Made in USA: Gershwin, Beach & Barber Claire Huangci

• George Gershwin (1898 - 1937): Rhapsody in Blue (Solo Piano Version):
• 1 Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Solo Piano Version) 15:16
• Amy Beach (1867 - 1944): Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60:
• 2 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Thema. Adagio 01:10
• 3 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Variation I. Più mosso 00:51
• 4 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Variation II. Maestoso 01:07
• 5 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Variation III. Allegro ma non troppo 00:50
• 6 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Variation IV. Andante alla Barcarola 01:32
• 7 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Variation V. Largo con molta espressione 02:39
• 8 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Variation VI. Quasi Fantasia - Allegro all’ Ongarese 02:04
• 9 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Variation VII. Vivace - Valse lento 02:01
• 10 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Variation VIII. Con vigore - Lento calmato 02:08
• 11 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Marcia funebre 04:25
• 12 Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60: Cadenza. Grave - Quasi fantasia 05:46
• Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981): Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26:
• 13 Barber: Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26: I. Allegro energico 07:16
• 14 Barber: Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26: II. Allegro vivace e leggero 02:11
• 15 Barber: Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26: III. Adagio mesto 05:03
• 16 Barber: Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26: IV. Fuga. Allegro con spirito 04:30
• Earl Wild (1915 - 2010): 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin:
• 17 Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin: No. 1, I. Liza 03:06
• 18 Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin: No. 2, II. Somebody Loves me 02:54
• 19 Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin: No. 3, III. The Man I Love 02:27
• 20 Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin: No. 4, IV. Embraceable You 02:47
• 21 Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin: No. 5, V. Lady be Good 03:35
• 22 Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin: No. 6, VI. I Got Rhythm 02:11
• 23 Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin: No. 7, VII. Fasinatin’ Rhythm 01:34
• Total Runtime 01:17:23

Info for Made in USA: Gershwin, Beach & Barber

Presented as ‘An Experiment in Modern Music’ when it was premiered in 1924, Rhapsody in Blue made George Gershwin famous, and he soon set to work on a version for solo piano, recorded here by Claire Huangci. In her first solo disc for Alpha Classics, Claire was keen to celebrate this centenary alongside her roots in America, where she was born, studied music and made her debut as a concert artist at the age of nine. The brilliant improviser and transcriber Earl Wild (1915-2010) took Gershwin’s songs (Liza, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, Somebody Loves Me, I Got Rhythm, Embraceable You, Oh, Lady Be Good, The Man I Love) to form the basis of his Seven Virtuoso Etudes for solo piano. Equally virtuosic is the Op. 26 Sonata by Samuel Barber, whom Vladimir Horowitz (who premiered the work in Havana in December 1949) regarded as one of the few Americans capable of writing for the piano. The New Hampshire-born composer Amy Beach took her inspiration from the folk music of both the New World and the Balkans, while retaining her harmonic language inherited from the Romantics. Her Variations Op. 60 (1904) bear witness to these influences.

Claire Huangci, piano

Claire Huangci
Over the years, the young American pianist of Chinese descent has succeeded in establishing herself as a highly respected artist, leaving behind her role of the celebrated child prodigy who once gave a private concert for President Bill Clinton at the age of ten. Claire Huangci captivates audiences with her “radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense and subtle auditory dramaturgy” (Salzburger Nachrichten).

Claire Huangci began her international career at the age of nine with grants, concert performances and prizes – most recently she was the youngest participant to receive second prize at the International ARD Music Competition (2011). Only in her later teenage years did she finally feel more and more that this instrument was to be her vocation. She received significant input from her teachers Eleanor Sokoloff and Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia before studying under Arie Vardi at the University of Music, Drama and Media Hanover. She has assisted Professor Vardi since spring 2016. Chopin’s music gave Claire Huangci her artistic breakthrough in 2009 when she won first prize at the International Chopin Competition in Darmstadt, as well as in 2010 at the Chopin Competition in Miami. She has since proved her great versatility with an unusually broad repertoire, which includes a large number of contemporary works. Claire Huangci has performed in solo recitals and as a partner with international orchestras such as the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (under Sir Roger Norrington), Münchner Kammerorchester, China Philharmonic Orchestra and Vancouver, Santa Fe, Moscow Radio and Istanbul State Symphonies at international concert venues that include Carnegie Hall, Tonhalle Zurich, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gasteig Munich, Gewandhaus Leipzig, la Salle Cortot, Oji Hall Tokyo and the Symphony Hall in Osaka. She has also made guest appearances at festivals such as the Kissinger Sommer, Verbier Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, MDR Musiksommer and the Schwetzinger SWR Festival.

Her debut album, which was released in 2013 featuring recordings of solo works by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev on the Berlin Classics label, earned widespread praise. A second solo album was released on the same label in 2015 showcasing sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, for which the pianist selected 39 of the 555 sonatas and presented them in Baroque suites and classical sonatas. In so doing, she illustrates Scarlatti’s transition through music history. The recording was awarded the German Record Critics’ Award and “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone magazine: “This is Scarlatti artistry of the highest order. (…) It’s gratifying to have followed Huangci’s progression from a 16-year-old prodigy to a 25-year-old artist poised for greatness”.

Booklet for Made in USA: Gershwin, Beach & Barber