If you would like to vote for this cd please vote HERE

This is one of those albums that make me consider myself happy to be a musician and, thus, to be able to have a better understanding when it comes to the essence of what I listen to. And what can be heard on this CD seems to me simply incredible – music in such a good interpretation, that it makes you wonder if it’s really possible. And let’s take into account the fact that what you, too, are about to listen to are recordings from a live concert which took place in Caracas, Venezuela, in February 2013. The Simon Bolivar Orchestra, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, had the Chinese pianist Yuja Wang as guest.

Having in mind the concert given by Yuja Wang in Bucharest, on 3^rd September, 2013, within the Enescu Festival, I believe that it is natural we have some expectations regarding the artistic possibilities of this pianist who, on 10^th February, will turn 27. Anyway, I think that this album is beyond whatever you can imagine about how well a pianist can play nowadays. And her live performance in Caracas, in February 2013, comprised two of the most difficult piano concerts that have ever been composed: Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3 and Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2.

I would like to add that the album will be launched at international level on 3^rd February, 2014; therefore, you, the listeners of Radio Romania Music, will have the privilege of listening to it before its international release. It’s true that in the United States of America the album was launched in advance, in October 2013, and received most enthusiastic reviews.

I hope it will also get your votes within the campaign ‘ Vote for the Best Classical Album of 2014’.

I think that this album highlights, once again, the fact that the universe of the interpretative art is changing at an incredible speed, even where classical music is concerned. Artists become real iconic figures, emphasis is placed on simplicity and connection with the audience – I can confirm that, as I was one of the persons next to Yuja Wang when she was giving autographs in Bucharest; the focus is both on virtuosity and on the feelings transmitted to the audience. A good recording is nowadays a technical miracle, but more than that, it moves you to tears or it lends you wings to accomplish the most important things in life.

I particularly enjoyed this album, and not necessarily because I admire this pianist who is almost 27 years old and this conductor who is only 33 and who are already incontestable international stars, but because such virtuosity, doubled by explosive passion and contemporary sensitivity, are hard to find.

The ‘Music Box’ programme on 27^th January, at 19:00, will be broadcast again on Sunday, 2^nd February, at 13:20.