We invited Canadian pianist Tony Yang as a guest for our interview column "Mongolia Through the Eyes of Outsiders"
The Mongolian Conservatory, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Mongolian People's Republic, organized the IV International Piano Competition named after the famous Polish composer and pianist Fryderyk Chopin from 10th-16th of December, and Tony Yang served as a jury. This is his third visit to Mongolia. At the age of 16, he became the youngest artist to receive the award by winning the F. Chopin International Piano Competition held in Warsaw. Tony Yang is a talented musician who has performed in many countries around the world. Interestingly, in October of this year, he successfully performed a solo concert consisting of works by Mozart, Liszt, and Chopin at the Mongolian Philharmonic Concert Hall.
When did you come first to Mongolia and please share your impression of that time.
I actually first came to Mongolia just last year in October. And I came here on a 30-hour layover because there was a very cheap business class flight on MIAT of Mongolian airline.
And I'm someone who really likes to travel and I'd never flown the Mongolian Airlines before. I had to go from Frankfurt to Hong Kong. Then one of the options was through Mongolia. I've always kind of wanted to go and this was really like the perfect opportunity. I had the time to be able to afford such a long layover and then I came.
I had a friend who introduced me to one of his friends here. They showed me around so it was cool to experience life as a local. I think summer had just finished and it was so nice - I liked how cozy the city was. It's all very walkable, of course. The traffic is very notable, and it's famous now. I could feel, I think one thing about the Mongolian atmosphere is that it's very earthy, it's very down to earth and it's very real. And you could kind of really feel that with all learning about the specialties of Mongolia.
Of course, one of the most notable, cashmere production and that kind of stuff. And some of the famous foods like I can't remember the name for the Mongolian version of the dumplings. Then I tried also horse beer, which was very strong. My friend took me to the Mongolian traditional restaurant that had ger decoration inside.
How did the competition you refer to?
It was really great. First of all, I thought the level was very high. And it definitely, it actually exceeded my expectations, especially categories B and C. But I also did find some personal favorites who I actually thought brought a lot of what I would have thought is Mongolian flavor to the music.
This is kind of very real playing. And actually, one of the highlights was the Mongolian compositions. And I think maybe I might try to learn one or two of them for future encores.
I really loved one of the preludes. And also, there was a piece called "Staying with the Devil" by Sansargereltekh. It's really cool. And then also there's Rhapsody by Ulziibayar, who is a professor at the conservatory.
Is it challenging to judge so many talented young contestants?
Yes, absolutely. And I think the most challenging group to judge was actually the youngest group the category C which was 13 years and under. Why was that so challenging because the age difference was so big between the contestants.
Of course, I think 18 to 35 is a bigger age difference, but when you get to category A or category B, people are kind of playing more or less the same level of repertoire.
But of course, when we're very young, the difference between each age is very big, right? And so there were some people who were very young, and they were playing kind of more like beginner pieces relatively. Of course, all very challenging, but there would be someone who would play you know like a Bach invention and then there would be someone maybe even a few years older who play or even actually similar age who play like one of the most difficult Bach preludes and fugues. And then of course it gets even more complicated when the young person who plays kind of those easier pieces plays better with much more charisma and more charm and much more excitement and more musicality. And someone who's older and plays much harder pieces but plays a bit flat and monotone and maybe makes some mistakes and memory problems. So, it's very difficult to balance all these factors. Because the standard is just so different when someone plays easy, but they play really good and someone plays hard and they play so many of these factors. And I thought that was for sure the most challenging day.
How do you view the development of classical music in Mongolia, particularly piano?
Well, I think it's quite fascinating. Honestly, I am super impressed and find a lot of inspiration in actually especially the Mongolian compositions. And of course, growing up in Canada, I haven’t heard of these compositions before.
But I think that they are so worthy of being known as well, like these compositions. I think they're very captivating, very beautiful, and very to the point. It's not music of fluff, but it actually has a lot of substance and has a lot to say.
And I find that even through the compositions alone, you can tell how people are very artistic here and have a lot of thoughts and a lot of space of countryside and you have a lot of room to breathe here I think you're not so crowded and that kind of drives a little bit of the creative and artistic life and mindset of the people here. There are also some great talents here. And I think that it is rapidly developing through the hard work of teachers, of the conservatory and conservatory's director, who is really such a wonderful, wonderful person.
