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Sarah Chang
Sarah Chang before a concert, 2005
Born	Young Joo Chang[1] December 10, 1980 (1980-12-10) (age 29) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Violinist

Sarah Chang is a Korean American violin virtuoso. She was born on December 10, 1980 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Early life

Sarah Chang was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Korean parents. Min-Soo Chang, her father, is a violinist, and Myoung Jun Chang, her mother, is a composer. Her parents had moved to the United States in 1979 so that Sarah's father could study for an advanced music degree at Temple University. Her mother was taking composition classes at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a younger brother named Michael.

Sarah liked to play one-finger melodies on the piano at the age of 3 but, possibly taking a cue from her father, asked her parents for a violin. She began practicing with a rented 1/16-sized violin at age 4 and auditioned for the Juilliard School at age 6 by playing the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. She was admitted into the studio of the late Dorothy DeLay,^[2] violin teacher to some of the world's great violinists including Itzhak Perlman, Midori Goto, Anne Akiko Meyers, Gil Shaham, Shlomo Mintz and many others, including Chang's father Min-Soo Chang. She was also taught by Hyo Kang, a former student and assistant of DeLay. She continued attending grade school in the Philadelphia area while studying music on Saturdays at Juilliard.

Chang was recognized as a child prodigy early on, and when she was 8 years old she was given the opportunity to audition with such names as Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti, who were working, respectively, with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Both gave her immediate engagements.

She recorded her first album, Debut, in 1991 at age 10;^[3] it was released by EMI Classics August 18, 1992.^[4] It quickly reached the Billboard chart of classical best-sellers. Her teacher in an interview claimed that no one had ever seen "anything like her".^{[citation needed]}

Career

Sarah Chang performing outdoors at the Festival I suoni delle Dolomiti in 2005.

She has collaborated with most major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the principal London orchestras, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.

Also Chang has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo, the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra, the Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, the Washington National Symphony Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Honolulu Symphony, and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others.

Among the conductors with whom she has worked are Mariss Jansons, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, André Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, Placido Domingo, David Lockington, David Zinman, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jaap van Zweden and John Williams.

Notable recital engagements have included her Carnegie Hall debut and performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Symphony Hall in Boston, the Barbican Centre in London, the Philharmonie in Berlin, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

As a chamber musician, Chang has collaborated with such artists as Pinchas Zukerman, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yefim Bronfman, Martha Argerich, Leif Ove Andsnes, Stephen Kovacevich, Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, Lars Vogt, and the late Isaac Stern. She has made several chamber recordings with current and former members of the Berlin Philharmonic, including the Sextet and Piano Quintet of Dvorak and the Souvenir de Florence of Tchaikovsky.

In 2005/06 Sarah Chang toured with members of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with a Sextet programme in summer festivals leading to a concert at the Berlin Philharmonie.

In 2007 Chang had her recital at Carnegie Hall with British pianist Ashley Wass.^[5], and in 2008/09 she performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen and appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic both at the Hollywood Bowl and at Walt Disney Concert Hall.^[6]

In 2010 she will have had her recital at the Barbican Hall in London.^[7]

She plays the 1717 Guarneri del Gesu violin,^[8] which she purchased in her teens. She uses a variety of bows: Pajeot for Mozart and Bach; Sartory for "the big-whammy concertos, the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius"; and two Dominique Peccattes for other music.^[8]

Along with Pete Sampras and Wynton Marsalis, she is a featured artist in watchmaker Movado's global advertising campaign "The Art of Time". For the June 2004 Olympics she was given the honor of running with the Olympic Torch in New York.^[9] In 2005, Yale University dedicated a chair in Sprague Hall in Chang's name.^[9]

Besides speaking English and Korean, Chang also speaks German.

Awards

Sarah Chang has received a number of awards, including:

• Avery Fisher Career Grant (1992)
• Gramophone Magazine "Young Artist of the Year" (1993)
• "Echo" award (Germany) ("Newcomer of the Year") 1993
• "Nan Pa" award (South Korea)
• "Newcomer of the Year" at the International Classical Music Awards (1994)
• Avery Fisher Prize (1999) One of three women to first win the prestigious music award.
• Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana Award in Siena, Italy (2004)
• Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame award (the youngest person ever to receive it) (2004).

