Protégé Spotlight: Yutong Sun Solo Piano
Newly announced, the extraordinarily talented Yutong Sun will be our Protégé pianist, and open our Protégé Spotlight series with an intimate recital of his favorite solo works. He has selected two pieces by Debussy, selections from Eight Memories in Watercolor by Tan Dun, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
Chamber music is meant to be up-close and personal—our Spotlight Recitals are exactly that! These casual noontime concerts feature CMNW’s rising-star Protégé Artists with repertoire they have chosen to share for their special spotlight performance. Over the course of 60–75 minutes in the intimate 200-seat Lincoln Recital Hall, experience superb chamber music by some of the world’s most exciting early-career artists!
The Protégé Spotlight Recital series is generously sponsored by John & Linda Hardham.
PSU, College of the Arts, Lincoln Recital Hall
Tuesday, 7/8 • 12:00 pm PT
Program
Click on any piece of music below to learn more about it.
- CLAUDE DEBUSSY Masques
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Masques (5’)- CLAUDE DEBUSSY L’isle Joyeuse
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
L’isle Joyeuse (6’)- TAN DUN Selections from Eight Memories in Watercolor
TAN DUN (b. 1957)
Selections from Eight Memories in Watercolor, Op. 1 (1978–1979)- MODEST MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition
MODEST MUSSORGSKY (1839–1881)
Pictures at an Exhibition (1874)
Artists
-
Yutong Sun
Piano
-
Yutong Sun has gained international recognition for his profound artistry and refined musical voice. He is a laureate of numerous major international piano competitions, including second prize at the 19th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition, first prize at the 54th Jaén International Piano Competition, and third prize at the 62nd Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona. He has also received top prizes at the Bösendorfer, Horowitz, New Orleans, and Ferrol International Piano Competitions.
Sun has performed as a recitalist at prestigious venues around the world, including Salle Cortot in Paris, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Bolshoi Hall in Saint Petersburg, the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. His performances have been broadcast by Bavarian Broadcasting, Polish Radio, and the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation.
He has appeared as a soloist with the China NCPA Orchestra, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra of Spain, the Symphony Orchestra of Galicia, the City of Granada Orchestra, the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Santander Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Hugh Wolff, Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Paul Mann, Earl Lee, Nicholas McGegan, Matthew Kasper, Lio Kuokman, Yifan Sun, Maciej Tworek, José Trigueros, and José Molina.
In 2024, Sun joined celebrated pianist Sa Chen and other distinguished pianists for a nationally acclaimed tour of Bach’s Concertos for One to Four Keyboards (in piano version) with the China NCPA Orchestra, performing at major venues in Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing.
He has been invited to perform at major international festivals including the Verbier Festival, Kissinger Sommer, the Beethoven Easter Festival, and the Holland International Music Festival.
Sun’s debut solo album, recorded for the Naxos Laureate Series, was released internationally in 2013 to critical acclaim.
Born in 1995 in China, Yutong Sun began piano studies at age seven in Tianjin. He later attended the middle school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he studied with Professor Chang Hua. Since 2015, he has studied at the New England Conservatory with Professors Alexander Korsantia and Dang Thai Son, earning his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Artist Diploma degrees. He currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music.