The Art of Piano Selection

We helped our great friends at the Gilmore Piano Festival document piano selection for their 2022 festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan and in doing do so, we chatted with the incomparable Yuja Wang about how to select a Steinway for a performance. Her process is fascinating and something to witness.

After more than 16 years since her debut at the Gilmore Festival, renowned pianist Yuja Wang returns for a solo program in Kalamazoo’s beautiful Chenery Auditorium.

Born into a musical family in Beijing, Ms. Wang studied piano in China, Canada, and in the U.S. at the Curtis Institute of Music. Named a Gilmore Young Artist in 2006, she returns for the program as an international superstar, having signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon and established her place among the world’s leading artists.

Hailed as “the largest gathering of piano talent in the Western Hemisphere” (NPR), The Gilmore International Piano Festival has featured stars who range from classical artists like Van Cliburn, Krystian Zimerman, and Mitsuko Uchida, to jazz and pop artists like Diana Krall, Tony Bennett, John Legend, and Brad Mehldau. For three weeks next Spring you can hear world-class pianists from across the globe in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and venues around West Michigan.