Yuja Wang led the New York Philharmonic from the piano in a recent program. Photo by Chris Lee.

In Friday’s (1/24) New York Times, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim writes, “The pianist Yuja Wang’s … glamorous sound, fiery technique and sharp musicality, served up with impish charm and slinky couture, reliably cause runs on the box office…. It was fascinating to see this star show off an inexperienced and even awkward side at David Geffen Hall on Thursday, joining musicians of the New York Philharmonic in three 20th-century chamber concertos as both soloist and conductor. The result was a high-wire act that included … Stravinsky’s thorny Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments and Janáček’s eccentric Capriccio for Piano Left-Hand. The 75-minute concert ended in a dazzling rendition of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ in the original jazz band orchestration by Ferde Grofé. At the final, triumphant chord, the auditorium erupted in what may have been elation mixed with relief … It’s not uncommon for pianists to lead from the piano bench in works from the Classical period. But Wang’s chosen material was riddled with rhythmic complexity and the kinds of counterintuitive pairings of instruments that require dedicated attention to balance…. That the Gershwin came off without a hitch is not surprising: The Philharmonic has this piece in their bones.”