Now let's talk about yourself. When did you start playing the piano?
I started playing piano around the age of 5 because my mom's a piano teacher. The one funny thing was that my mom actually really didn't want to teach me at first because of course teaching your own children is difficult. My grandma was very insistent they were fighting a lot over it but my grandma won in the end.
Yeah, it was very interesting. I started it actually when I was in China still because I was born in China, and I began around age five but shortly afterwards we immigrated to Canada. We were out much money and of course playing piano was not the most important thing. But then after a little while we managed to get a piano and resume the study with her a bit more until I got another teacher.
"I THINK ACTUALLY LOOKING BACK AND HAVE A LOT TO LEARN FROM YOUNGER TONY"
At the age of 16, you placed fifth in the 17th International Chopin Competition, becoming the youngest musician to achieve that honor. What was it like competing against so many accomplished performers at such a young age?
Yes, I did. I guess that's also thanks to that competition. And that is also the reason why I'm here in Mongolia. But I have many more thoughts about it. I think back then I was so naive. So at the moment without expectations in retrospect, it is much easier for a younger person to do this kind of stuff rather than someone who's old, seen the world, knows more about humans and how important connections are.
At the time, I was thinking of just doing my best. So, I wasn't really thinking about the other competitors because I thought I had not much of a chance and so did my teacher who also thought I wouldn't make it past round two. I mean he's actually phenomenal teacher. I thought that was a really good mindset to go into have zero expectations just do our best and of course it was my first time performing in Europe at all the competition. Of course, 17 people on the jury, playing Chopin music in their homeland for Polish people and some of them who I've really looked up to as an eye as my idols and inspiration since I was very young. And I think that was definitely the more pressurizing. So I was actually just more focused on myself which I think actually looking back and have a lot to learn from younger Tony. The best thing to do is just to focus on yourself and that really helped with my whole experience.
Who is your most admired pianist?
One of them was on the jury, which is Martha Argerich. I think anyone who plays classical music here in Mongolia would know that name. She is very famous Argentine classical pianist. She is now in her 80s and she's still very active in the world and she is one of the most charming and daring and mystical personalities. I do also very much like this Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz.
I think he is one of the most amazing pianists. He was from the 20th century, but we're still very lucky to have his recordings today. Of course, there are several more like Svyatoslav Richter from Russia, who's also not with us now. I quite like pianists of the older generation. Because I somehow feel like they were kind of more raw more also this kind of more real feeling. Now of course we have so much information, we have so many more options and distractions. If something doesn't work out in life, we can change to something else very easily with much more. I think maybe it’s in a way a little bit more difficult to be kind of just pure minded about music.
Anyways, that's a very deeply personal view. But yes, I very much like kind of old school. Because the music that we play is kind of more from famous Western classical music.
It's all from 200-300 years ago of course pianists who were closer to that music and there was more direct connection and now we're moving further with new styles coming up. I don't listen to only classical music, but I also love ethnic music. I like very much Mongolian traditional music. And pop and hip-hop and all that kind of stuff I also listen to as well. And now I think is also very interesting for our career as Western classical musicians because there's now also this kind of movement to do kind of more crossovers or to combine Western classical music a bit with jazz or combine it a little bit with more film music. I would say more descriptive music nowadays.
I noticed that most of the famous pianists are male. And it is so rare female artists? Why? What do you think about that?
I think for me this answer is always changing, and different people will always have different opinions. But there are many many fabulous female pianists, such as Martha Argerich who I mentioned before as one of my favorites. There's also another female pianist who comes to mind, Eliso Virsaladze from Georgia and she's also actually in her 80s. She is just phenomenal. But in a very different way to Martha. There's a few more younger ones who are also taking the world by storm, like Yuja Wang who's Chinese and Khatia Buniatishvili who's also Georgian.
Yes in many ways the classical music industry is still mostly a male dominated field although I think the wave is slightly changing but I think it is just like other industries, it used to be more male dominated. And now of course the ways are shifting. Because women are having more opportunities, as they should, equal opportunities to men. The right to education for women has only existed for 100 to 200 years in most countries, and some countries are still conservative even today. I think it'll take time, but if you really had to ask me I think maybe that's a reason. I do look forward to the day when there can be more female pianists on the world stage because they really have so much to offer. And you know what, sometimes when you listen, and perhaps this is a huge generalization, but you can hear some stylistic differences between male and female pianists. And I think that’s beautiful.
