Youlan Ji

Country—Republic of China
Age – 22

Youlan Ji was born in Beijing, China. She began studying piano with her mother at the age of four. Between the ages of nine and twelve, she continued her piano studies with Professor Yuan Ling at the Affiliated Middle School of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In 2012 Youlan moved to New York to attend The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division, where she studies with Yoheved Kaplinsky.

Youlan won first prize at the Xinghai Cup Piano Competition (2008), the United States Open Music Competition (2011), the Third International Rosario Marciano Piano Competition (2011), the Beethoven Piano Concerto Competition (2014), and the Nordmann Scholarship Competition (2016) hosted by The Juilliard Pre-College Division. She won third prize at the Cliburn International Junior Competition in 2015. In 2018, she was the Joyce B. Cowan first prize winner of the New York International Piano Competition.

Youlan has been featured in recitals in Beijing, Shanghai, New York, Aspen, Washington D.C., Florida, and Amsterdam. She has attended master classes with Orli Shaham, Dina Yoffe, Dang Thai Son, Arie Vardi, and Murray Perahia. She has performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and with Juilliard’s Pre-College Orchestra as the winner of its concerto competition.

Youlan is pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree under the guidance of Yoheved Kaplinsky at The Juilliard School, where she is a recipient of the Jerome L. Greene fellowship. In her spare time, Youlan enjoys painting and cooking.

Repertoire

Round I

Bach                           Fantasia and Fugue in A minor, BWV 904

Medtner                    Sonata Tragica No. 5 in C minor, Op. 39

Carter                        Caténaires

Round II

Brahms                      Sonata No. 1 in C major, Op. 1

Round III

Chopin                       Étude No. 6 in C-sharp minor, Op. 25

Chopin                       Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 42

Schubert                   Sonata in A major, D. 959

Round IV

Chopin                       Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21