THE latest young pianist from China to excite classical music audiences and earn raves from critics is the 24-year-old Yuja Wang, a distinctive artist with a comprehensive technique. That Ms. Wang is already a musician of consequence was made clear this year when Deutsche Grammophon released her first recording with an orchestra: performances of...
LUGANO, SWITZERLAND -- The 2009 edition of the Martha Argerich Project, a three-week event now underway as part of the Lugano Music Festival, is scheduled to close on June 29, with a grand program of opera excerpts. But don't expect any singers. The Progetto, as it is known in the Italian speaking region of Switzerland, is almost exclusively an...

WHEN the reclusive Argentine pianist Martha Argerich performs, her long, thick hair cascades over her shoulders, often entirely obscuring her face from the audience and affording a glimmer of privacy even onstage. Ms. Argerich, who for almost two decades gave very few solo recitals, has always felt uneasy in the spotlight offstage as well. ''I just...