Playing the classical piece “La Campanella” by Franz Liszt on the piano, Aragon senior Richard Yu performed at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall in New York City on Nov. 6. Carnegie Hall, one of the most prestigious music venues in the world, is the site of many acclaimed performers and where many musicians make their musical debut.
Yu submitted a video audition tape for the American Fine Arts Festival Golden Era of Romantic Music International Competition that would grant first, second and third place winners a performance at Carnegie Hall. Yu won first place in his age group and was notified that he would be able to play in New York a few weeks later. “It was one of my dreams to perform in somewhere as distinguished as Carnegie Hall. All of my hard work over such a long period of time paid off,” says Yu.
From early on, Yu always felt a special connection to music, especially to classical music and the piano. At age four, he received a keyboard from his parents. While improvising his own music during his early years, he began receiving piano lessons at seven years old. He says, “For a lot of people, their parents might force them to play the piano or other instruments, but for me it was the opposite — I forced my mom in that I was the one who asked my mom for lessons.”
Yu’s music teachers made an impact on his success as a pianist, as well as allowing him to see piano in different aspects. “My current teacher has really helped me improve a lot in my music. There are actually so many aspects to music — not only emotional and technical aspects, but also rational and logical aspects to music. Because to play music well is to not just express all your emotions, but also controlling and thinking a lot about what the pieces mean.”
Since he was young, Yu’s talent was recognized and he considered becoming a concert pianist. “I’ve always loved playing the piano and have been very passionate about it … I felt that I could connect with it and classical music. One of my teachers that I’ve had for a very long time thought I had a lot of potential.”
Being in New York and playing at Carnegie Hall for the first time, Yu had a special and unique experience. “It was great letting everyone hear the performance of what I’ve been working on for so long. I also heard a lot of other talented people there who I thought performed very well.”
As his audition submission and as his performance piece, Yu played “La Campanella.” “I really like the feeling of being able to play a very technical piece very fast in front of an audience and experience something very cool, because when you hear the piece, it’s a very big virtuoso piece that really allows people to be in awe by the amazing quality of the piece. There’s a part where there’s a big trill at the top of the register and people are like ‘Woah … thats crazy.’”
Advancing in his journey in music, Yu will continue to play in competitions and recitals, and will even play at Carnegie Hall again this March, as he won third place in the American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music.
Although he once considered becoming a concert pianist, as a senior now, Yu has other interests and notes that the opportunities to pursue a career in the field of music is narrow. However, he will continue to improve and enjoy playing the piano as a hobby. “[Piano] is something that I’m going to keep on doing. I’m going to keep playing and keep loving it even though it may not be my primary occupation … I’ll still enjoy it and continue to keep learning about music everyday.”
Yu reflects his special connection to music concluding, “Music is like a language to me and it’s a universal language that everyone can understand. That’s the beauty of music.”
