South-Korean pianist Joyce Yang has just begun her first solo recital tour in Australia for Musica Viva. Performing two challenging programs in nine cities, including a world premiere by emerging Australian composer Elizabeth Younan, Yang takes time out of her busy schedule to talk to Limelight about the whirlwind experience.

Joyce Yang. Photo © KT Kim

This is your first ever solo recital tour in Australia. Do you thrive off touring as a solo pianist?  

Doing consecutive solo recitals is a very challenging task, especially with jetlag and travel in between! Solo recitals are exponentially more difficult and taxing on the body and the mind than any other kind of collaborative performances. I interact with myself alone, and very often I find that I need to interact with different voices within my psyche that give conflicting suggestions to me during the concert! In a chamber music performance, I am instantly gratified by the way other musicians onstage respond to my playing – and there is a satisfaction or a release in tension in knowing that my musical thought has reached someone. In a solo recital, there is no feedback from anyone but...