The New York Times“Her gifts are at a level so removed from the rest of us that all we can do is feel the appropriate awe and then wonder on the mysteries of nature.”
Napa Valley Register“The first of two appearances at this year’s festival, the Wednesday night program had Chang featured as soloist for a new orchestral suite based on Leonard Bernstein’s enduring 1950’s Broadway score for “West Side Story”…Chang, in a dazzling 15-minute performance, all but stole the show.”
Toronto Globe and Mail“…Chang is a mature artist in the fullest sense of the term. Her Heifetzian pitch, her sound, her sense, her trills, her dynamic range, her passion, her assurance, her deep penetration of the substance and nature of the music all combine to make her the best violinist I have heard in years, surely one of the foremost virtuosi of her time.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“…[a] scorchingly brilliant, mesmerizing performance by violinist Sarah Chang…She played with uncommon intensity. We were hearing a mature Chang like never before.”
The Blade“Chang joined the ensemble for an impassioned rendition of Tomaso Antonio Vitali’s “Chaconne.” The performance was riveting, demonstrating both her technical prowess and her clear understanding of line, movement, and energy. The work was exquisitely sculpted into an ever-growing effulgence that crept steadily forward toward a transfixing conclusion.”
Recognized as one of the foremost violinists of our time, Sarah Chang has performed with the most esteemed orchestras, conductors, and accompanists in an international career spanning more than two decades. Since her debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of eight, Ms. Chang has continued to impress audiences with her technical virtuosity and refined emotional depth.
Highlights from Ms. Chang’s recent and upcoming seasons, have included performances with such North American orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and New Jersey Symphony. She has also performed at the Hollywood Bowl and at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Aspen Music Festivals, among others. With a career that has blossomed internationally, her European engagements have taken her to Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and her engagements in Asia have brought her to audiences in China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. As an accomplished recital and chamber musician, Ms. Chang regularly travels the world, performing with such artists as Pinchas Zukerman, Yefim Bronfman, Leif Ove Andsnes, Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ms. Chang’s most recent recording for EMI Classics – her 20th for the label – featured the Brahms and Bruch violin concertos with Kurt Masur and the Dresdner Philharmonie, and was received to excellent critical and popular acclaim. Her recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons attracted international commendation, with BBC Music Magazine stating: “She has never made a finer recording.” She has also recorded Prokofiev Violin Concerto No.1 and Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1 live with the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle; Fire and Ice, an album of popular shorter works for violin and orchestra with Placido Domingo conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker; the Dvořák Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis; as well as several chamber music and sonata discs with artists including pianists Leif Ove Andsnes and Lars Vogt.
Along with Pete Sampras, Wynton Marsalis, and Tom Brady, Ms. Chang has been a featured artist in Movado’s global advertising campaign “The Art of Time.” In 2006, Ms. Chang was honored as one of 20 Top Women in Newsweek Magazine’s “Women and Leadership, 20 Powerful Women Take Charge” issue. In March 2008, Ms. Chang was honored as a Young Global Leader for 2008 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for her professional achievements, commitment to society and potential in shaping the future of the world.
In 2012, Sarah Chang received the Harvard University Leadership Award, and in 2005, Yale University dedicated a chair in Sprague Hall in her name. For the June 2004 Olympic games, she was given the honor of running with the Olympic Torch in New York, and that same month, became the youngest person ever to receive the Hollywood Bowl’s Hall of Fame award. Also in 2004, Ms. Chang was awarded the Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana Prize in Siena, Italy. Other previous distinctions include the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Gramophone’s “Young Artist of the Year” award, Germany’s “Echo” Schallplattenpreis, “Newcomer of the Year” honors at the International Classical Music Awards in London, and Korea’s “Nan Pa” award. In 2011, Ms. Chang was named an official Artistic Ambassador by the United States Department of State.
