Yuanfan Yang Presents 'The Art of Spontaneity' – His First Fully Improvised Concert

On February 4th, 2025, Yuanfan Yang held his debut fully improvised concert at St. Mary’s Perivale Church in London. For this groundbreaking event, the audience was invited to suggest themes or famous works by any composer, and Yuanfan crafted original pieces of music on the spot, based on their ideas.

Yuanfan is well-known for his signature improvisations, often incorporating audience suggestions as encore pieces. For the first time, however, these spontaneous creations took center stage in a special, live-streamed performance devoted entirely to improvisation.

Born in Edinburgh and currently based in Leeds, Yuanfan Yang is quickly establishing himself as one of the most distinctive and exciting musical voices of today. A multi-faceted, award-winning pianist, composer, and improviser, he recently earned the International Artist Diploma from the Royal Northern College of Music. Yuanfan graduated with first-class honors from both the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music in London. In addition to his instrumental and vocal compositions, Yuanfan has written four full-scale piano concertos, performed in China, France, Russia, and the UK.

Apart from being the finalist of Classic Piano Competition 2024, Yuanfan has also won first prizes and audience awards at the Casagrande International Piano Competition in Italy (September 2022), the UK International Piano Open Competition (June 2023) and many others.

The concert on February 4th began with Beethoven's iconic Moonlight Sonata, followed by a series of improvisations inspired by the fascinated audience’s suggestions. As Yuanfan shared in his opening speech, such improvisational recitals were commonplace in the 19th century, with great composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt famously engaging in this noble art form. It is a true pleasure to witness the revival of this tradition, with Yuanfan bringing it to life once again on stage.

The full version of the concert can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgkdG5hpMRQ