Lucid Culture reviews Zixiang Wang's "First Piano Sonatas"

High Romantic Angst and Insight From Pianist Zixiang Wang

Pianist Zixiang Wang has a passion for the Romantics. And who brews up more of an emotional storm than the Russians? Interestingly, Wang’s new album First Piano Sonatas: Scriabin and Rachmaninoff – streaming at Spotify – is hardly all fullblown angst, although there is some of that here. Rather, this is a very thoughtfully considered recording, bravely made in Michigan in the fall of 2020 despite grim lockdowner restrictions. This record is not the place to go to gear up for battle with demons, personal or otherwise. But if you want to hear Scriabin riffs that Rachmaninoff would later seemingly appropriate, or watch the stories in this music slowly unfold, Wang offers all that and plenty more in high definition.

He hits the first movement of Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 1 hard, and then backs away. A heroic, martial quality develops and recedes in waves, but Wang keeps a tight rein on the rubato until the end, where muting those staccato chords and then stretching out the rhythm really drives this troubled theme home.

He gives movement two a slightly hesitant, almost prayerful undercurrent anchored by a steely but supple lefthand. The aggressive, balletesque parts of the third movement are pure proto-Piazzolla; Wang’s choice of subsuming the righthand melody with lefthand murk suddenly makes perfect sense when he reaches the crushing false ending. Likewise, his restraint with the funereal lows in the dirge of a fourth movement – a requiem for the composer’s short-lived career as a virtuoso performer, derailed by a hand injury.Wang’s approach to Rachmaninoff’s first Piano Sonata is similar, opting for clarity and detail rather than the kind of opulence that, say, Karine Poghosyan would give this music. Amid the cascades in both the right and lefthand, those fleeting little Debussyesque curlicues, that aching reach for a tender moment and its subsequent, surprisingly irrepressible variations are strikingly vivid, even if the more animated interludes seem a little on the fast side.

The second movement gets a delightfully calm lilt. genteel glitter and a handful of devious references to Rachmaninoff’s very contemporaneous Symphony No. 2. The sheer liquidity of Wang’s lefthand early on in the third will take your breath away, particularly in contrast with the rather stern quality he follows with. And yet, the moments of black humor that pop up are plenty visible. If this is to be believed, the devil gleefully walks away, needle in hand, at the end.

Wang concludes the album with a rarely performed version of Rachmaninoff’s F Major Prelude, a dreamy student work which the composer turned into his duo for piano and cello, Op. 2 No. 1.

TransCentury Media reviews Zixiang Wang's "First Piano Sonatas"

(++++) BEGINNINGS AND CONTINUATIONS

Composers’ earlier works can sometimes be as interesting in showing the directions in which they did not go as in providing youthful examples of how their creators later developed. Thus, Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 1 (actually the third he composed, but the first one that survives as a full-scale multi-movement piece) is built around a deeply sad Adagio and concluding Funèbre, in both of which the composer laments the loss of his performance ability because of what doctors had told him was permanent damage to his right hand (caused by overuse in practicing). The faster first and third movements do little to relieve the sense of despair, the first being melancholy and turbulent, the third harsh, angry and unresolved at its conclusion. The intensity of the work comes through quite poignantly in a new performance by Zixiang Wang on the Blue Griffin Recording label. Wang not only has technique to spare but also possesses an unerring sense of how to bring out the music’s anger and anguish without making it sound so over-the-top as to be melodramatic. Yet the passion and bleakness of this sonata did not portend future works of the same type from Scriabin: he actually recovered the use of his right hand, although he did not return to the virtuoso-performance circuit, and his later sonatas explore territory that is quite different from that in his first.

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 1 is also tied at most loosely to his later work. Its sprawl and large scope – its three movements last significantly longer than the four used by Scriabin – do look ahead to Rachmaninoff’s later music, as does the frequent use of the Dies irae motif; and the conclusion of the sonata is replete with pounding chords that are recognizable as a kind of Rachmaninoff compositional signature. But the work is otherwise something of a dead end in the composer’s oeuvre. Its three movements were going to represent the three main characters from Goethe’s Faust: the title character, Gretchen, and Mephistopheles. The sonata retains some elements of that original program, which closely parallels that of Liszt’s Faust Symphony, but Rachmaninoff abandoned the structure in favor of something non-programmatic. The first and third movements, both in D minor, are drawn-out and very close to the same length, while the central Lento in F is filled with extended melodic lines that contrast strongly with a finale that, unlike later Rachmaninoff, is almost devoid of significant themes. The sonata as a whole is somewhat diffuse and even self-indulgent in its exploitation of the extremes of pianistic capability – in terms of the instrument itself, not just the performer. Here as in the Scriabin, Wang handles the virtuosic elements with aplomb, but he is less successful in trying to wrest some coherence and overall sensibility from the Rachmaninoff than from the Scriabin. The Rachmaninoff is a difficult piece both to play and to hear, and certainly Wang’s handling of it shows considerable skill and a thoughtful approach to the music. But as a whole, his reading is less convincing than is his handling of Scriabin’s sonata.

