Rachmaninov:
Dreams
Vocalise (arr. Earl Wild)
Piano Sonata nr 2
Hindemith:
In einer Nacht
Schumann:
Fantasiestucke op. 12
In der Nacht
Bartok:
Out of Doors

Pianist Joyce Yang follows her critically acclaimed AVIE debut, Collage (AV 2229), with the equally imaginative Wild Dreams, inspired by a musical dream sequence. Joyce explains, “In our dreams, remote parts of our psyches come forth to create their own worlds and realities. Improbable scenarios intertwine. Characters normally divided by time and space mingle in our imaginations. In this subconscious world there are no boundaries or rules, and spontaneity trumps logic. Each piece on Wild Dreams defies gravity, and the sense of time and space is redefined in the spontaneity of performance. Part of my thinking may be stimulated by my synesthesia – the way I “see” music – but I am also imagining the swirling subconscious at work in the minds of these composers, prodding wild new realities and vocabularies as they created these particular pieces in their waking dreams.” Joyce interweaves dream-inspired pieces such as Earl Wild’s transcription of Rachmaninov’s Dreams, Hindemith’s In Einer Nacht and Schumann’s Traumes Wirren, with the nocturnal Night Music by Bartók and Schumann’s In der Nacht. The climax of the programme is Rachmaninov’s passionate Second Piano Sonata, performed with bravado.

critical acclaim for Joyce Yang

In “Schumann’s Fantasiestücke … Yang was probing vivid colors and emotional extremes … The opening Des Abends depicted dreamy colors, reminiscent of a slowly rotating kaleidoscope, and was followed by a passionate and exuberant reading of Aufschwung … Combined with her masterfully dexterous fingers, inner textures were brought out clearly … The Finale was grandiose, filled with jovial and sometimes drunken colors” – San Francisco Classical Voice

“imaginative programming … beautifully atmospheric playing” – Gramophone