pianist and communicator
engaged in a loving inquiry into classic and new scores
guided by a commitment to wholehearted listening
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As soloist…
12th Liszt Utrecht Competition, 2022 — Second prize
Finals with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic conducted by Christian Reif
1st New York Liszt Competition, 2021 — First prize
Debut recital as prizewinner at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall with an all-Liszt program
“Consummate virtuosity... moments of almost unbearable simplicity in the slow movements... a variety of touch and tone that was pure poetry”
“An aristocratic sense of shape and forward propulsion... Suddenly the piano had become a full orchestra with an extraordinary range of sounds. The inevitable drive to the final three chords reminded me of the animal excitement that Rubinstein would suddenly unleash...”
“This Derek Wang has got bravery in spades. He is a gourmand de musique who sinks his teeth into what he plays. And he has sound ideas about tempos.”
As collaborator…
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with Robert McDuffie, violin
Annual residency at the Aspen Music Festival (photo by Carlin Ma), chamber music at the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and, most recently, Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río conducted by Jorge Mester.
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with Emtithal Mahmoud, poet and activist
Spoken word-and-piano duo, at the opening session of the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival (pictured), for Climate Lead at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, with more to come…
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Piano Songs
A new dance (2024) by Tiler Peck (New York City Ballet principal dancer) to music by Meredith Monk, performed with American Ballet Theater principal dancer Aran Bell and pianist Joel Wenhardt. Premiered at the Vail Dance Festival and reprised at the Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center (photo by Rachel Papo for The New York Times)
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Aspen Contemporary Ensemble
Ensemble pianist/keyboardist under conductors Donald Crockett and Timothy Weiss for three summer seasons (2019, 2021, 2022), performing a total of over fifty compositions of the 20th and 21st centuries, including premieres of works by the Aspen Music Festival’s composition fellows (photo by Carlin Ma)
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Rue Paradis on Bridge Records
World premiere recordings of violin and piano works by Patrick Stoyanovich with violinist Sophia Stoyanovich, released on Bridge Records and available on all streaming services.
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Magic Piano and the Chopin Shorts
Performances of the Chopin études as live accompaniment to the animated short film collection, produced by Academy Award winner Hugh Welchman, in family concerts including at the Film Society of Lincoln Center (2012 premiere), Dallas Opera House, and on two tours of China spanning nine cities. (Photo from the E-G conference, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA)
“Credit pianist Derek Wang, who has emerged as an A-list colleague in chamber music and impressive soloist in a wide variety of appearances.”
“But the keyboardist Derek Wang deserves special praise. Game for anything, he played piano, harpsichord and synthesizer with equal conviction and enviable idiomatic rigor.”
As curator…
In reflection: Theo Rockas and Derek Wang perform Philip Glass’ Dance No. 2 (1978) on synthesizer (photo by Ziying Liu)
Beginning in January 2025, Derek leads artistic direction of Juilliard Station, a performance lab and street-facing forum at the corner of Broadway and W 66th St.
The Station’s free, drop-in, and story-driven programming invites New Yorkers and passersby to make intimate, live encounters with Juilliard artistry part of their everyday lives.
As communicator…
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American Stories: Road Movies
Podcast episode, created with violinist Sophia Stoyanovich, featuring conversations with Ry Shorosky (photographer and long-haul trucker) and Nathan Swartz (adventurer and father of four) and introducing music by John Adams. (Photo by Ry Shorosky) Listen here →
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WQXR Guest Host
Produced, scripted, and hosted episodes of WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase, including a feature on the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble featuring four world premiere works. Listen here →
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Tiny Desk Concerts: From the Top
Emceed, interviewed, and accompanied featured soloists for America’s leading radio showcase for young musicians. Watch here →
Bios
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Pianist Derek Wang moves across performance, collaboration, curation, and public engagement with “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal) and the relish of “a musical gourmand” (Le Devoir).
Derek first came to international attention with his interpretations of Liszt, receiving awards at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in 2022 (Second Prize) and at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021 (First Prize), which presented his debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall with an all-Liszt program.
In 2025, he began a role as Creative Enterprise Fellow at Juilliard, where he shares artistic direction of Juilliard Station, a new street-facing performance space, and leads interdisciplinary projects that have included sesquicentennial celebrations of composer Charles Ives and poet Rainer Maria Rilke, an ecological work with playwright Ethan Luk entitled Passages, an all-Philip Glass marathon concert on the composer’s 88th birthday, and, for Juilliard’s Fall Festival, an opening day at Juilliard Station under the tagline A Place for Us.
In chamber music, Derek is a recital partner to violinist Robert McDuffie, with regular appearances at the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. In 2024, Derek performed with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and conductor Xian Zhang as finalist of the Concours musical international de Montréal and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Rory Macdonald as prizewinner of the Hastings International Piano Competition.
Derek’s work across disciplines includes collaborations with leading choreographers at the Vail Dance Festival, including on premiere works by Robert Battle, Lauren Lovette, and Tiler Peck. In the realm of multimedia, Derek has performed the études of Chopin live as a synchronized soundtrack to the short film collection Magic Piano and The Chopin Shorts, produced by Academy Award-winning animator Hugh Welchman. He has brought the family-friendly immersive concert experience to the Film Society of Lincoln Center for its 2012 premiere, to the Dallas Opera House, and on two tours of China that spanned nine cities. Most recently, Derek partnered poet-activist Emtithal Mahmoud to open the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival with a stirring combination of music and the spoken word.
