for the left hand Archive

RAVEL: Piano Con. in G Major; Piano Con. for the Left Hand; FAURE: Ballade in F-sharp Major – Yuja Wang, p./ Tonhalle Orch. Zurich/ Lionel Bringuier – DGG

by Audiophile Audition | Feb 18, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

Yuja Wang’s first “incursion” into French music proves explosive, lyrical and virtuosic, at once. RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G Major; Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major; FAURE: Ballade in F-sharp Major for Piano Solo, Op. 19 – Yuja Wang, p./ Tonhalle Orch. Zurich/ Lionel Bringuier – DGG B00023931-02, 50:15 (10/9/15) [Distr. by Universal] ****:  Piano virtuoso Yuja Wang makes her first incursion into the French repertory, inscribing (April-May 2015) the brilliant Ravel concertos, whose jazzy éclat appeals to her flamboyant style. The Concerto in G represents a successful fusion of disparate elements: Mozart’s poise and clarity, Saint-Saens’ wit and digital verve, and a folk element likely traceable to Ravel’s Basque heritage.   At moments in the flurry of colors of the Allegramente first movement, we can detect blues riffs and the throes of Moorish Africa. Wang and Bringuier obviously relish the slow movement, Adagio assai, whose elegant waltz fuses Gershwin with Iberian sensibility in cross rhythm. The various woodwinds – English horn, flute, and oboe add their distinctive touches to a melodic curve that appears seamless, while in its compositional process Ravel remained at wit’s end to wring from his imagination. The jazz trombone and the symphony […]