You mean more stronger?
Yes, I guess in general men tend to have a sturdier sound. Maybe because it is a bit easier biologically. Because it's just one piano and big space. So maybe the sound is able to fill the hall a bit better. But there's also some females who can do that, like Martha Argerich and Elisso Virsaladze. But on average, and this is again a big generalization, the female sound is a bit less pronounced but that also means that it tends to be less rigid, which if controlled well with the proper training, can portray intimacy and the vulnerability of music and of human emotions to a high degree of sensitivity that would be missing if the sound were always sturdy.
What do you like most about being in Mongolia, and is there anything you find challenging?
My most favorite thing of Mongolia is the people. I made some truly amazing friends here. And I think that every time I go there, I feel very cozy.
Even though it's so cold outside, there's this coziness about the city and the people. And the fact that it's so walkable, like you can just go to convenient market, even at the middle of the night for eat some instant noodles. It's a very nice thing.
Yeah, that's definitely for sure my favorite thing. I also do very much love the countryside, even though I've only had very limited exposure just two days, one night in Terelj, which is still some sort of establishment.
But hopefully, next time I will come for Naadam and actually go out to the countryside for a few days for experience the real nomadic life. Also beef, ice cream and dumplings in milk tea. I don’t remember the name, but there are soft ice cream on the street. Do they sell it in the winter?
They don’t sell that soft ice-cream now in the winter.
I think that is definitely the best ice cream. Yeah, that is definitely the best ice cream. These are something that I really love about Mongolia.
Let's say the most difficult thing about being here. I think it's very circumstantial or very seasonal. The cold is something that I'm okay with. Because I grew up in Canada. It's okay. But I think even more difficult is the pollution. When it's windy, it's better. But when it's not, then it's maybe a bit more difficult. But I think when I came over the summer, it was really just perfect.
Thank you for your time with us!
We invited Canadian pianist Tony Yang as a guest for our interview column "Mongolia Through the Eyes of Outsiders"
The Mongolian Conservatory, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Mongolian People's Republic, organized the IV International Piano Competition named after the famous Polish composer and pianist Fryderyk Chopin from 10th-16th of December, and Tony Yang served as a jury. This is his third visit to Mongolia. At the age of 16, he became the youngest artist to receive the award by winning the F. Chopin International Piano Competition held in Warsaw. Tony Yang is a talented musician who has performed in many countries around the world. Interestingly, in October of this year, he successfully performed a solo concert consisting of works by Mozart, Liszt, and Chopin at the Mongolian Philharmonic Concert Hall.
When did you come first to Mongolia and please share your impression of that time.
I actually first came to Mongolia just last year in October. And I came here on a 30-hour layover because there was a very cheap business class flight on MIAT of Mongolian airline.
And I'm someone who really likes to travel and I'd never flown the Mongolian Airlines before. I had to go from Frankfurt to Hong Kong. Then one of the options was through Mongolia. I've always kind of wanted to go and this was really like the perfect opportunity. I had the time to be able to afford such a long layover and then I came.
I had a friend who introduced me to one of his friends here. They showed me around so it was cool to experience life as a local. I think summer had just finished and it was so nice - I liked how cozy the city was. It's all very walkable, of course. The traffic is very notable, and it's famous now. I could feel, I think one thing about the Mongolian atmosphere is that it's very earthy, it's very down to earth and it's very real. And you could kind of really feel that with all learning about the specialties of Mongolia.
Of course, one of the most notable, cashmere production and that kind of stuff. And some of the famous foods like I can't remember the name for the Mongolian version of the dumplings. Then I tried also horse beer, which was very strong. My friend took me to the Mongolian traditional restaurant that had ger decoration inside.
How did the competition you refer to?
It was really great. First of all, I thought the level was very high. And it definitely, it actually exceeded my expectations, especially categories B and C. But I also did find some personal favorites who I actually thought brought a lot of what I would have thought is Mongolian flavor to the music.
