Sonatas & Etudes by Chopin, Scriabin, Liszt & Ligeti (2009)

performed by Yuja Wang (piano)
composed by Alexander Scriabin, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, György Ligeti

Yuja Wang is Chinese and, at the time of this recording, all of 22 years of age. It's a great age to be if you're a rock & roller or a techno geek, and we're not suggesting by saying so that a classical pianist should mature more before he or she records; there is ample evidence to the contrary to be found throughout the history of recorded pianism. Wang, though, has more than the bloom of youth to her credit; she has fingers of steel, a ferocious technique, energy, and speed to burn. One would love to see her let loose on ... Read More

Yuja Wang is Chinese and, at the time of this recording, all of 22 years of age. It's a great age to be if you're a rock & roller or a techno geek, and we're not suggesting by saying so that a classical pianist should mature more before he or she records; there is ample evidence to the contrary to be found throughout the history of recorded pianism. Wang, though, has more than the bloom of youth to her credit; she has fingers of steel, a ferocious technique, energy, and speed to burn. One would love to see her let loose on some Prokofiev or Bartók, and in the two Ligeti etudes included on her Deutsche Grammophon debut Sonatas & Etudes, Wang is superb. However, these are appetizers rather than the entrées, which are Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor (containing the famous "Funeral March"), Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in G sharp minor, and the B minor Sonata of Liszt. Wang dives into the first thematic statement of the first movement of the Chopin and begins twirling it around with an almost... Read Less