- [Presenter] In partnership with the Curtis Institute of Music, WHYY presents the following program.

(gentle piano music) - I want to be a ambassador and a communicator of classical music and music in general because there's such a profundity and beauty and joy in music-making that I see that's the most important elements for me personally.

My name is Zhu Wang.

I am a pianist.

I'm originally from China, and now I'm studying at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

My first musical memory was my grandfather's playing of his instruments at his apartments.

My grandfather is a high school music teacher, and he has a lot of instruments at his apartment, and so every time I visited him, I will play around with some of them.

And for some reason, he saw this talent within me, and so eventually he convinced my parents that I should learn piano.

(audience applauding) (sighs) Thank you.

I'm gonna play for you is "Adoration" by Florence Price.

(jaunty piano music) Florence Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and she attended school at New England Conservatory in Boston.

She had composed for a very large range of repertoire, including piano concertos, violin concertos, and four symphonies.

But "Adoration," this particular miniature work, I will say, is a summary of her style.

The melodies and the materials that she used, it's very much from spirituals and inspired from church songs.

So that's why I'm a deep lover of music.

Because it has that simplicity, yet powerful message within it.

I got introduced to this piece because of my friend and the violinist Randall Goosby.

We performed this piece quite a lot, and this piece is also included in this debut album, "Roots."

Tonight, it's just gonna be myself playing this solo piano version, which I adapted.

So I hope you enjoy.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) There are so many areas of music-making, you know, solo, chamber, and orchestral.

I believe a musician should be very complete, especially a musician in nowadays, 21st century.

(dynamic piano music) I really enjoy making music with friends, and there's just such a joy that in the process of it.

(pensive music) Michelle reached out to me, and she asked me if I can play Eugenia Hagan's "Concerto in C Minor for Two Pianos" with her in New World Symphony for this project.

- We can sit on this one.

- Yeah.

Playing music for two pianos, you just have to watch for the balance.

(laughs) Because it's easy to get loud and kind of- Or you get, kind of, you know, kind of fight (laughs) scenario with sounds.

So I am trying to listen very carefully, so, you know, I can always be on the same page with Michelle.

(dynamic music) (audience applauding and cheering) "Reminiscences de Norma" is by Franz Liszt.

It's a piece that pays tribute to Bellini's Italian opera, "Norma."

The opera is about two hours long, but Liszt made a fantastic transcription out of it for, you know, and made it to 17 minutes.

So it's a little less of excitement and drama within it.

In this piece, it's kind of there's something more and there's something deeper.

And that's something that I really care about, is that deeper message within, behind all of the notes, (laughs) is that the feeling, the emotions that is behind the music, I think is the most important thing.

(audience applauding) (vibrant music) (plaintive music) (spirited music) (mellow music) (dynamic music) (mellow music) (spirited music) (lively music) (mellow music) (vibrant music) (wistful music) (vibrant music) (majestic music) (lyrical music) (pensive music) (melancholy music) (gentle music) (vibrant music) (sprightly music) (vivacious music) (suspenseful music) (dynamic music) (tense music) (vibrant music) (majestic music) (audience applauding and cheering) (audience cheering)