Watch Yang (Jack) Gao, winner of the 2023 piano award play excerpts from his Carnegie Hall premiere recital.

Born: December 18, 2003 (China)

Jack Gao was named the winner of the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 2023. Most recently he was personally selected by Martha Argerich to be the second recipient of the Martha Argerich Piano Award which was presented in collaboration with Steinway Hamburg. This prize is awarded to a pianist under the age of 30, whom Argerich would like to draw the attention of the public and the music world. Part of the award includes a concerto performance with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.

He began playing the piano at age four and studying composition at age nine. In 2016, he entered Middle School affiliated to the China Conservatory of Music to study piano with Tianhong Tan, and composition with Xin Xie. Additional studies have been with Huiqiao Bao, Xu Fei, and Elmar Gasanov. Currently he studies at Julliard with Jerome Lowenthal. Among his awards at Juilliard include: the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and winner of the concerto competition. He was awarded second prize in the 9th Steinway National Competition and 83rd Steinway International Piano Competition. His performances include playing John Corigliano’s Piano Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Simone Young, and performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with En Shao and the Orchestra Academy of China Conservatory of Music.

As part of Jack's Naumburg prize, he will be performing his Naumburg commissioned work, Van Vechten Variations for solo piano (2025) on his second Naumburg concert to take place on September 29, 2025 in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.