As an encore, Wang offers an even earlier Rachmaninoff work, and a much rarer one to hear: the solo-piano version of the Prelude in F, which is much better known in its cello-and-piano version (Op. 2, No. 1). Calm and borderline sweet, this 1891 version of the prelude, written when the composer was 18, sounds little like mature Rachmaninoff. But it makes an effective contrast with the huge Sonata No. 1, while also letting listeners hear the road not traveled in the composer’s later work.

CineMusical reviews Zixiang Wang's debut recording "First Piano Sonatas: Scriabin and Rachmaninoff"

Scriabin/Rachmaninoff: First Piano Sonatas
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

By Steven A. Kennedy

Pianist Zixiang Wang’s debut release provides an opportunity to explore two different approaches to the piano sonata by two of Russian composers at different stages of their careers.  The music of Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) is perhaps less known here in the US.  His sensual orchestral music is a bit of that Symbolist-Impresssionist style from a distinct Russian perspective building on Wagnerian ultrachromaticism.  His first sonata (1892) was written earlier in his career and delineates his own personal struggle with damage to his right hand from excessive practicing!  Rachmaninoff’s music has tended to maintain itself well in the public concert hall though his solo piano music tends to demand great facility and virtuosic demands on the performer.  Written in 1907, his first piano sonata was written during the composer’s more mature period—a time that also saw completion of the second symphony.  Both pieces are still fairly rare, or at the very least, bear fewer overall current available recordings than other works in their oeuvre.

Scriabin’s sonata kicks things off with its grand romantic pianistic gestures in the opening “Allegro con focoso”.  In this four-movement work, we can hear more Chopinesque writing in a piece that can feel like we are sitting in a grand salon.  The music fits more into that traditional style of the period without some of the more outlandish chromatic writing Scriabin would later explore.  In that sense, the sonata is a bit of a departure point to hear his early style as it would then evolve.  The first movement structure is intriguing structurally, a hint at the composer’s experimental nature.  The second movement is a bt more spiritual in focus with a choral-like quality.  After a virtuosic display in the third-movement scherzo, we head into the funereal final movement, marked “Funebro”.  The march, with its echoes to Chopin, is perhaps the composer’s acknowledgment of the death of his own concert career.

The music of Liszt finds its natural connection to Rachmaninoff’s first piano sonata both in its inception and inspiration—supposedly the underlying connection is a musical essay on Faust.  A three-movement work with towering outer allegros to frame a romantic rumination on Gretchen, the sonata is an equally demanding virtuoso accomplishment.  The outer movements feature references to the “Dies Irae” plainchant that haunted so much of Rachmaninoff’s work.  It becomes a subsidiary idea within expanded textures and often shocking dissonances in the surrounding material.  The dramatic qualities are also important here and Wang manages to bring these out well.

As a bit of an encore, Wang has chosen a rarer prelude, the Prelude in F, which was reimagined for cello and piano and published as Op. 2, no. 1.  The choice here fits with Wang’s interest in bringing to light less familiar repertoire in his concerts.

Wang’s performance are quite excellently handled here and his virtuosity is not to be questioned.  He is able to shift gears well to help add more to the communicative quality of the music.  The delicate passages in the Scriabin are quite moving.  The Rachmaninoff allows for an even more admiration for his rapid passage work coupled with the gentle reposes.

Blue Griffin has captured the piano well in this studio recording.  There is just enough ambience to allow the sustains to die off well.  The piano sound itself is a bit bright and crisp which allows Wang’s passage work to shine.  Just enough pedal to help add what is needed in the big moments can provide the proper blurring that aids the darker, or more dissonant moments.  These are committed performances that bring a proper emotional balance to the music.  Certainly this is a good place to start to explore these rarer works even with some fine complete surveys of the Scriabin currently available.  For those who find the later Scriabin not to their liking, this will make a gentle introduction to his more traditionally romantic qualities.  The Rachmaninoff is equally stunning and more programmatic than one might at first perceive.  Both pieces sit well together on this release which is worth tracking down for those interested in Russian piano literature.

