Biographical Info

Born in Edinburgh and based in Leeds, Yuanfan Yang is establishing himself as one of today’s most interesting and distinctive voices, as an award-winning multi-faceted pianist, composer, and improviser. His interpretations of Schumann and Liszt ‘rivalled those of the young Ashkenazy’ (International Piano Magazine), and his own compositions have been praised for their ‘soulful poignancy’ in The Observer.

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Pianistically, Yuanfan’s diverse repertoire reflects his interest in a broad range of musical styles, which simultaneously reflect through his signature improvisations and his own original music. Alongside instrumental and vocal music (not limited to classical), Yuanfan has composed four full-scale piano concertos which have been performed throughout China, France, Russia and the UK.

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Highlights from the past season include concerto debuts with the BBC Philharmonic (Ye’s Concerto of Life – recorded for BBC Radio 3), Armenian State Symphony Orchestra (Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 – live-streamed on Medici.tv), and the Orchestra of Opera North, the latter of which he appeared as concerto soloist for the premiere of his own Piano Concerto No. 4 ‘Ode to the Jing River’. He also performed his concerto with Manchester Camerata at Manchester’s Stoller Hall in October 2024. The previous season saw Yuanfan make debuts at Sydney Opera House, Brighton Festival, Beaminster Festival, St George’s Bristol, and Milano Auditorium.

Yuanfan’s improvisational craft features regularly as concert encores, where audiences are invited to suggest any theme/tune (e.g., famous film/tv themes, folk songs, pop, opera or other classical themes) and a style (e.g., Beethoven, jazz, musical, rock, waltz) and Yuanfan would create an original piece of music on the spot based on those suggestions. 2025 saw the debut of his first ever fully improvised concert in London, featuring an hour of improvisations, was livestreamed on YouTube.

Yuanfan’s numerous accolades in performance include 1st Prize and Audience Prize of the Casagrande International Piano Competition in Italy (September 2022), 2nd Prize plus Special Prizes for Best Classical Sonata, Best Romantic Work and Best Work by Chopin in the First Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition in Slovenia (March 2023) and 1st Prize at the UK International Piano Open Competition (June 2023). In July 2023, Yuanfan became the first British laureate of the Sydney International Piano Competition in more than 40 years since David Owen Norris and Martin Roscoe in 1981.
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He has appeared as concerto soloist with many leading orchestras including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Romanian Radio National Symphony Orchestra, Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra.

As a composer, Yuanfan draws inspiration from his fascination with allegories and cultures, thus his music is often narratively driven, portraying imagery to varying degrees of vividness. His work has been broadcast on BBC 2, BBC 4 and BBC Radio 3. Earlier works were winners in the BBC Proms Young Composers’ Competition, the Golden Key International Composition Competition, the EPTA UK Composers Competition, the National Centre for Early Music Composers’ Award 2013, and the Royal Academy’s Alan Bush Composition Competition 2016.
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Yuanfan’s Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘The Wilderness’, written for piano and full orchestra at 17 years old, premiered in Qianjiang, China. A musical depiction of the synonymously titled stage drama by the renowned Chinese dramatist Cao Yu, this concerto was chosen for substantial funding in 2017 by the China National Arts Fund, enabling eight public performances with the China National Orchestra of Theatre & Dance throughout several Chinese cities between 2017-2019. In 2022, his ‘Piano Concerto No. 3 in Five Movements’ won 1st Prize & Gold Medal in the composition category of the Rachmaninoff International Music Competition, and was premiered with the State Symphony Orchestra ‘Novaya Rossiya’ at the Philharmonia-2 in Rachmaninoff Concert Hall and the Great Hall of Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

Yuanfan’s debut album Watercolour featuring an eclectic range of piano music alongside own compositions was released on Orchid Classics to critical acclaim, including 4* from International Piano Magazine. Recently awarded the International Artist Diploma from the Royal Northern College of Music, Yuanfan previously graduated first-class from London’s Royal College of Music, and Royal Academy of Music.