STRANGER THINGS: THERE ARE THREE CHINESE PIANISTS NAMED WU YIFAN

 

STRANGER THINGS:

THERE ARE THREE CHINESE PIANISTS 

NAMED WU YIFAN

Watching piano competitions on YouTube reveals some strange things. I was tuning into the livestream of the 7th Hong Kong International Piano Competition, when I noticed that a Chinese pianist named Wu Yifan had pulled out due to a hand injury. He had recently just won the 65th Busoni International Piano Competition at Bolzano, Italy and had been engaged for a series of concerts from November. Incidentally, he had also won 1st prize at the Singapore International Piano Competition in 2023 as an 18-year-old. I know, I was there.

Then I turned to the 19th Chopin International Piano Competition at Warsaw, Poland to find that Wu Yifan was one of the participants there. What a sneaky thing to do, feigning injury to skip out on one competition in order to take part in a more prestigious competition. Or so that was what I thought until I noticed that the pianist had changed his appearance. Gone was the afro, and in came someone with short straight hair. According to the Chopin Competition website, he was born on 11 November 2008, which makes him a month short of 17-years-old. He was also the 2nd prizewinner at the Van Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition in 2023. So who is who?

So I checked their photos and YouTube videos, and found out they were clearly two different Chinese pianists but possessing the same name, Wu Yifan.

Just to complicate matters further, there is a third pianist also named Wu Yifan from Flushing, New York (below). He was 17-years-old in 2011 when he was featured on the concert series From The Top. Clearly, this was someone older and no longer in the piano competition circuit.

I can only wish these three talented young pianists named Wu Yifan or Yifan Wu well for their musical careers. Just spare a thought for those concert promoters wishing to engage them. They are spoilt for choice and also probably utterly confused.

However, the three Wu Yifans should never be mistaken for the Chinese-Canadian singer Kris Wu Yifan, a convicted rapist and sex offender, who is presently doing time. Who knows, maybe he plays the piano too?

Update:

Another Wi Yifan has turned up, this time at the Violin Junior category of Singapore's National Piano & Violin Competition 2025. Wonders never cease.