Methodist Ladies’ College piano prodigy hits all the right notes
NINE-year-old Hannah Wang’s prodigious piano performances have taken her around the world.
She was invited to play at Carnegie Hall in New York City, stormed the stage in Vienna, Paris and Imola, Italy, and has just returned from a solo with the Wu Han Orchestra in China.
The Year 5 Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC) student said the chance to perform a movement from a Beethoven piano concerto with an orchestra was a “prestigious opportunity”.
“One of my dreams was to perform with a real orchestra,” she said.
“I like how you can play around with sound and do dynamics and gestures.”
Hannah said she imagines a variety of places when she takes to the keys.
“There was one Chopin piece I played that was a waltz, and it felt like riding a rollercoaster,” she said.
She counts Mozart, Haydn, Glinka and Liszt as some of her favourite composers.
Hannah started learning piano at three and a half after watching her elder brothers play with a teacher at their home.
“She would sit on the end of the piano and say ‘it’s my turn’,” mother Christina Wang said.
The young pianist completed her AMEB Grade 8 piano examination at the age of seven under the tutelage of Yoon Sen Lee, has won numerous international competitions and also plays violin.