Take Effect reviews Zixiang Wang's "First Sonatas: Scriabin & Rachmaninoff"

First Piano Sonatas
Blue Griffin, 2021
8/10

An esteemed pianist who is no stranger to winning awards, Zixiang Wang tackles compositions by Alexander Scriabin and Sergei Rachmaninoff on this first solo album.

Scriabin’s “Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 6” starts the listen with Wang’s rumbling keys in the 4 installments that vary from soft and bare to louder moments of lively beauty as Wang interprets the late romanticism selection with both grace and vigor.

Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Sonata No. 1 In D Minor, Op. 28” follows, and leads with calm mystery, where Wang’s key acrobatics flow with an adventurous and meticulous quality that retains the maturity of the original while putting his own inimitable stamp on the classic.

The final track, “Prelude In F Major”, also by Rachmaninoff, leads gentle and sublime, before highly intricate playing from Wang becomes so proficient, it hardly seems like just one piano is present.

An outstanding solo debut, Wang proves just why he’s been seeing worldwide praise as he turns in a glorious and mesmerizing effort here.

Pianist Zixiang Wang releases debut recording: “First Piano Sonatas: Scriabin and Rachmaninoff”

Featuring rarely-heard works by Scriabin and Rachmaninoff

Release date: February 15, 2021 on Blue Griffin Recording

Award-winning pianist Zixiang Wang 王子翔 (Wong Tzuh-schi-ANG) shines a light on two lesser-performed works by Alexander Scriabin and Sergei Rachmaninoff. "First Piano Sonatas: Scriabin and Rachmaninoff", released February 15, 2021 on Blue Griffin Recording (BGR579), is Mr. Wang's debut solo album. Praised by audiences all over the world for his passionate and sincere performances, Zixiang Wang's affinity for Romantic and Post-Romantic musical works have led to his exploration of lesser-known music by well-known Romantic composers.

The two main works on this CD are both composers’ first piano sonatas, and were written under vastly different circumstances. Scriabin composed Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 6 at the age of twenty, while he was still a student at the conservatory. The previous summer, he injured his right hand due to excessive practicing. “Incurable” as the doctors told the young virtuoso, the ailment put a devastating end to his performing career, which directly catalyzed his desire to compose “the first sonata with a funeral march”—a funeral for his right hand.

Rachmaninoff’s first sonata, on the other hand, was composed during his mature period. Written following his move to Dresden, Piano Sonata No. 1, along with Symphony No. 2 and the opera Monna Vanna (unfinished) are referred to as the “Dresden pieces”, a group of opera-like compositions influenced by his time conducting opera at the Imperial Grand Theatre. Rachmaninoff did consider, at one point, rewriting the first sonata as a symphony, and later gave up on this idea only because of the work’s “purely pianistic style".

"Scriabin’s keyboard writing style evolved notably," says Zixiang Wang, "from late romanticism to mysticism. However, in this early work we can hear some musical qualities that never left Scriabin –­ sensibility, colorfulness and philosophical musings attached to the composition." Read more of Mr. Wang's thoughts about the repertoire on this CD and more in our Insider Interview.

TRACKS

Alexander Scriabin

[1-4] Piano Sonata No.1 in F minor, Op.6

[1] Allegro com focoso 8:40

[2] quarter note = 40 4:33

[3] Presto 3:37

[4] Funèbro 5:18

Sergei Rachmaninoff

[5-7] Piano Sonata No.1 in D minor, Op.28

[5] Allegro moderato 14:08

[6] Lento 9:27

[7] Allegro molto 14:32

Rachmaninoff

[8] Prelude in F major 3:58

Award-winning pianist Zixiang Wang has been praised by audiences all over the world for his passionate and sincere performances. His affinity for Romantic and Post-Romantic musical works have led to his exploration of unknown music by well-known Romantic composers.

His recent highlights include performances of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Old York Road Symphony, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and a solo recital at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center.

Zixiang has been a prize-winner at numerous national and international competitions, including the 13th Teresa Llacuna International Piano Competition and the William Byrd Young Artist Competition. He has participated in many renowned festivals, including the Philadelphia Young Pianist Academy, Aspen Music Festival, Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, Sewanee Music Festival, and Perugia Music Festival.

