Show-Stopping Pianist Tony Yun

Yun performed at Hong Kong City Hall this past June

This afternoon I was spellbound by pianist Tony Siqi Yun, whose passion for music comes through in his playing -- despite battling a fever.

The Canadian-born pianist had just finished the first half of the program performing Brahms' Theme and Variations in D minor, Op. 18b, Robert Schumann's Theme and Variations in E-flat major WoO 24 "Ghost Variations", and the dazzling Sonata No. 23 in F minor Op. 57 "Appassionata" by Ludwig van Beethoven when the audience jumped to their feet to give a standing ovation.

He graduated from Juilliard last year

During the intermission we found out Yun, 24, had a fever, and did we notice? Those sitting closer to the stage could see he had a red nose, and he wiped his brow after each piece. But despite his illness, Yun powered through with professionalism.

When he was four years old his family moved to Beijing, and his older sister picked up the violin. He later discovered the piano, apparently only playing it 10 minutes a day but somehow managed to become a professional pianist by the age of 11. 

Four years later he moved to New York and studied at Juilliard, where he graduated in 2024. Yun made a name for himself in 2019 when he won the First China International Music Competition, and the Kissinger KlavierOlymp in 2022. He first performed in Vancouver in 2021 and today is his third time here for the Vancouver Recital Society.

Today's performance at Vancouver Playhouse

Yun is tall and wiry, with long skinny fingers, and his hair is curly too. As he plays at the piano, Yun has a tendency to tap his foot on the floor, which seems distracting, and his body movements seem as if he lifts himself up from the piano bench, or he leans so far forward it's as if he's resting his head against the piano.

He's unlike any other performer I've seen -- focused on the music, technically flawless, and once or twice shocked the audience with a sudden loud burst of notes. Yun also likes to extend the sound of notes as long as possible. When playing the last notes of the Brahms piece, he held the notes on the keys until the sound eventually dissipated, whereas others would have finished much earlier. 

Following the intermission, he came back to perform Ferruccio Busoni's Berceuse from Elegies BV 249, and finished with Schumann's Symphonic Etudes Op. 13. Again the crowd jumped to their feet again, and he performed a piece by Bach adapted from a work for violin. A friend who is actually working on the violin piece was stunned when he began playing it because it was quite long, as if it was part of the program, and also wasn't he sick? Or the meds were kicking in?

Nevertheless he gave his fans what they wanted, and the scheduled Q&A with him was cancelled. We'd rather he got some rest! 

This was Yun's third performance in Vancouver

Walking out of Vancouver Playhouse, I felt overwhelmed by the intensity of his performance and needed a drink -- from someone who doesn't drink much alcohol!