Friday, January 18, 2019

RAd’s Playlist: Yuja Wang | Ravel


A performance of Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, M. 83 is on the horizon by the end of the month and that’s reason enough to put this jazz influenced piano concerto in heavy rotation once again. The cracking whip at the start of this piece always bring a smile to my face (when done right).



This piece was performed most recently by pianist Monique Duphil at the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s season opener that I sadly missed. Now, the Manila Symphony Orchestra is giving me another chance to have a go with this at their upcoming season finale concert with Victor Asuncion as the featured soloist.



The recording that I’m putting for a spin in preparation for the upcoming concert is Yuja Wang’s album of the two Ravel Piano Concertos with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the baton of Lionel Bringuier. These pair of concertos (the other being the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major, M .82) couldn’t be more different. But it’s worth hearing them one after the other to grasp how great Ravel’s orchestration is and to explore fully the light and shade and the range of emotions and moods in these two works.


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