This is kind of very real playing. And actually, one of the highlights was the Mongolian compositions. And I think maybe I might try to learn one or two of them for future encores.
I really loved one of the preludes. And also, there was a piece called "Staying with the Devil" by Sansargereltekh. It's really cool. And then also there's Rhapsody by Ulziibayar, who is a professor at the conservatory.
Is it challenging to judge so many talented young contestants?
Yes, absolutely. And I think the most challenging group to judge was actually the youngest group the category C which was 13 years and under. Why was that so challenging because the age difference was so big between the contestants.
Of course, I think 18 to 35 is a bigger age difference, but when you get to category A or category B, people are kind of playing more or less the same level of repertoire.
But of course, when we're very young, the difference between each age is very big, right? And so there were some people who were very young, and they were playing kind of more like beginner pieces relatively. Of course, all very challenging, but there would be someone who would play you know like a Bach invention and then there would be someone maybe even a few years older who play or even actually similar age who play like one of the most difficult Bach preludes and fugues. And then of course it gets even more complicated when the young person who plays kind of those easier pieces plays better with much more charisma and more charm and much more excitement and more musicality. And someone who's older and plays much harder pieces but plays a bit flat and monotone and maybe makes some mistakes and memory problems. So, it's very difficult to balance all these factors. Because the standard is just so different when someone plays easy, but they play really good and someone plays hard and they play so many of these factors. And I thought that was for sure the most challenging day.
How do you view the development of classical music in Mongolia, particularly piano?
Well, I think it's quite fascinating. Honestly, I am super impressed and find a lot of inspiration in actually especially the Mongolian compositions. And of course, growing up in Canada, I haven’t heard of these compositions before.
But I think that they are so worthy of being known as well, like these compositions. I think they're very captivating, very beautiful, and very to the point. It's not music of fluff, but it actually has a lot of substance and has a lot to say.
And I find that even through the compositions alone, you can tell how people are very artistic here and have a lot of thoughts and a lot of space of countryside and you have a lot of room to breathe here I think you're not so crowded and that kind of drives a little bit of the creative and artistic life and mindset of the people here. There are also some great talents here. And I think that it is rapidly developing through the hard work of teachers, of the conservatory and conservatory's director, who is really such a wonderful, wonderful person.
Now let's talk about yourself. When did you start playing the piano?
I started playing piano around the age of 5 because my mom's a piano teacher. The one funny thing was that my mom actually really didn't want to teach me at first because of course teaching your own children is difficult. My grandma was very insistent they were fighting a lot over it but my grandma won in the end.
Yeah, it was very interesting. I started it actually when I was in China still because I was born in China, and I began around age five but shortly afterwards we immigrated to Canada. We were out much money and of course playing piano was not the most important thing. But then after a little while we managed to get a piano and resume the study with her a bit more until I got another teacher.
"I THINK ACTUALLY LOOKING BACK AND HAVE A LOT TO LEARN FROM YOUNGER TONY"
At the age of 16, you placed fifth in the 17th International Chopin Competition, becoming the youngest musician to achieve that honor. What was it like competing against so many accomplished performers at such a young age?
Yes, I did. I guess that's also thanks to that competition. And that is also the reason why I'm here in Mongolia. But I have many more thoughts about it. I think back then I was so naive. So at the moment without expectations in retrospect, it is much easier for a younger person to do this kind of stuff rather than someone who's old, seen the world, knows more about humans and how important connections are.
At the time, I was thinking of just doing my best. So, I wasn't really thinking about the other competitors because I thought I had not much of a chance and so did my teacher who also thought I wouldn't make it past round two. I mean he's actually phenomenal teacher. I thought that was a really good mindset to go into have zero expectations just do our best and of course it was my first time performing in Europe at all the competition. Of course, 17 people on the jury, playing Chopin music in their homeland for Polish people and some of them who I've really looked up to as an eye as my idols and inspiration since I was very young. And I think that was definitely the more pressurizing. So I was actually just more focused on myself which I think actually looking back and have a lot to learn from younger Tony. The best thing to do is just to focus on yourself and that really helped with my whole experience.
Who is your most admired pianist?
One of them was on the jury, which is Martha Argerich. I think anyone who plays classical music here in Mongolia would know that name. She is very famous Argentine classical pianist. She is now in her 80s and she's still very active in the world and she is one of the most charming and daring and mystical personalities. I do also very much like this Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz.
