours International de Musique in Morocco where he was awarded the Grand Prix du Publique. Avan has received support from the Koerner Foundation, the Vancouver Women's Musical Society, and the B.C. Arts Council.
Avan Yu began his musical studies in Hong Kong at the age of five. After moving to Vancouver in 1997 he studied with K.K. Sum, and since 2003 has been a student of Kenneth Broadway and Ralph Markham. Currently, Avan is continuing his studies at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin, Germany with Klaus Hellwig. -- www.vancouversymphony.ca
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