RR-106CD Cover
WORLD KEYS
VIRTUOSO PIANO MUSIC


Joel Fan

RR-106CD
[HDCD]

• One of Reference Recordings' primary missions is to find and introduce great new artists.   We are full of enthusiasm for WORLD KEYS, the debut solo album by JOEL FAN.

• Fan is a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, and has appeared with the Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as well as on the television shows Good Morning America and David Letterman.

• A native New Yorker (b.1969), Fan studied at the Juilliard School, Harvard University and the Peabody Conservatory.   Acclaimed as “superb” (The Boston Globe), “extraordinary” (The Village Voice), and “a versatile and sensitive pianist” (The Washington Post), Joel Fan combines astounding virtuosity with a rare gift for lyricism.

• Fan approached World Keys like an "auteur" filmmaker: he researched intensively, networked with many composers, found fascinating world-premiere compositions from Asia, Australia and Europe, and performed them with awe-inspiring flair and musicianship.   He is a phenomenal young talent, and it has been a joy to work with him on this unique project.

• World Keys presents a series of brilliantly crafted piano works that traverse different world musics - from Turkish Aksak rhythms and Arabian Maqam to Peking Opera of China - and juxtaposes them with works in the Western piano canon.   Just as the piano sound world of Prokofiev, Schumann and Liszt may evoke the instruments of the modern orchestra, the music from foreign lands calls forth instruments such as the Chinese pipa and Persian santour.   This singular program is sure to stretch the ears.

• As always, “Professor” Keith Johnson's engineering wizardry captures Fan's artistry in brilliant HDCD® sonics.

• 2006 marks the 30th Anniversary year of Reference Recordings.   Reference Recordings' classical and jazz recordings have received extraordinary praise worldwide for both performance and sound quality.   Eleven Grammy® nominations include six “Best Engineered, Classical” for engineer Keith O. Johnson, and “Classical Producer of the Year” for J.Tamblyn Henderson.   Keith O. Johnson is also a co-inventor of the HDCD® recording technology used in World Keys.


PROGRAM LISTING
A. Adnan Saygun:   TURKEY
  1. Sketch on Aksak Rhythm       (1:28)

Sergei Prokofiev:   RUSSIA
  2. Sonata #3 in A Minor, op. 28       (7:19)

Dia Succari:   SYRIA
  3. La Nuit du Destin       (10:53)

Halim El-Dabh:   EGYPT
  4. Sayera       (1:37)

Qigang Chen:   CHINA
  5. Instants d'un opera de Pekin       (6:51)

Franz Liszt:   HUNGARY
  6. Concert Paraphrase of Verdi's "Rigoletto"       (6:37)

William Bolcom:   USA
  7. ... la belle rouquine       (1:45)

Peter Sculthorpe:   AUSTRALIA
  8. Nocturnal       (6:30)

Robert Schumann:   GERMANY
Sonata #2 in G Minor, op. 22       (18:02)
  9. So rasch wie möglich       (6:23)
10. Andantino (getragen)       (4:21)
11. Scherzo       1:45
12. Rondo       (5:29)

Peteris Vasks:   LATVIA
13. Kantate       (5:00)

      Total Time:       67:00




Reference Recordings are distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading