Zhu

Hilary Hahn and Natalie Zhu prove they are an excellent duo team in their first recording together, featuring four of Mozart's sonatas for violin and piano. All dating from 1778 and later, Mozart treats the two instruments more equitably in these sonatas than in his earlier ones. Hahn and Zhu are technically flawless together. They match each other as closely as two different instruments can to achieve a true duet sound. Just as Hahn "digs" into her strings for extra friction in the opening of the Sonata in E minor, K. 304, Zhu aims for the same tone quality with her touch. The two use longer note values, enhanced by vibrato and pedal, to give the music a pretty sound. It's probably more than a Classical era purist would like, but this is by no means a Romantic interpretation. Their slow movements, particularly those of K. 376 and K. 526, have beautifully rounded, cantabile phrases. The Allegro con spirito of K. 301 has bright accents and intense diminuendos and crescendos, demonstrating that this music isn't all elegance and delicacy.

Zhu Xiao-Mei - Bach Goldberg Variations (2014) [DVD9 NTSC] {Accentus Music ACC20313}
DVD9 -> 7.27 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | LPCM, 2 ch / Dolby AC3, 6 ch / DTS, 6 ch | ~ 86m + 53m | ISO Image
Subs (Documentary): English, French, German, Spanish, Traditional & Simplified Chinese
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 128 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Accentus Music | ACC 20313
Classical / Baroque / Concerto / Piano / Documentary

Zhu Xiao-Mei ranks among the greatest pianists of our times and is one of the most renowned interpreters of J. S. Bach’s music. The Goldberg Variations stood at the beginning of her international career and represent the ‘greatest musical encounter’ of her life. “It is a universal piece of music that knows no frontiers”, this is the message of her extraordinary playing which is being celebrated in concert halls around the world. Her unique interpretation has now been captured on DVD for the fi rst time. The live recording was produced at her critically acclaimed concert at the Leipzig Bach Festival 2014 at J. S. Bach’s final resting place in St. Thomas Church. Michel Mollard’s exquisite documentary “The Return is the Movement of Tao” complements the concert recording. Mollard accompanies the pianist on tour as well as to the reclusiveness of the French Alps and offers profound insights to the mind of a fascinating artist and her vision of the Goldberg Variations.

In this recording, the virtuoso Phoebe Carrai joins Beiliang Zhu to probe the art of London’s forgotten cello masters. The programme and its execution are equally superb, as Carrai and Zhu roll out one world-premiere recording after another…Infusing this project are two ingredients rare in glitzy big-name recordings: the soloists’ long friendship (Zhu studied with Carrai) and their trust in non-canonical music.