Xiayin Wang to Release 'Granados: Piano Works on Chandos'

By: Caryn Robbins Jan. 09, 2018

Following her critically acclaimed Chandos recording of Ginastera's Piano Concerto No. 2, hailed by Gramophone as "jaw-droppingly impressive," pianist Xiayin Wang returns to solo repertoire with a traversal of works by Enrique Granados to be released by Chandos on February 2, 2018. In exploring some of the composer's most famous works, Xiayin reveals a technically challenging and complex musical language, while still bringing out the color and emotional intensity underneath.

The album centers around Granados's towering Goyescas, a set based on the paintings of Francisco Goya. Perhaps because the source of their inspiration was so close to the composer's heart, the Goyescas piano pieces are the most liberated examples of his writing. In the composer's own words: "I have written...a collection of great sweep and difficulty."

In addition to the Goyescas, the album features his beloved Allegro de concierto, as well as the Andalusian flamenco-inspired Zapateado, and the Ochos Valses poéticos, which are unique and uncharacteristic in that they are neither virtuosic in their piano scoring nor Spanish in style.

Says Xiayin of the recording: "Though he is a prominent Spanish composer, Granados's music is not widely played, which is one of the reasons I wanted to make this album. His writing is full of expressiveness and improvisation-like passages, and is very romantic, free, and colorful, which matches my personality as well."

Album Details

Granados: Piano Works
Goyescas
Ochos valses poéticos
Allegro de concierto
Zapateado