Discography

CDs

• 1992 Debut. Sarasate, Elgar, Paganini (EMI Classics)
• 1993 Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dances 1, 2, 4 7/Peter Tchaikowsky: Violin concert op 35. Conductor: Sir Colin Davis (EMI Classics)
• 1996 Édouard Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole/Henri Vieuxtemps: Violin concert Nr. 5. Orchestra: Concertgebouw Orchestra (Lalo)/Philharmonia Orchestra (Vieuxtemps), Conductor: Charles Dutoit (EMI Classics)
• 1997 Simply Sarah (EMI Classics)
• 1998 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Jean Sibelius: Violin concerto. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker, Conductor: Maris Jansons (EMI Classics)
• 1999 Sweet Sorrow. Pieces of Vitali, Gluck, Brahms, Lalo, Vieuxtemps, Paganini, Sibelius, Liszt, Tschaikowsky, Saint-Saens, misc. Orchestras, conductors (EMI Classics)
• 1999 Richard Strauss: Violin concerto and Violin sonata. Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Conductor and piano: Wolfgang Sawallisch (EMI Classics)
• 2000 Karl Goldmark: Violin concerto op. 29. Orchestra: Gürzenich-Orchester, Conductor: James Conlon (EMI Classics)
• 2002 Fire and Ice. Sarasate, Massenet, Ravel, Beethoven, J. S. Bach, Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker, Conductor: Plácido Domingo (EMI Classics)
• 2002 Antonín Dvořák, Tchaikowsky: (with other artists) Souvenir de Florence (EMI Classics)
• 2003 Classical Legends. Compilation ft Sarah Chang and other artists
• 2004 French Violin sonatas. Piano: Lars Vogt (EMI Classics)
• 2004 Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sinfonies. Disc 4: The Lark Ascending. Conductor: Bernard Haitink (EMI Classics)
• 2005 Meisterwerke der Kammermusik. Compilation ft Sarah Chang and other artists, 3 CD
• 2005 Andrew Lloyd Webber: Phantasia (with cellist Julian Lloyd Webber) (EMI Classics)
• 2006 Dmitri Shostakovich: Violin concerto Nr.1/Sergej Prokofieff: Violin concert Nr. 1. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker, Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle (EMI Classics)
• 2007 Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, and Violin Concerto in g, op 12 no 1, RV 317. Orchestra: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (EMI Classics)
• 2009 Max Bruch Violin Concerto No.1, Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto Kurt Masur, Dresdner Philharmonie (EMI Classics)^[10]

DVDs

• 1995 Niccolò Paganini Violin Concerto Berliner Philharmoniker, Zubin Mehta
• 2003 Spanish Night: Sarasate Carmen Fantasie, Ziguenerweisen, Thais Meditation, Berliner Philharmoniker, Plácido Domingo (Conductor)

References

External links

• Official website
• Sarah Chang Facebook Group
• Sarah Chang on Twitter
• EMI Classics biography page
• Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks
• Artist Management
• Sarah Chang at Allmusic
• Sarah Chang Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
• Sarah Chang Bruch/Brahms Concertos
• Sarah Chang plays Massenet's "Meditation from Thais" at YouTube

From Wikiquote

Sarah Chang (born December 10, 1980) is an American violinist.

Sourced

Korean Quarterly 1998

• "I remember when I was eight, my friends thought it was a little bit unusual that I was going off to Europe or to Asia, and playing concerts. And they would go to Tower (Records) and see my CD out. So that was a little different! But, I guess they've gotten used to it now, and really could not care less," she asserted. "It's nice because most of my friends are not musicians, and it keeps me grounded."

PBS.org 1998

• I had this very interesting experience when I was about 13. I went to Finland and it was dead in the middle of winter. It was freezing cold. There was so much snow and I went to Ainola, which is Sibelius' house. It was completely isolated -- just snow and forest, trees and the lake, completely beautiful but very quiet. And very serene. And I thought, well, this is where he was composing his stuff. And his great symphonies and the violin concerto, this is where it basically came from. I also got this little handbook about Ainola and there's a part that says that Sibelius wouldn't allow running water in his house because it disturbed him and his thought processes. So his daughters had to go out to the well which was half a mile away and then bring back water. So I thought, "Wow!" This person was really that much into control and silence. So you go and look at the concerto after that and the way it starts in the beginning: very shimmery. Very beautiful. But in a way it is isolated, and you feel kind of lonely when you're playing that. And gradually of course it builds up into this great big climax when every single orchestra-like instrument known to mankind is clashing and you're trying to break out there and you're trying to play your heart out. But really it did help me realize what he is like.
• Now this is very funny because my brother's name is Michael Chang, I go in for interviews or just talk to people and they say, "so what does your brother do?" I say he plays tennis and they automatically assume that he is Michael Chang, the tennis player, and I don't say anything.

