I have not heard Ms. Wang’s playing before this CD. I
have, in part, been skeptical about the new influx of younger
players, each of them being promoted by their major record labels
in superlative prose that I cannot imagine anyone could live
up to. However, after listening to this recital I would wholeheartedly
endorse most of what I have read about Ms. Wang: here is a fully-fledged
artist, with technique to burn and a maturity well beyond her
years.
The recital is a collection of shorter works that Ms. Wang often
plays as encores in concert. It begins with four works by Rachmaninov.
The first, Étude-tableau in A minor, is characterized
by quick-silver mood changes and syncopated, sudden sforzandos,
all beautifully realized in this performance. In this, and the
following Étude, Wang’s rapid passage work is unfailingly
even and crystal-clear, and there is admirable attention to
inner voices within the overall texture. The third work, Élégy
in E-flat minor, is Rachmaninov in his most melancholic
mood, played here with an almost unbearable sadness. I daresay
that if heard as an encore, this performance would hold the
room utterly spellbound.
Wang’s Scarlatti is just right, a proper Allegro which
avoids the temptation - to which I often expect younger players
to succumb - to play it so fast it becomes a hectic virtuoso
showpiece. Instead, Wang captures all of the music’s lighthearted
wit and playfulness. The performance of Albeniz’s Triana
is lush and seductive, the stylish rubato wholly evocative of
Albeniz’s beloved Spain. A complete recording of Iberia
by Wang is a tempting prospect!
The beginning of the Variations on a Theme from Carmen
brought a moment of disappointment. This is arguably Horowitz’s
best known transcription, and his performances immediately grab
the listener by the scruff of the neck, only letting go after
the final fistful of notes. Wang is far more understated at
the beginning, which at first listening I took as a lack of
intensity. Yet as the music progresses, Wang generates ever-increasing
tension, and the final moments are as intense and powerful as
I have ever heard.
I was again impressed by Wang’s ability naturally to convey
the Viennese lilt and rubato of the Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka
in Cziffra’s note-filled transcription. After that, Chopin’s
Valse in C-sharp minor featured beguiling sotto voce
playing that was supremely touching.
Each of the five short works by Scriabin offer different technical
challenges, which Wang has fully mastered: she makes these difficult
pieces sound effortless! Moreover, each conveys a completely
different mood and atmosphere, here most tellingly conveyed.
I sometimes find Scriabin’s music off-putting, but Wang’s
performances fully drew me into Scriabin’s complicated,
and sometimes convoluted, spirit.
Wang’s performances of the two largest transcriptions,
L’Apprenti sorcier and Danse macabre, left
me grinning from ear to ear! Her technique is awesome, yet never
displayed for its own sake, but rather in the service of the
music. Not once did I miss the orchestral versions of these
works, such is Ms. Wang’s ability to create different
colors and textures.
As you can surely tell, I was very much taken by Ms. Wang’s
playing. I gladly endorse everything I have read and heard about
this artist. She is an extremely accomplished artist, and I
look forward to hearing her work for many years to come.
David A. McConnell
Contents list
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873
- 1943)
Étude-tableau in A minor, op. 39, no. 6 [2.31]
Étude-tableau in B minor, op. 39, no. 4 [2.31]
Élégie in E-flat minor, op. 3, no. 1 [4.44]
Étude-tableau in E-flat minor, op. 39, no. 5 [4.37]
Domenico SCARLATTI (1685
- 1757) Allegro from Sonata in E Major, K455
[1.44]
Christoph Willibald GLUCK
(1714 - 1787) arr. Giovanni SGAMBATI (1841-1914)
Mélodie from Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice
[3.01]
Isaac ALBÉNIZ (1860-1909)
Triana from Iberia, Book II [5.25]
Georges BIZET (1838-1875),
arr. Vladimir HOROWITZ (1903-1989)
Variations on a Theme from Carmen(Gypsy
Song, Act II/White House Version) [3.39]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828),
arr. Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Gretchen am Spinnrade, D 118 [3.36]
Johann STRAUSS (1825-1899),
arr. György CZIFFRA
(1921-1994)
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, op. 214 [3.20]
Frédéric CHOPIN
(1810-1849)
Valse in C-sharp minor, op. 64, no. 2 [3.49]
Paul DUKAS (1865-1935),
arr. Victor STAUB (1872-1953)
L’Apprenti sorcier [9.49]
Alexander SCRIABIN (1872-1915)
Prélude in B major, op. 11, no. 11 [1.31]
Prélude in B minor, op. 13, no. 6 [1.18]
Prélude in G-sharp minor, op. 11, no. 12 [1.30]
Étude in G-sharp minor, op. 8, no. 9 [4.31]
Poème in F-sharp major, op. 32, no. 1 [3.23]
Camille SAINT-SAËNS
(1835-1921), arr. Franz Liszt/Vladimir Horowitz
Dance macabre [7.52]
Yuja Wang (piano)