Connecting Cultures
Blue Griffin, 2022
8/10
The pianists Deborah Moriarity and Zhihua Tang bring their exceptional skills to this listen that seeks to connect with cultures around the world, and they share a piano bench for pieces by Amy Beach, Florence Price, Antonín Dvořák, Wang Jianzhong and Gong Huahua, among others.
Dvořák’s “Slavonic Dance” opens the listen with 2 segments that display precise, playful and firm key acrobatics that are as swift as they are mesmerizing, and “Andante and Five Variations in G Major, K. 501”, by Mozart, follows with a flowing beauty that’s dreamy and exciting in the duo’s very agile hands.
In the middle, Manuel de Falla’s “Two Spanish Dances from “La Vida Breve” has the keys dancing with a very charming, meticulous delivery, while Amy Marcy Cheney Beach’s “Summer Dreams, Op. 47” brings 6 chapters of warmth, adventurousness and intimacy.
Gershwin’s “Rhapsody In Blue” exits the listen, and it’s the best selection, where the 17 minutes is packed with daring, fluent and timeless musicianship that interprets the classic with much grace.
Both artists are on faculty at Michigan State University and have performed around the world. They bring that experience and skillset to this universally enjoyable and profoundly detailed listen.
Travels well with: Shea-Kim Duo- The Sound And The Fury; Sergei Kvitko- MOZART. Post Scriptum