Fanfare Magazine has added Xiaogang Ye’s December Chrysanthemum recording to their “Not To Be Missed” list along with a new review and interview:
“How to describe what we hear? …it takes direct exposure to realize how imaginative and moving these pieces are. …Standing for the entire album one might choose Colorful Sutra Banners, which refers to flags painted with Buddhist inscriptions that flutter near holy sites in Tibet. Although scored for a traditional piano trio, the piece exploits a range of unexpected moods and colors, not for the sake of exoticism but as an expression of a composer who can be as elusively Impressionist as Takemitsu one minute, as open to new idioms as Szymanowski or as insistent and driving as Bartók the next. Behind the constantly inventive curtain of sound, however, lies Ye’s deep attachment to Buddhism, which appears repeatedly in his concise program notes. … One becomes aware, as with few East Asian composers, of Ye’s spiritual inner life. I think this is the key to Ye’s appeal. His musical voice has a presence that overarches any particular technique he might be using. We are drawn in personally… All the performances are strong (Les Temps Modernes consists of conductor, pianist, harp, percussion, violin, cello, clarinet, and flute), and Su Chang plays the zheng with dazzling virtuosity. Canfield put the previous Ye disc on his Want List, he tells us, to prompt Fanfare readers to listen to music whose depth of expression is timeless. Fogel remarked that hearing the BIS release prompted him to immediately order a handful of other Ye recordings. I think these chamber works will prove just as eye-opening and compelling. Warmly recommended.”
—Huntley Dent, Fanfare
Read the full review and the Maria Nockin’s interview with Xiaogang Ye on FanfareArchive.com
