At age 5,he made his professional piano performing debut at Carnegie Hall. Yes, 5 YEARS OLD.

At age 11, he performed for a Canadian prime minister.

At age 14, he won his first international piano competition.

By the age of 16, he won at least 5 internationalpiano competitions, and was the youngest winner of Le Prix Cortot in world history.

How old is he right now? 17 YEARS OLD!

Not only that, but he will represent Canada on his Road to Warsaw, at the Olympics of piano, the International ChopinCompetition in Warsaw, Poland on October 2025. Simultaneously, he will begin his academic pursuits at HarvardUniversity and New England Conservatory, still at 17 YEARS OLD.

Join Amos Vang as he features the living legend of Ryan Wang, virtuoso pianist and 2024 BBC Young Musician of theYear, on his meteoric rise from prodigy to seasoned performer. Ryan discusses his inspirations of becoming a pianist, his deep connection with musicality, his experiences at winningcompetitions such as the 2025 Canadian Chopin Competition, and the unbelievable potential that he holds as a pianist.

If you thought you knew legendary, wait till you tune into this story!

Ryan's Instagram - @ryanwangpianist

Ryan's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@ryanwangpianist8416

Ryan's website: https://ryanwangpiano.com/

Tomorrow by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Other music composed by: Amos Vang, Fryderyk Chopin, andtheir respective composers

-- CHAPTERS --

0:00 – Introduction

5:37 – Reminiscing on the Canadian Chopin Competition

6:59 – What inspired Ryan Wang to pursue piano?

8:46 – Learning a musical instrument is very common in Asianfamilies.

9:43 – Ryan Wang’s first piano teachers shaped his musicaland even life skill foundations.

12:36 – What does Ryan Wang remember about his Carnegie Hall debut at 5 YEARS OLD?!

14:18 – How does Ryan prepare for piano competitions?

16:20 – Are the Chopin and Cliburn Competitions MOREDIFFICULT than the Olympics?!

20:24 – How does Ryan Wang adapt to different pianos andconcert venues?

24:05 – Ryan Wang did not actually know what the CanadianChopin Competition concert venue looked like!

26:08 – Ryan Wang performed alongside Bruce Liu and Yunchan Lim in 2023.

28:10 – What sparked Ryan's Road to Warsaw?

30:50 – Ryan Wang won the International YOUTH ChopinCompetition. What were the most important lessons that he learned from there?

32:05 – A pianist is at their best when they are performingtheir heart out.

32:52 – Ryan Wang takes us through his adventure at the2025 Canadian Chopin Competition.

34:33 – Amos Vang CRIED when seeing Ryan Wang’s performance of Chopin’s Concerto in E Minor at the 2025 Canadian Chopin Competition!

37:41 – Chopin’s Concerto in E Minor, especially the 2ndmovement, is beautiful. Here’s why.

38:54 – What is musicality to Ryan Wang?

40:07 – Who is Fryderyk Chopin to Ryan Wang?

42:17 – Musicians are humans, too. People tend to focus too much on the celebrity aspect of artists.

44:28 – What surprised Ryan Wang the most about Chopin?

49:59 – What are some fun, unconventional methods of pianopractice that Ryan Wang uses?

51:42 – How does Ryan Wang master the art of bel cantosinging in piano performance?

54:53 – Pausing in music has the same emphatic effect aspausing in speech, especially when it comes to lawyering or announcing sports.

55:49 – To what extent does Ryan Wang balance his ownmusical philosophy with the composer’s musical philosophy?

57:54 – How does Ryan Wang develop and evolve his musicalstyle? (Hint: there’s a bit of Descartes influence here!)

1:00:51 – What are the largest misconceptions that Ryan Wanghas personally seen about classical music?

1:11:15 – What are the most rewarding things that Ryan Wanghas experienced in his career?

1:13:03 – What is Ryan Wang’s mindset and game plan goinginto the main rounds of the 2025 International Chopin Competition?