Grand display on the grand

The final concert of the year for the International Piano Series at the College of Charleston's School of the Arts ended with an astonishing piano display by Yuja Wang.

A 21-year-old from China, she is already a seasoned international performer who leaves most superlatives in the dust.

Opening with four of Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas originally for harpsichord, Yuja provided a spectacular display of why harpsichord pieces work well on the modern concert grand. Her precise articulation and an uncanny sense of rhythm brought these works alive.

Brahms' "Variations on a Theme by Paganini" offers challenges few pianists ever attempt.

Yuja played them with a blistering brilliance, with dynamics of superhuman strength. Speed is another asset possessed by Yuja, so visceral excitement is always part of her delivery, so richly rewarding in Brahms.

Chopin's "Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor" emerged as very masculine and dramatic. Her interpretation of this "Funeral March" sonata was both beautiful and thought-provoking.

Stravinsky's "Three Movements from Petrushka" (one of his three great ballets) is another keyboard tour-de-force.

Yuja captured the elemental force in this music using her technical skills and musical insight to create a thrilling sonic extravaganza.

Two standing ovations yielded one encore — the fastest "Flight of the Bumblebee" on record.