Singled out in the 2008 Musical America feature, "Young Artists: More Thrills of Discovery”, as one of the "up-and-coming talents" in the classical music world, pianist Di Wu's reputation as an artist to be watched continues to grow. Of her recording of Brahms's Paganini Variations, Books I and II, Harris
Goldsmith remarked, "Her account of the Brahms is amazing. She takes all the
difficult options (her glissandos are unbelievable!), and she conjures from the
piano absolutely gossamer, violinistic textures, joyous humor, and brilliant air-
borne tempos."
With a repertoire that ranges from Ravel to Brahms to Rachmaninoff, Ms. Wu’s 2008-09 season has her performing across the country. In early November 2008, she performed to standing ovations on the Gilmore Rising Stars Recital series, stepping in last minute to replace an ill colleague. The Kalamazoo Gazette praised her performance noting her “amazing technique” and “total command.” Re-engagements this season include the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in Bb, Op. 19, and the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, playing Brahms’s Piano Concerto No.1 in d, Op. 15. Debuts during 2008-09 include the Pennsylvania orchestra Symphony in C at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts playing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in d, Op. 30, and a recital at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts featuring works by Ravel. This May 2009, as the winner of the 2008 Juilliard William Petschek Piano Debut Recital Award, she will appear in recital at the Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. Other engagements this season include recitals in Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. This past October, Ms. Wu appeared in a live broadcast on “Live from WFMT” on Chicago’s classical radio station, WFMT.
Di Wu made her professional debut at age fourteen with the Beijing
Philharmonic. Since then, she has performed with various US orchestras,
including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony
Orchestra (at the Kennedy Center), the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and
twice with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, to name a few. Last season
(2007-08), Di Wu debuted with the Terre Haute and Bryan symphony
orchestras, performing Grieg’s Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. In addition, she
toured the US with the recital program, “The Art of Transcription”, in over 25
concerts covering 10 states, including a debut performance in California, for
which one reviewer commented, “…born to be a performer…While it could have
been labeled ‘The Art of Transcription’ it might better have been called ‘The Art
of Great Piano Playing.’” (Peninsula Reviews).
Ms. Wu made her solo debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2005 and has given recitals in the U.S., Barbados, Canada and China. In the US, she has appeared in such venues as the Cleveland Play House, the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center, the Bass Performance Hall in Texas, and the Caspary
Auditorium at the Rockefeller University in New York. She has toured
extensively in Europe, presenting recitals at festivals such as Mozart
Gesellschaft Dortmund, Klavier Festival Ruhr and the Busoni International
Piano Festival, and at venues such as the Musée d'Orsay and Musée de Grenoble.
Among her competition awards, Di Wu counts the Astral 2007 National
Audition, and as a result of winning, is now represented by Astral Artists.
Other competition credits, in addition to the recent 2008 Juilliard William
Petschek Piano Debut Recital Award , include first prize at the 2005 Hilton
Head International Piano Competition and the 2000 Missouri Southern
International Piano Competition, for which she was invited back for a
worldwide broadcast encore recital in 2001.
Born in China, Ms. Wu moved to the United States in 1999 to study with
Zenon Fishbein at the Manhattan School of Music. She relocated to
Philadelphia a year later to study with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of
Music. After completing her undergraduate education at the Curtis, Ms. Wu
returned to New York City to earn her master of arts at The Juilliard School of
Music under Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky, and is now currently enrolled in
Juilliard’s prestigious Artist Diploma program under the guidance of Joseph
Kalichstein and Robert McDonald.
For more information on Di Wu and her season performances, please visit
http://www.DiWuPiano.com.