TIAN YING

PIANO SOLOS: MOZART, CHOPIN, RACHMANINOFF, RAVEL, SCHUMANN

Author: By Richard Dyer, Globe Staff

Date: THURSDAY, July 16, 1998

Tian Ying is one of the finest young pianists active in America, but it's hard even for artists of his caliber to break into the recording scene. A while back, Ying arranged to have his BankBoston Celebrity Series Emerging Artists recital recorded in Jordan Hall, and he sells the resulting CD at his own concerts. He has been a regular guest of the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, which has made an unusual and praiseworthy gesture of support by recording Ying in a second CD, which includes Mozart's A-Minor Rondo, Chopin's F-Minor Fantasy, Rachmaninoff's Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Ravel's ``Gaspard de la Nuit'' (accompanied by readings of the poems that inspired the music), and the Schumann Toccata. At his best, Ying plays with an especially luminous quality of tone, musical sensitivity, emotional intensity, and a virtuosity with an utterly individual and provocative imagination. The Mozart is a particularly tender and affectionate performance; there is fire in his Chopin, variety and clarity in his Rachmaninoff, poetry in his Ravel. The Schumann is a whirlwind, but others have played it with a more illuminating lightness. This disc is being distributed by Empire Music, but may be difficult to find in stores; it can be ordered for $15 from the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music at 520-298-5806.

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