Canadian Pianist Ryan Wang Wins BBC Young Musician 2024

The 16-year-old performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Ben Gernon

Open to any musician aged 18 or under who is living in the United Kingdom, the BBC Young Musician competition has a history of unearthing future soloists — with players such as Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Nicola Benedetti, and Mark Simpson being among its alumni.

The 2024 final took place on October 20 and featured three young players — pianist Ryan Wang, violinist Shlomi Shahaf, and pianist Jacky Zhang. Wang, who is originally from Vancouver, Canada but is currently attending the UK's Eton College, emerged victorious following his performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Ben Gernon.

Wang is currently sixteen but made his debut at Carnegie Hall when he was just five years old. A past student at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, he studied with Marian Rybicki and became the youngest player ever to win the Prix Cortot. He studies with Gareth Owen at Eton College.

Recently, Wang was featured as the youngest musician on Classic FM’s "30 under 30" list. He also appeared in the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s New Generation Piano series 2022-2023 and received First Prize (plus the audience award) in the 18th Animato International Chopin Competition.

In 2024, the BBC Young Musician jury comprised trumpeter Alison Balsom, pianist and composer Alexis Ffrench, and multi-instrumentalist and broadcaster Hannah Catherine Jones.

"I’m so honored to be writing to you as the winner of BBC Young Musician 2024," said Wang. "This journey has been incredible. I still can't believe this is all happening! I have enjoyed sharing my music with you all so much and I am so grateful for all the support I have received!"

"This competition experience has been so amazing and I have been so fortunate to meet such incredible musicians. I am so excited to continue to share my musical journey with audiences, and hope to see you all in concert someday!"

"Ryan Wang is a truly remarkable musician," said Alison Balsom. "He has an extremely rare ability to communicate something other-worldly - and embody the music. I don’t think even he understands quite how he does it! In the final it was abundantly clear to all of us that he was creating a kind of magic. He generously raised the game of the orchestra too, and alongside his flawless technique, he was able to reveal his soul with such honesty. We felt we were witnessing one of the great historical performances of Rach 2. Granted - there are a handful of others who can also achieve this, but it’s exhilarating on any level to hear a teenager express this level of artistry."