Yuja Wang

Yuja Wang (Chinese: 王羽佳; pinyin: Wáng Yǔjiā; born February 10, 1987) is a Chinese classical pianist. She was born in Beijing, began studying piano there at age six, and went on to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. By the age of 21 she was already an internationally recognized concert pianist, giving recitals around the world. She has a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon.

Early life

Wang comes from a musical family. Her mother, Zhai Jieming, is a dancer and her father, Wang Jianguo, is a percussionist. Both live in Beijing.

Wang began her piano studies at age six. She entered Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music at age seven and studied there for three years. At age 11, Wang was accepted as the youngest student in the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada.

Starting at age 15, she studied for five years with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated in May 2008. Graffman said that Wang's technique impressed during her audition but "it was the intelligence and good taste" of her interpretations that distinguished her.

Field recording

Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio.

Field recordings can be either of two varieties. Field recording of natural sounds, also called phonography (a term chosen to illustrate its similarities to photography), was originally developed as a documentary adjunct to research work in the field and foley work for film. With the introduction of high-quality portable recording equipment, it has subsequently become an evocative artform in itself. In the 1970s both processed and natural phonographic recordings (pioneered by Irv Teibel's Environments series) became popular.

"Field recordings" may also refer to simple monaural or stereo recordings taken of musicians in familiar and casual surroundings, such as the ethnomusicology recordings pioneered by John Lomax, Nonesuch Records and Vanguard Records.

Techniques

Field recording often involves the capture of ambient noises that are low level and complex, in response the requirement from the field recordist has often pushed the technical limits of recording equipment, that is, demanding low noise and extended frequency response in a portable, battery powered unit. For this reason field recordists have favoured high quality, usually professional, recorders, microphones and microphone pre-amplifiers. The history of the equipment used in this area closely tracks the development of professional portable audio recording technology.