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Following the enormous success of his first album for Deutsche Grammophon, “Waves”, the Canadian pianist Bruce Liu, who was born in 1997 with Chinese roots, turns his attention to Tchaikovsky's intimate yet expressive music for solo piano: “The Seasons”. Not every aspiring young artist would probably think of recording Tchaikovsky's works for solo piano. But for Bruce Liu, the Russian composer's intimate, deeply poetic language exerts an irresistible appeal – and it allowed him a musical respite.
The Seasons is Tchaikovsky's best-known work for solo piano. It consists of twelve vignettes (months) and is comparable to Schumann's piano cycles such as “Kinderszenen” or “Waldszenen”. The cycle was commissioned by the music journal Nuvellist: in 1876, one of the twelve pieces was published each month, each garnished with a few lines from a matching poem. Bruce Liu says of the publication, which is now available for the first time as a high-resolution UHQCD: “For me, these recordings were a moment to explore my feelings. It feels like Tchaikovsky was talking to himself when he wrote the pieces, that's what's so special about this work. It combines the popular elements that also inspired his ballets with the brilliance and extravagance of his concerts, but at its core it has a contemplative and calm mood.”
1. January: At The Fireside
2. February: Carnival
3. March: Song Of The Lark
4. April: Snowdrop
5. May: White Nights
6. June: Barcarolle
7. July: Reaper’s Song
8. August: The Harvest
9. September: The Hunt
10. October: Autumn Song
11. November: Troika
12. December: Christmas
13. Romance In F Minor, Op. 5