JS online 1999

• "I hate analyzing stuff. I do the bare minimum. When it comes to interpretation, I just play it and go from there. I think emotion is everything. When you get the notes, you've just scratched the surface. The best things happen spontaneously, on stage. I'm doing three concerts here; I guarantee that none of them will be the same. We're not machines."
• "There are certain moments in performance when I'm hand-in-glove with a conductor and feel I can take risks and try something completely different from what we did in rehearsal. Sometimes we pull it off, and it's magical. Other times you try to get creative, the support isn't there, and you think, oh well, maybe next time."

NEWSWEEK 1999

• I've worked with a lot of living composers recently. It drives me nuts, though, that they like to change things at the last minute. For example, two years ago I played a piece that had been completed only the day before, in front of thousands of people in a huge stadium in Taejon, South Korea.
• Everything in my life is planned. It adds stability, but it makes me yearn for something that's not planned, that's spontaneous.
• I try not to take my life for granted. I have friends who have tendinitis. That would kill me. A short break from the violin is fine, but if I don't touch it for three or four days, my fingers start to feel funny.
• The ultimate high for me is being onstage in front of an audience. Nothing else can compare.

Interview with Barnes & Noble.com June 2003

• I've always ranked the Brahms as the Mount Everest of all concertos -- and the Beethoven, of course.

• I like Lenny Kravitz, I like Pink, and for forever and ever I've thought that Whitney Houston has an amazing voice. I really love great voices.

Newsweek September 2006

• (about concerts)"I love the adrenaline rush you get from having a live audience in front of you. There's nothing like performing live. I like to categorize classical music as one of those really beautiful, glamorous gems from the old era. The men are in tails onstage, the women are in beautiful dresses and the soloist comes out in a gorgeous evening gown. I really, really love that old-school glamour.For me, concert days are always exciting. It doesn't matter if I give 100 concerts or 150 concerts that season. Every concert is magical. Every concert has a sparkle to it. The challenge is to keep myself fresh and to give a spontaneous performance every single night while maturing and growing as a musician every day. The whole art form of being onstage is so mysterious and magical, it fascinates me. "

• (about her beginnings) "People assume I always wanted to be a violinist. It was actually just one of many other hobbies that I had. I had very enthusiastic parents. They gave me swimming lessons and horseback riding and gymnastics and ballet. My mom put me on the piano when I was about 3i. I asked for the violin when I was 4 because I wanted something that was smaller and more portable. I auditioned for the Juilliard School when I was about 6. During the week, I went to a regular school in Philadelphia so I could be with kids my own age." and "I started my career when I was 8 with two debuts in New York and Philadelphia, and then I started recording when I was 9. When you're so young, you don't realize the impact of a New York Philharmonic debut. You're told to do something and you go out and do it and you don't ask too many questions. I think the questions come later when you're in your teens. By the time I was 14, I was spending probably half the year in Europe. So I was out of school a lot. I did most of my homework by e-mail or fax. We made it work because my professors were incredible."

• (about her concert in North Korea) "The concert was full of government officials. Every single last seat. It was invitation only, but it was an unbelievable experience. Frightening and exhilarating at the same time. And I just thought about how lucky I am. I am so fortunate to be a musician, and at that moment, I genuinely felt that music is the one and only universal language."

Guardian November 2007

Q: Did you know you had talent straight away?

A: Not really. It was only when I auditioned for the Juilliard arts school in New York at age five and a half that I realized I was at least eight years younger than everyone else, so I knew I was on to something. Before that, music was just one hobby among many.

Q: What was your big breakthrough?

A: Making my debut with the New York Philharmonic, age eight. The day after my audition, they rang and asked if I could perform the Paganini concerto the next day without rehearsal. I said yes because I didn't know any better. There's no way I'd have that sort of fearlessness now.

External links

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Sarah Chang