Michael Wu, The Final Forte 2020 winner performs an arrangement by Grainger and shares insights about music and life.
We’re excited to share stories brilliant young artists shared with us from their homes this summer. The first in this series features Bolz Young Artist Competition participant Michael Wu, winner of The Finale Forte 2020. The two minute work he performs — ‘Country Gardens’ — is arranged for solo piano by Percy Grainger. It’s a traditional English folk tune that was collected by Cecil Sharp in the early 20th-Century.
Following the uplifting performance, is a seven minute interview where Michael expresses his connection with music and life, passion for the piano, and the range of sound he can explore. He shares the thrill of playing live with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and experiences performing in The Final Forte. Michael’s insights into the parallels between literature and music, plus personal feelings about inspiring young musicians and how music has given him life skills, is a powerful message for us all.
Enjoy our debut Young Artist Series story. We will be sharing more stories in the coming weeks. Visit madisonsymphony.org/homewithartists to view the latest Home Is Where the Art is stories.
About Michael Wu
Michael Wu, first prize recipient of the 2020 Bolz Young Artist Competition, is an incoming college freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began piano lessons at age five, and has studied with Bill Lutes, artist-in-residence at the UW-Madison School of Music, for the last six years. Michael received the Steenbock Youth Music Award in the 2017 Bolz Young Artist Competition and took first place in Division III of the National Steinway & Sons Piano Competition in 2018.
View more stories at https://madisonsymphony.org/news-stories/
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Experience Michael Wu’s video story that is a part of the “Home Is Where the Art Is, Young Artist Series”: