Xiayin Wang - Danielpour: The Enchanted Garden - Preludes, Books 1 & 2
Classical, Piano | WEB FLAC (tracks) & d. booklet | 49:28 min | 136 MB
Label: Naxos | Tracks: 12 | Rls.date: 2011
Trained in Shanghai and New York, pianist Xiayin Wang is definitely one to watch. Her strengths are numerous: sheer power, an ability to pick a melody out of a complex texture, and an ability to keep a poetic spirit in the midst of extreme virtuoso difficulties. On top of all this is a feel for African-American rhythms, something not so common in pianists from the Asian sphere. Check out her recording of Earl Wild's bone-crushing fantasies on Gershwin. Her facility with jazz and especially ragtime also serves her well in these preludes by American composer Richard Danielpour, who composed the two sets of preludes 17 years apart and collectively titled them The Enchanted Garden.