Violin and Cello Greats Inspire Collection of Romantic, Playful Virtuoso Miniatures in Bion Tsang: The Blue Rock Sessions

Inspired by vintage recordings of strings giants Pablo Casals, Jascha Heifetz, Isaac Stern and more, Grammy-nominated cellist Bion Tsang presents eighteen virtuoso miniatures for cello and piano on Bion Tsang: The Blue Rock Sessions, now available oniTunes and Amazon.com, a culmination of Tsang's lifelong fascination with the violin repertoire and the musicality and intimacy of miniature compositions such as Tchaikovsky's "Melodié in E Flat" and Giovanni Sgambati's "Serenata Napoletana."

Tsang's career began at age 11 when he made his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. He grew up with an ear for the virtuoso style that marked a "golden age" of string playing shaped by Casals, Heifeitz, Gregor Piatigorsky and others. Throughout his career, Tsang has polished showpieces and old chestnuts for encores including Antonín Dvo?ák's "Humoresque" and Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance."

Recorded with pianist Cecilia Lo-Chien Kao at Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio in Wimberley, Texas, Bion Tsang: The Blue Rock Sessions opens with "Humoresque," followed by Gluck Melodie, and Camille Saint-Saëns' The Swan before venturing into Falla's Suite Populaire Espagnole and three works of Tchaikovsky. Rachmaninoff, Sgambati and Chopin lead to the triumphant finale, "Figaro," a Concert-Rhapsodie on Rossini's "Barber of Seville" (Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco), arranged by Tsang from a Heifetz score. Filmmaker Sam Roden directed videos for every performance onThe Blue Rock Sessions, including a live action short film with animation for "Figaro" starring two of Tsang's children in a tale of sibling rivalry.

In liner notes for The Blue Rock Sessions, musician and radio host David Beck of Seattle, Wa., observes: "For a collection that so perfectly captures cello playing at the highest level, The Blue Rock Sessions contains very few pieces written originally for the instrument. Cellists have always had to be creative when it comes to finding pieces to play," calling Tsang's collection a "treasure trove of musical memories, interpretive insights, peerless pedagogy and deeply satisfying music making."

Bion Tsang: The Blue Rock Sessions was made possible by support from the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts.

Recognized as one of the outstanding instrumentalists of his generation, cellist Bion Tsang counts among his honors an Avery Fisher Career Grant, an MEF Career Grant and the Bronze Medal in the IX International Tchaikovsky Competition. He earned a 2010 Grammy nomination for his performance on the PBS special A Company of Voices: Conspirare in Concert (Harmonia Mundi). He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Harvard) and Master of Musical Arts (Yale). At home in Austin, Texas, Tsang is Division Head of Strings and holds the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Chair in Cello at theSarah and Ernest Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin.

Track listing and arrangements available at www.biontsang.com.

Watch two videos below!

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On the porch at sunset

Wimberley, Texas

Music:

Camille Saint-Saëns

The Swan, from "The Carnival of the Animals," for Cello and Piano

Bion Tsang, Cello

Cecilia Lo-Chien Kao, Piano

Andy Murphy, Panda Productions, Audio Recording

Sam Roden, Rodanti Films, Video Production

Recorded at Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio, in 24-bit audio and 1080p video. This recording made possible by the generous support of the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts.

From Bion Tsang - The Blue Rock Sessions

Available on iTunes + GooglePlay

Hear audio library at biontsang.com

Connect at twitter.com/BionTsang

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