A proponent of the music of our time, Derek held a three-summer-long fellowship position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival under conductors Donald Crockett and Timothy Weiss, performing a total of over fifty works of the 20th and 21st centuries including premieres of works by the festival’s composition fellows. He has also appeared as soloist with the AXIOM Ensemble at Juilliard conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky. Most recently, he joined violinist Sophia Stoyanovich on the album Rue Paradis: Chamber Works of Patrick Stoyanovich, issued on Bridge Records and hailed as “a standout release” by Fanfare.
Derek is widely praised for his ability to speak about music to audiences of all kinds, and in formats ranging from traditional pre-concert talks to podcasts and other digital media. In 2023, he served as guest host for WQXR New York’s Young Artists Showcase. Previously, Derek appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk video series for a special episode of From the Top, emceeing, interviewing, and performing with young instrumental soloists. In 2020, Derek partnered with violinist Sophia Stoyanovich to produce American Stories, a series of podcast episodes that examine and celebrate American identity through music in performance, illuminated by personal histories and reflections from guests including a nurse on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, an adventuresome family of five living in an RV, a poet and founder of a Black artists’ community center, and a long-haul truck driver.
Derek holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard, where he was the recipient of a Kovner Fellowship and the Joseph W. Polisi Prize for exemplifying the values of the artist as citizen. In 2024, he received an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music. His principal teachers have included Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, and Boris Slutsky. He continues his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany in the studio of Arie Vardi.
For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.
Updated August 2025. Please do not alter or abridge without permission.
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Pianist Derek Wang moves across performance, collaboration, curation, and public engagement with “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal) and the relish of “a musical gourmand” (Le Devoir).
Derek first came to international attention with his interpretations of Liszt, receiving awards at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in 2022 (Second Prize) and at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021 (First Prize), which presented his debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall with an all-Liszt program.
Since 2025, Derek is Creative Enterprise Fellow at Juilliard, where he leads a range of interdisciplinary programming and directs Juilliard Station, a new street-facing performance space.
In chamber music, Derek is a recital partner to violinist Robert McDuffie, with regular appearances at the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. A proponent of the music of our time, Derek held a three-summer-long fellowship position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival under conductors Donald Crockett and Timothy Weiss, performing a total of over fifty works of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Derek’s work across disciplines includes collaborations with leading choreographers at the Vail Dance Festival, including on premiere works by Robert Battle, Robbie Fairchild, Lauren Lovette, and Tiler Peck. In the realm of multimedia, Derek has performed the études of Chopin live as a synchronized soundtrack to the short film collection Magic Piano and The Chopin Shorts, produced by Academy Award-winning animator Hugh Welchman. Most recently, Derek partnered poet-activist Emtithal Mahmoud to open the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival with a stirring combination of music and the spoken word.
Derek holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard, where he was the recipient of a Kovner Fellowship and the Joseph W. Polisi Prize for exemplifying the values of the artist as citizen. He completed further studies at the Yale School of Music and at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany. His principal teachers were Yoheved Kaplinsky, Stephen Hough, Matti Raekallio, Boris Slutsky, and Arie Vardi.
For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.
Updated August 2026. Please do not alter or abridge without obtaining permission.
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Pianist Derek Wang moves across performance, collaboration, curation, and public engagement with “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal) and the relish of “a musical gourmand” (Le Devoir).
Derek first came to international attention with his interpretations of Liszt, receiving awards at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in 2022 (Second Prize) and at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021 (First Prize).
Derek's work across disciplines includes collaborations with leading choreographers at the Vail Dance Festival, with Academy Award-winning animator Hugh Welchman, and with poet-activist Emtithal Mahmoud for the opening session of the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival. Derek held a three-summer-long position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival. He is presently Creative Enterprise Fellow at Juilliard, where he curates a range of interdisciplinary programs and shares artistic direction of Juilliard Station, a new street-facing performance space.
Derek holds degrees from Juilliard and from the Yale School of Music. His principal teachers have included Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, and Boris Slutsky. He continues his studies at the Musikhochschule in Hannover, Germany with Arie Vardi. For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.
Updated August 2025. Please do not alter or abridge without obtaining permission.
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Pianist Derek Wang moves across performance, collaboration, curation, and public engagement with “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal) and the relish of “a musical gourmand” (Le Devoir). He was awarded second prize at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in the Netherlands in 2022, which followed on the heels of first prize at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021. Derek held a three-summer-long position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival and is presently Creative Enterprise Fellow at Juilliard, where he curates a range of interdisciplinary programs. Derek holds degrees from Juilliard and from the Yale School of Music; he continues studies at the Musikhochschule in Hannover, Germany. His principal teachers have included Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, Boris Slutsky, and Arie Vardi. For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.
Updated August 2025. Please do not alter or abridge without obtaining permission.
Portraits
Photo by Allard Willemse
Photo by Allard Willemse
Photo by Matthew Holler
Photo by Matthew Holler