About this Release
“This album, recorded by Yiming Zhang, a rising star, exemplifies an enormous variety of my piano music. 12 Preludes is one of my earliest works dating back 40 years, and is based on elements of Chinese folk music. Each of the four movements of Ancient Music was inspired by Chinese traditional instrumental sonorities - “Gong”, “Qin”, “Pipa” and “Drum”. As in Chinese traditional music, Ancient Music is concerned with the living essence of every tone. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! and Hard, Hard, Hard! are inspired by the poems in the same titles by Lu You and his former wife Tang Wan, respectively, in the 12th century. I purposely used cheap, often unstable instruments and the pianist’s untrained voice to achieve a most serious, sophisticated and heartfelt melodrama.” — Yiming Zhang
GE, GAN-RU (b. 1954)
Piano Works
- Yiming Zhang, piano
Ge Gan-ru has always sought to bind the sounds and character of his native Chinese music to Western techniques, and his solo piano music provides some of the best examples. Based on folk songs – either transcribed or presented in fragments—Twelve Preludes for Piano is a major early work heard here in its revised version. In Ancient Music he employs the prepared piano to evoke the intimate sounds of Chinese instruments such as the qin (a horizontal lute) to create a unique acoustic effect, a quality that also permeates Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! and Hard, Hard, Hard! written for toy piano.
This recording was made on modern instruments:
Steinway, Model D [Tracks 1–16];
Toy Piano: Schoenhut, Model 6637B [Tracks 17 and 18]
Tracklist
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12 Preludes (1979) (00:32:01 )
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1
No. 1. Largo (00:03:26)
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2
No. 2. Allegretto (00:01:27)
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3
No. 3. Largo (00:02:23)
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4
No. 4. Presto (00:02:16)
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5
No. 5. Lento tranquillamente (00:03:39)
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6
No. 6. Moderato (00:01:41)
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7
No. 7. Grave (00:03:34)
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8
No. 8. Allegro vivace (00:01:57)
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9
No. 9. Allegretto (00:01:53)
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10
No. 10. Adagio (00:02:46)
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11
No. 11. Allegro (00:02:07)
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12
No. 12. Lento (00:05:01)
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Gu Yue (Ancient Music) (1985) (00:17:00 )
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13
I. Gong (00:03:31)
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14
II. Qin (Chinese zither) (00:03:05)
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15
III. Pipa (Chinese lute) (00:04:53)
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16
IV. Drum (00:04:44)
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17
Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! (2006) (00:12:09)
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18
Hard, Hard, Hard! (2011) (00:10:59)
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The Artist(s)
Since 2012, Yiming Zhang has dedicated himself to performing Chinese piano works. In addition to giving lecture recitals of Chinese piano works, Zhang published The Piano Journal of the Republic of China, and compiled The Collection of the Republic of China’s Piano Music. The Forest, an album of the Republic of China’s piano works recorded by Yiming Zhang, was released in 2018 by China Record Group’s Beijing Branch. The Composer(s)
Ge Gan-ru, described in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as ‘China’s first avant-garde composer’, is often regarded as one of the most original composers of his generation. His music is known for its immediately identifiable individualism and unique sound. Also Available
Grand Piano has gained a reputation for producing high quality recordings of rare keyboard gems. Dedicated to the exploration of undiscovered piano repertoire, the label specialises in complete cycles of piano works by many lesser-known composers, whose output might otherwise have remained unknown and unrecorded.
- info@grandpianorecords.com
