Sun Valley Music Festival Announces 2025 Gala Concert: SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY…Yuja Wang
Sun Valley, Idaho, Feb. 19, 2025 — The Sun Valley Music Festival announces that renowned pianist Yuja Wang will be the featured guest artist of its 2025 Gala Concert. Scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 6, Yuja Wang’s appearance at the Festival’s only fundraising concert will provide an unforgettable evening of music. One of today’s most acclaimed pianists, she will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Music Director Alasdair Neale and the world-class Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra.
SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY…Yuja Wang
The performance takes place at 6:30 PM in the beautiful outdoor setting of the Sun Valley Pavilion. Audience members can experience Yuja’s unparalleled artistry either inside the 1,600-seat Pavilion or from the lawn, which features a state-of-the-art sound system and newly enlarged LED screen. All ticket holders at the $300 level and above are invited to a 5:00 PM pre-concert cocktail reception at the Sun Valley Lodge Terrace, and all Sponsor Package ticket holders are also invited to an 8:00 PM post-concert dinner at Trail Creek Cabin Pavilion at Sun Valley Resort, featuring the opportunity to meet Yuja Wang and enjoy dinner music provided by local favorite pianist Alan Pennay and Festival musicians. Ticket sales for the Gala Concert support the Sun Valley Music Festival and help keep its concerts and education programs free for everyone.
“Since Yuja last appeared at the Festival in 2007, she has skyrocketed to superstar status, giving concerts all over the world that leave audiences on their feet and critics grasping for superlatives,” said Neale, who will conduct the Gala program. “The Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto is tailor-made for her blend of technical brilliance and unbridled passion, and this event has all the makings of a performance for the ages.”
How to attend
Ticket prices range from $1,500 to $100. The $1,500 Sponsor Package includes VIP parking, premium reserved concert seats, a pre-concert cocktail reception, and a private post-concert dinner at Trail Creek Cabin Pavilion at Sun Valley Resort, featuring the opportunity to meet and take a photo with Yuja Wang. Tickets at the $600 and $300 levels include the pre-concert cocktail reception and reserved preferred seating in the Pavilion. Reserved Pavilion seats at $125 and $100 are also available. General admission lawn tickets are available for $100. The concert will be broadcast on the Pavilion’s state-of-the-art big screen and sound system, which provide an exciting concert experience from anywhere on the lawn. Lawn tickets will be available online only.
Gala sales open to the public on April 9 at 9:00 AM. Tickets are available online at svmusicfestival.org or by calling 208.622.5607. Sponsor Package tickets are available only by phone, while lawn tickets are available only online. Annual Fund donors of $1,250 and above and Encore Society members will have the opportunity to purchase Gala tickets early; further information will be provided via email.
Sun Valley Music Festival Presents: SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY…Yuja Wang
- Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025
- Sun Valley Pavilion (300 Dollar Rd., Sun Valley, ID)
- Concert starts at 6:30 PM.
- Gates open at 5:00 PM for Pavilion and lawn seating, and for the pre-concert reception.
- Visit org for concert details.
About Yuja Wang
Pianist Yuja Wang is celebrated for her charismatic artistry, emotional honesty and captivating stage presence. She has performed with the world’s most venerated conductors, musicians and ensembles, and is renowned not only for her virtuosity, but her spontaneous and lively performances, famously telling the New York Times “I firmly believe every program should have its own life, and be a representation of how I feel at the moment.”
Her skill and charisma were recently demonstrated in a marathon Rachmaninoff performance at Carnegie Hall alongside conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Philadelphia Orchestra. This historic event celebrating 150 years since the birth of Rachmaninoff, included performances of all four of his concertos plus the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in one afternoon and saw queues around the block for tickets on the day. The 2022/23 season also saw Yuja perform the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and further performances of the work throughout North America and Europe across the season.
Yuja was born into a musical family in Beijing. After childhood piano studies in China, she received advanced training in Canada and at the Curtis Institute of Music under Gary Graffman. Her international breakthrough came in 2007, when she replaced Martha Argerich as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Two years later, she signed an exclusive contract with
Deutsche Grammophon, and has since established her place among the world’s leading artists, with a succession of critically acclaimed performances and recordings. She was named Musical America’s Artist of the Year in 2017, and in 2021 received an Opus Klassik Award for her world-premiere recording of John Adams’ Must the Devil Have all the Good Tunes? with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel.
As a chamber musician, Yuja has developed long-lasting partnerships with several leading artists. This season, Yuja embarks on a highly-anticipated international duo recital tour with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson with performances in world-class venues across North America and Europe, which will once again showcase her flair, technical ability and exceptional artistry in a wide-ranging program.
About the Sun Valley Music Festival
The Sun Valley Music Festival’s mission is to enrich, inspire, and instill in our community a lifelong love of classical music through extraordinary free concerts and education programs. Festival programs provide opportunities for people from all walks of life to listen, learn, and play. Now in its 41st year, it is the largest privately supported, free-admission classical music festival in the United States.
The Festival Orchestra comprises over 100 world-class musicians from North America’s most distinguished orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony. Summer Season concerts are held in July and August at the spectacular R.E. Holding Sun Valley Pavilion, in the mountain resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho. Winter Season concerts are held in February or March at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in nearby Ketchum, Idaho, which is adjacent to Bald Mountain, Sun Valley Resort’s primary ski area. Internationally renowned guest artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Emanuel Ax, Audra McDonald, Joshua Bell, Joyce Yang, Yefim Bronfman, Kristin Chenoweth, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet have performed with the Festival.
Through its Music Institute, the Festival strives to inspire the next generation of music lovers by introducing every Wood River Valley student to the joys of classical music. Its year-round and summer programs provide tuition-free instruction for string, piano, and voice students of all skill levels — from elementary through high school — that go beyond the fundamentals and embraces the entire musician.
Photo credit: Julia Wesely