I think he is one of the most amazing pianists. He was from the 20th century, but we're still very lucky to have his recordings today. Of course, there are several more like Svyatoslav Richter from Russia, who's also not with us now. I quite like pianists of the older generation. Because I somehow feel like they were kind of more raw more also this kind of more real feeling. Now of course we have so much information, we have so many more options and distractions. If something doesn't work out in life, we can change to something else very easily with much more. I think maybe it’s in a way a little bit more difficult to be kind of just pure minded about music.
Anyways, that's a very deeply personal view. But yes, I very much like kind of old school. Because the music that we play is kind of more from famous Western classical music.
It's all from 200-300 years ago of course pianists who were closer to that music and there was more direct connection and now we're moving further with new styles coming up. I don't listen to only classical music, but I also love ethnic music. I like very much Mongolian traditional music. And pop and hip-hop and all that kind of stuff I also listen to as well. And now I think is also very interesting for our career as Western classical musicians because there's now also this kind of movement to do kind of more crossovers or to combine Western classical music a bit with jazz or combine it a little bit with more film music. I would say more descriptive music nowadays.
I noticed that most of the famous pianists are male. And it is so rare female artists? Why? What do you think about that?
I think for me this answer is always changing, and different people will always have different opinions. But there are many many fabulous female pianists, such as Martha Argerich who I mentioned before as one of my favorites. There's also another female pianist who comes to mind, Eliso Virsaladze from Georgia and she's also actually in her 80s. She is just phenomenal. But in a very different way to Martha. There's a few more younger ones who are also taking the world by storm, like Yuja Wang who's Chinese and Khatia Buniatishvili who's also Georgian.
Yes in many ways the classical music industry is still mostly a male dominated field although I think the wave is slightly changing but I think it is just like other industries, it used to be more male dominated. And now of course the ways are shifting. Because women are having more opportunities, as they should, equal opportunities to men. The right to education for women has only existed for 100 to 200 years in most countries, and some countries are still conservative even today. I think it'll take time, but if you really had to ask me I think maybe that's a reason. I do look forward to the day when there can be more female pianists on the world stage because they really have so much to offer. And you know what, sometimes when you listen, and perhaps this is a huge generalization, but you can hear some stylistic differences between male and female pianists. And I think that’s beautiful.
You mean more stronger?
Yes, I guess in general men tend to have a sturdier sound. Maybe because it is a bit easier biologically. Because it's just one piano and big space. So maybe the sound is able to fill the hall a bit better. But there's also some females who can do that, like Martha Argerich and Elisso Virsaladze. But on average, and this is again a big generalization, the female sound is a bit less pronounced but that also means that it tends to be less rigid, which if controlled well with the proper training, can portray intimacy and the vulnerability of music and of human emotions to a high degree of sensitivity that would be missing if the sound were always sturdy.
What do you like most about being in Mongolia, and is there anything you find challenging?
My most favorite thing of Mongolia is the people. I made some truly amazing friends here. And I think that every time I go there, I feel very cozy.
Even though it's so cold outside, there's this coziness about the city and the people. And the fact that it's so walkable, like you can just go to convenient market, even at the middle of the night for eat some instant noodles. It's a very nice thing.
Yeah, that's definitely for sure my favorite thing. I also do very much love the countryside, even though I've only had very limited exposure just two days, one night in Terelj, which is still some sort of establishment.
But hopefully, next time I will come for Naadam and actually go out to the countryside for a few days for experience the real nomadic life. Also beef, ice cream and dumplings in milk tea. I don’t remember the name, but there are soft ice cream on the street. Do they sell it in the winter?
They don’t sell that soft ice-cream now in the winter.
I think that is definitely the best ice cream. Yeah, that is definitely the best ice cream. These are something that I really love about Mongolia.
Let's say the most difficult thing about being here. I think it's very circumstantial or very seasonal. The cold is something that I'm okay with. Because I grew up in Canada. It's okay. But I think even more difficult is the pollution. When it's windy, it's better. But when it's not, then it's maybe a bit more difficult. But I think when I came over the summer, it was really just perfect.
Thank you for your time with us!