classical piano
Scherzo No. 2 in B♭ minor, Op. 31
Frédéric Chopin
Performance at the Zhongshan Culture and Art Center. This is the second of Chopin's four scherzi, composed during a period of increasing recognition and maturity in his early career. Unlike the playful connotation of the term “scherzo,” this work is marked by dramatic contrasts, shifting between stormy, virtuosic passages and moments of lyrical repose. This is a journey that feels simultaneously restless, searching, and profoundly human. Hope you find this piece as captiving as I do!
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Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, I. Moderato
Sergei Rachmaninoff
My rendition of Rach 2 as a senior performance with my high school orchestra. This is one of Rachmaninoff's most celebrated works in the romantic piano repertoire. Written after a period of personal and creative crisis, the concerto marked his artistic renewal and quickly became a cornerstone of his career. For me as a performer, it is both technically demanding and profoundly rewarding, and as a listener, it's a work that never fails to move with its blend of grandeur and intimacy.
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Piano Quartet No. 1, in C minor, Op. 15, I. Allegro molto moderato
Gabriel Fauré
One of the two chamber works Fauré wrote for the conventional piano quartet. Despite being in a minor key it is predominantly positive in tone, though with some hints in the slow movement of the emotional turmoil of Fauré's life at the time of the composition. He wrote this in the latter stages of his relationship with Marianne Viardot, which ended in heartbreak. After wooing her for five years, he finally became engaged, only for it to last less than four months.. :(
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Mephisto Waltz No. 1 S. 514
Franz Liszt
Otherwise known as the 'Dance in the Village Inn', this piece is inspired by a scene from Nikolaus Lenau's Faustian poem, where Mephistopheles enchants a village inn with a wild, seductive dance. Liszt's composition captures the devilish energy and swirling motion of the dance, and is typical example of program music (music that musically depicts a narrative). Had so much fun with this fiery, satanic masterpiece!
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The Lark
Mikhail Glinka / Mily Balakirev
You made it to the end! This one is really really deep in the archives... one of my earliest public performances on the big stage, from when I was about 9 years old. Mikhail Glinka’s song The Lark, arranged for piano by Mily Balakirev, is a quintessential example of Russian Romantic lyricism. Originally composed as a vocal piece, I love the fleeting, vivid evocation of nature that the piano arrangement brings to life. This piece has always held a special place in my heart, an all time favorite even now.
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