This album, titled 'Songs of Love,' is a tribute from pianist Jenny Q. Chai to her beloved teacher, Seymour Lipkin, who was a pianist, conductor, and educator.
Composition History
Robert Schumann's eight-movement fantasy cycle, Kreisleriana, was inspired by the character Johannes Kreisler, created by author E. T. A. Hoffmann, and was written in just a few days in April 1838.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Composer Charles Ives, known for his original and idiosyncratic style, quotes the beginning of Beethoven's 5th Symphony in 'The Alcotts' from his 'Concord' Sonata.
Performer Biography
Jenny Q. Chai, the pianist on this album, studied with Seymour Lipkin, an eminent pianist, conductor, and educator who was known as a great Beethoven interpreter.
Composer Biography
Robert Schumann sometimes attributed his writings to different personas, 'Florestan the wild' and 'Eusebius the mild,' which may have made the novel with two authors that inspired Kreisleriana appealing to him.
Interpretation
Pianist Jenny Q. Chai, known for performing new music, demonstrates her skill as an interpreter of classic piano works from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries on this album.