In addition to performing and teaching, Zixiang is also dedicated to building the bridge between Western classical music and audiences from his homeland of China. He has created a lecture series, “Trace of Music”, in which he shares his insight on major Western musical works via Chinese online platforms. Zixiang Wang holds degrees from Shanghai Conservatory of Music (B.M.), The Juilliard School (M.M.), and University of Michigan (D.M.A.).

Insider Interview with pianist Zixiang Wang

In February 2021, the pianist Zixiang Wang releases his debut recording, “First Piano Sonatas: Scriabin and Rachmaninoff” on Blue Griffin Recordings. In this Insider Interview we spoke to Mr. Wang about this project, as well as the inspiration behind the recording.

What are your earliest musical memories? Are your parents involved in music?

Neither of my parents has any musical background, but they love music. My mother has worked at a kindergarten for some years and she could play a little keyboard by ear. My earliest musical memory was that she played the keyboard and it made me happy.

If you weren’t a professional musician, what would your dream job be? Did you ever consider another career path apart from music? 

I dreamed of many different careers while growing up. When I was little, I loved painting (I still paint today) and I wanted to be a painter. I am also fond of writing. I tried several times to write a novel though I never made it to the end of the first chapter. When I was graduating from college, I was offered an internship at a music publishing company and I was seriously considering pursuing that as my career, but I chose to continue my piano training abroad in the end. Now, I can’t imagine a life without music.

You’ve said that part of your mission as a pianist is to find relatively obscure works from great Romantic composers. What discoveries have you found that you’d like readers to know about? Why are these worthy of our attention?

Of course, there are some specific things, for example how Scriabin was influenced by Chopin, how Rachmaninoff was influenced by Liszt and Goethe’s Faust. However, the biggest discovery I want to point out is how much one can benefit from learning these less-played musical works. There are reasons why they are played less – it could be technical difficulties, musical difficulties, or some formal issues. By resolving these problems, I step deeper into the composer’s musical world and develop a deeper understanding of the composer’s other works.

Your new album highlights early works of two great Russian Romantics, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. How did you come up with this theme? How did you decide on the exact repertoire for the album?

Actually it was my teacher Professor Arthur Greene who came up with this excellent idea to put these two first sonatas in my album. He introduced me to Rachmaninoff’s sonata first, then I got the idea to make an album with this piece. When I asked his advice on the repertoire for this CD, he said: “you should learn Scriabin’s first sonata!” That was the moment when the theme was determined. However, the short prelude by Rachmaninoff was my idea and my teacher was very pleased with my discovery.

Since this is your first album, I’m curious what it felt like to step into that first recording session. How did it feel?

I was excited. Stepping into the first recording session is like stepping into one’s professional career – to be a recording artist.

How did you prepare for this record?

Practice, record myself and listen, and practice. My strategy is to focus exclusively on one composer at one time, so I recorded Scriabin first and Rachmaninoff a month later.

What do the two sonatas on your album tell us about the later works from these great composers?

In Rachmaninoff’s sonata, one can hear many characteristics that remain in his later piano works, such as the use of medieval chants, mingling threads of melodies, and of course, big chords, tons of notes, and so on. If you put an early work and a late work of his side by side, you can easily conclude they are written by the same composer. Opposite to Rachmaninoff, Scriabin’s keyboard writing style evolved notably, from late romanticism to mysticism. However, in this early work we can hear some musical qualities that never left Scriabin –­ sensibility, colorfulness and philosophical musings attached to the composition.

Tell us about your lecture series “Trace of Music.” What inspired you to start it?

During the lockdown, I was watching a Chinese TV series, in which a great Chinese artist – Danqing Chen – tells fascinating stories behind paintings in the Western and Eastern histories. It was eye-opening. I thought: why don't I do something similar in the field of music? My aim was to introduce some great piano works of Western music to Chinese audiences by the means of sharing with them the life of the composer, the inspiration and emotions of the composition, and some basic compositional concepts, etc.

You are currently editing your research on the major piano works written by leading Romantic composers. What works are you researching? How has recording your album, which features two of those major works, informed your research (and vice versa)? What are you looking for while doing this research? Why are you doing this research? And will this be published or made publicly available in some way when you’ve finalized the research?

My research has focused on the works that I have performed and found close to me. Whenever I learn a piece I research the historical background of the work. For example, I had given my lecture recital on Scriabin’s sonata shortly before I recorded it. Through a comprehensive study of the piece, my interpretation of the music grew day by day. When I stepped into the recording studio, every piece of information made sense in sound.

I am looking into publishing my research document when it is finalized. I am still working out some specifics but I hope to make these works more widely known and accessible.