Notes and Editorial Reviews
Includes bonus DVD with documentary and interview footage.
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****/****
Lang Lang has forged a considerable reputation over the last few years, though detractors have suggested his playing would be more appropriate to Caesar’s Palace than Carnegie Hall. This album is unlikely to change their minds, but neither will it disappoint his admirers.
Those who found his Rachmaninov overly lush and melodramatic will level similar criticisms at his performance of the Yellow River Concerto, though some of the faults are inherent in the writing. Two things stand out clearly from the arrangements and personal quirks: Lang’s technical prowess and the beauty of the folk melodies from which these
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20th-century pieces were derived. The increasing use of the piano and, thus, European temperament during the last century must inevitably have skewed the character of these tunes somewhat, but their delicate essence is retained, with ancient traditions evoked by the sound of indigenous instruments on three tracks.
Like the Shanghai Quartet’s Chinasong on Delos and Jia Zhong’s recitals on Accord, Dragon Songs provides an attractive survey of the lighter end of the Western-influenced Chinese repertoire, very different from the work of the likes of Tan Dun and Quigang Chen.
-- Barry Witherden, BBC Music
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Works on This Recording
1.
The Yellow River by Xinghai Xian
Performer:
Lang Lang (Piano),
Wu Yuxia (Pipa),
Chen Shasha (Flute)
Conductor:
Long Yu
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China
Period: 20th Century
Written: circa 1940; China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing
Length: 20 Minutes 44 Secs.
Notes: Arrangers: Chen-Zong Yin; Chu Wanghua; Liu Zhaung; Lihong Sheng.
This work was arranged collectively by members of the Central Philharmonic Society of China in 1970 under the title "The Yellow River Piano Concerto."
2.
The Cowherd's Flute by He Luting
Performer:
Lang Lang (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 2 Minutes 47 Secs.
3.
Dialogue in Song by Traditional
Performer:
Lang Lang (Piano)
Written: China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 2 Minutes 35 Secs.
Notes: Arranger: Huang An-Lun.
4.
Dance of Spring by Sun Yiqiang
Performer:
Lang Lang (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 5 Minutes 15 Secs.
5.
The Mermaid: Suite - Straw Hat Dance by Du Ming-xin
Performer:
Lang Lang (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 2 Minutes 7 Secs.
Notes: Arranger: Wu Zuqiang.
6.
Spring Wind by Deng Yuxian
Performer:
Lang Lang (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 2 Minutes 3 Secs.
Notes: Arranger: Xiao Tairan.
7.
Happy Times by Zhu Jianer
Performer:
Lang Lang (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 1 Minutes 37 Secs.
Notes: Arranger: Chu Wanghua.
8.
Spring Flowers in the Moonlit Night on the River by Traditional
Performer:
Fan Wei (Pipa),
Lang Lang (Piano)
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 7 Minutes 29 Secs.
Notes: Arranger: Wu Zuqiang.
9.
At Night on the Lake Beneath the Maple Bridge by Wang Jianmin
Performer:
Ji Wei (Zither),
Lang Lang (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 9 Minutes 8 Secs.
10.
Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake by Lu Wencheng
Performer:
Lang Lang (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1975; China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 4 Minutes 8 Secs.
11.
Silk Road Fantasia Suite: Dance from Quici by Zhao Jiping
Performer:
Zhang Jiali (Pipe),
Lang Lang (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: China
Date of Recording: 01/2006
Venue: Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
Length: 5 Minutes 14 Secs.
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