Yuja Wang plays Ravel and Faure:
Fauré:
Ballade in F sharp major for solo piano or piano & orchestra, Op. 19
Ravel:
Piano Concerto in G major
Piano Concerto in D major (for the left hand)
All performed by Yuja Wang (piano), with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Lionel Bringuier conducting.
Yuja Wang has established herself as an international sensation. She plays with the world’s leading orchestras—including those of New York, London, Amsterdam, and Berlin—regularly joining them on tours of the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
On this orchestral album she impresses us with two perennial hits: Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major and The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major. Both are heavily influenced by jazz, which Ravel had encountered on a concert tour of the United States in 1928.
Ravel composed both concertos between 1929 and 1930. The latter was commissioned by the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during World War I.
Yuja Wang, with Lionel Bringuier and celebrated Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich are the perfect match to inflame Ravel’s vibrant sound. The melding of Yuja’s legendary technical skills with her interpretative intelligence transforms this album into a profound musical experience with a haunting and jazzy sound.
Here is Yuja Wang in the G major Concerto by Mauric Ravel:
