Rising star James Zijian Wei's debut recital at Carnegie Hall in New York hailed as 'incredible'

Rising star James Zijian Wei's first piano recital at Carnegie Hall's famed Zankel Hall in New York on Sunday was hailed as "incredible" and "wonderful" by members of the audience after a performance that gained him a few standing ovations.

"It was incredible!" Wendy Zhulkovsky, an audience member from Connecticut, told China Daily. "I'm really amazed. We're sitting in the front. His footwork is really something. We have a perfect view of it. It's really playful. He's always stretching on his way to press the pedals."

The 26-year-old Chinese pianist's style was delicate and melancholy as his hands effortlessly glided over the piano's keys in front of the packed audience.

"I really enjoy performing on stage and sharing music with people all over the world," Wei told China Daily in an exclusive interview. "Music is a universal language. I think I really enjoy talking to people through music. It's like a conversation or singing to the audience."

His recital included Mozart's Piano Sonata in A Major, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 5, and Samuel Barber's Excursions.

The audience was spellbound as they enjoyed him play sounds so light that they were like a cool breeze.

John Olejko, from Cleveland, Ohio, described the first half of the two-hour performance as "wonderful."

"Whether it's slow, medium or fast, he's getting all the notes, he's captured the audience. He's very good at that," he told China Daily. "He has such a pleasant presentation."

Wei, an emerging star, is off to an incredible start in his career, having clinched the 2024 Mixon First Prize at the prestigious Cleveland International Piano Competition. He currently splits his time between Beijing, China and Cleveland.

Yaron Kohlberg, an acclaimed Israeli pianist and artistic director of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, is clear what makes Wei stand out from other young artists.

"He's authentic, he's mature," Kohlberg told China Daily. "He has incredible skill in the piano, nowadays a lot of young pianists try to show it a lot, but he's just so true to the music that he's doing and has such a vision. His control of sound, a really beautiful sound and just his mastery of the instrument is just extraordinary."

Kohlberg added that it is a "privilege for us to be able to help young artists. This is our biggest passion of course. That has been the primary mission of the organization for almost more than 50 years."

Wei has won various accolades including the Best Chamber Music Performance Award, the Henle Verlag Urtext Special Prize, the Audience Choice prize and the Young Judge Prize.

He has performed with renowned orchestras in North America, Europe and China. They include the Cleveland Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra.

He has also performed alongside the Changsha Symphony Orchestra, the Sichuan Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Zhengzhou Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. He is set to perform at the Tonhalle in Zurich, Switzerland in 2026.

Wei humbly said: "If there is any moment that the audience is touched, then I feel it is the right thing that I'm doing on stage. Also, what I hope to give people is that no matter how hard life feels, or how happy it is, it is always better when music is here with you."

He began the second half of his performance with an up-tempo start. Then gently eased his way back into a slower pace of playing. He revealed that he was thrilled to perform in New York City.

"This is my first debut recital here in New York City, and also performing at Carnegie Hall, such a prestigious venue, is so meaningful and unforgettable to me," he said. "Being here is like a dream come true. I used to see this dressing room in documentary films and now I'm really here!"

Chen Li, consul general of the People's Republic of China in New York, was in attendance during the recital and congratulated Wei after the event.

Looking to the future, Wei added: "I'm hoping to create my own sound. I'm not dreaming of becoming a legendary, great pianist, but I want to have my own sound and every time people hear me playing, they recognize my sound, my voice."

Molly Llewellyn, from the San Francisco Bay Area in California, believes that he has already established his own voice.

"I'm taken that he's able to take such an intricate piece of music and interpret it in a way that feels kind of modern," she told China Daily.

Zhulkovsky added, "I'm looking forward to a few years on, when I can tell people 'yeah, I saw him [early on in his career] when he was playing here in New York!'"