Superstar pianist Yuja Wang joins Manny Ax to talk about bad pianos, encores, what influences her musical interpretations, and her love for Prokofiev. In our Newly Dead game, Yuja puts her knowledge of composer deaths to the test.

Listen and Subscribe to Classical Music Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. 

Our theme song is Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18 performed by our host, Emanuel Ax.

Music used in today’s episode includes:

Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-Flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3 "La chasse": IV 
Beethoven 
Boris Giltburg, Piano

Piano Sonata No. 16 in G Major, Op. 31 No. 1: I. Allegro
Beethoven
Boris Giltburg, Piano 

Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 "Sonata facile": I. Allegro
Mozart
Jenő Jandó, Piano

Concerto No. 2 Op 18 II Adagio Sostenuto
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
The Philadelphia Orchestra 1924

Scythian Suite, Op. 20: II. The Enemy of God, III. Night 
Prokofiev
Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra
Theodore Kuchar, conductor

Piano Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 6: IV. Marche Funebre 
Scriabin
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Konstantin Scherbakov & Igor Golovschin  

Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica": II. Marcia funebre 
Beethoven
Danish Chamber Orchestra & Ádám Fischer 

Symphony No. 44 in E minor Trauer Sinfonie Mourning III Adagio
Haydn
Capella Istropolitana & Barry Wordsworth

Credits

Classical Music Happy Hour is supported in part by the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and by Linda Nelson.

Our production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Eileen Delahunty, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonamaker, David Norville, Christine Herskovits, and Ed Yim.

Our engineering team includes George Wellington, Irene Trudel, and Chase Culpon.

Classical Music Happy Hour is produced by WQXR in partnership with Carnegie Hall.