Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto

Pianist Joyce Yang performs Tchaikovsky’s sweeping First Piano Concerto in the New World Symphony’s 2026-27 season finale at New World Center. Performances take place Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9 in Miami Beach. Xian Zhang conducts the orchestra, with NWS conducting fellow Ziwei Ma also appearing on the program. The concert opens with Webern’s lush early orchestral work Im Sommerwind. Ma then leads Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor before Yang joins the orchestra for Tchaikovsky’s concerto, a work known for its commanding piano writing, expansive melodies and fiery conclusion. A Grammy-nominated pianist and former Van Cliburn International Piano Competition silver medalist, Yang has performed with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra. Zhang, music director of the New Jersey Symphony, has held conducting posts with orchestras in the United States and Europe and became the first woman to hold a titled conducting position with a BBC orchestra.