Schurmann: Orchestral Works Xiayin Wang, BBC Philharmonic & Ben Gernon

• Gerard Schurmann (1924 - 2020): Man in the Sky - Concert Overture:
• 1Schurmann: Man in the Sky - Concert Overture03:36
• Piano Concerto:
• 2Schurmann: Piano Concerto: I. Cadenza. Lento sostenuto12:56
• 3Schurmann: Piano Concerto: II. Molto adagio14:01
• Romancing the Strings:
• 4Schurmann: Romancing the Strings: Theme01:32
• 5Schurmann: Romancing the Strings: Variation I01:06
• 6Schurmann: Romancing the Strings: Variation II01:04
• 7Schurmann: Romancing the Strings: Variation III00:57
• 8Schurmann: Romancing the Strings: Variation IV01:35
• 9Schurmann: Romancing the Strings: Variation V01:08
• 10Schurmann: Romancing the Strings: Variation VI03:38
• Gaudiana: I. Corale:
• 11Schurmann: Gaudiana: I. Corale: Pietà05:20
• 12Schurmann: Gaudiana: II. Andante03:59
• 13Schurmann: Gaudiana: III. Adagio molto tranquillo04:17
• 14Schurmann: Gaudiana: IV. Allegro brillante02:01
• 15Schurmann: Gaudiana: V. Lento03:44
• 16Schurmann: Gaudiana: VI. Allegro vivace03:57
• Total Runtime01:04:51

Info for Schurmann: Orchestral Works

The composer, pianist, and conductor Gerard Schurmann (1924 – 2020) was born in Kertosono, Java, which was then part of the Dutch East Indies. The family lived within earshot of the resident gamelan orchestras at the Sultan’s Palace, and hearing the pentatonic scales and intricate rhythms of this traditional Indonesian music made a lasting impression on the young Gerard. During the 1950s and 1960s, Schurmann was best known for his film scores, particularly The Long Arm (1956; CHAN 10979) and Horrors of the Black Museum (1959; CHAN 10979). Man in the Sky is a Concert Overture derived from Schurmann’s score for the eponymous film. The Piano Concerto was written for the great British pianist John Ogdon, who gave the première in November 1973. The work is laid out in two movements, the first rapid and virtuosic, the second broader and more contemplative. Romancing the Strings is a set of six short variations on an original theme which Schurmann wrote originally for a Disney feature that was eventually broadcast as Dr Syn – Alias the Scarecrow (CHAN 10979). The programme concludes with Gaudiana, a set of Symphonic Studies for orchestra inspired by the work of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, which was first performed by the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya under Rumon Gamba in December 2005.

Xiayin Wang, piano
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Ben Gernon, conductor

Xiayin Wang
is an artist of keen musicality and sweeping virtuosity. Praised by The New York Times for her “estimable grasp of pianistic color and her ability to maintain and illuminate a strand of melody within the thickest of textures,” Ms. Wang has released numerous celebrated recordings and performed throughout the world, from New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, to music centers in South America, Europe, and Asia. As Musical America put it: “She can be at one moment sensual and the next rhythmically driving…with such assuredness, such delicacy, that one forgets the difficulties inherent in the performance, and is left breathless in musical awe.”

Ms. Wang’s discography has received international acclaim, with her most recent Chandos recording of Tchaikovsky and Scriabin piano concerti being hailed as “terrific” (Gramophone) and “the model of refinement” (The Herald). Her recording of Alberto Ginastera’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with the BBC Philharmonic and their Music Director Juanjo Mena were commended by Gramophone as “jaw-droppingly impressive” and singled out by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross. Ms. Wang’s 2018 release of a lesser-known collection of works by Granados on Chandos was praised by the BBC Music Magazine as catching “the spirit of youthful Spanish ardour.”

Ms. Wang has performed with the Baltimore, Houston, and Pittsburgh Symphonies, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma. She has appeared in recital in New York at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, Vienna at Mozartsaal, as well as in France, Italy, Hungary, Russia, Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, and her native China.

She completed her studies at the Shanghai Conservatory and garnered an enviable record of first prize awards and special honors for her performances throughout China. Ms. Wang, who began piano studies at the age of five, came to New York in 1997. She holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Professional Studies degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.

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