The American Project

Yuja Wang, Louisville Orchestra, Teddy Abrams

Released on 3/10/23 by Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
Main artists: Yuja Wang Teddy Abrams Louisville Orchestra
Genre: Classical

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American composers set an excellent example in many ways, but if we could only choose one—should we be so ungrateful(!)—it would be their insolent, judicious refusal to choose between the high-brow and the popular, the lighthearted and the serious, the profane and the sacred… Moreover, they seem to dismiss this sort of binary categorization. Take African-American pioneers like Scott Joplin, for example, whose ragtimes opened up a vast and previously unexplored world by building a bridge between classical and jazz. Gershwin followed suit, and later on, the great musical theatre symphonists, led by Bernstein. These are all names which Michael Tilson Thomas has held dear since his early childhood. His invigorating prelude in ‘You Come Here Often’ (practically a programme in itself) summons forth the skippy grammar of the saloon parlour, passing through all manner of ‘Gershwinian’ harmonic twists—all in one single, jerky, repetitive but never passive motion, often waning towards minimalism à la John Adams. Two generations later, Teddy Abrams (b. 1987) composed his groundbreaking Piano Concerto. Spread out into 12 movements, the titles of each highlight the improvisational character of the work at large: ‘Solo’, ‘Exploration’, ‘Cadenza’. More than a century of musical tradition swirls through this rich work, which is sometimes big band, sometimes ‘Hollywood Revue’, with some unexpectedly tasty post-romantic detours. Yuja Wang, who is used to exploring beyond the conventional, is very at home with this sort of repertoire and takes great pleasure in slapping her listeners with such invigorating material. It’s a nice slap though! The kind that tells you ‘come on, put down your glass and come dance’. Indeed make no mistake, it’s a party like no other, so prepare yourself! © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

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The American Project

Yuja Wang

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Tilson Thomas: You Come Here Often?

Yuja Wang

00:04:33

Michael Tilson Thomas, Composer - Yuja Wang, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - David Frost, Producer, Mixer, Editor, StudioPersonnel - Silas Brown, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Chris Kincaid, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel