Piano recital review: Lynn Raley: Contemporary Piano Works by Taiwanese Composers

Lynn Raley (centre) performed Contemporary Piano Works by Taiwanese Composers, at the Chai Found 101 Auditorium, Taipei on June 8th 2013. On his left, composer Tsung-Hsien Yang. On his right composer Chiu-Yu Chou.

Professor Raley is a former student of Taipei American School, who has been making a special study of contemporary Taiwanese piano music. For the past 12 months he has been  Senior Fulbright Scholar, and Visiting Associate Professor of Music at  the National Chiao Tung University.

The evening’s programme consisted of 8 works for piano solo by living composers, three of which were receiving their world premieres. Three of the works were dedicated to Professor Tsung-Hsien Yang at the Taipei National University of the Arts by his pupils to celebrate his 60th Birthday. A related score entitled “The Joy of Keys” was freely available on the night, containing three of the scores by Chiu-Yu Chou, Yuan-Chen Li and Ching-Yi Wang together with contact details. Great idea!

I particularly enjoyed Chiu-Yu Chou’s Fluid Ripples (2012), one of three World Premiere’s in the programme: like a Jeux d’Eaux for our climate-stressed era. The tremolos of Ching-Yi Wang’s Upon the Night, A Whisper of Sky brought to my mind Takemitsu meeting Xenakis, soft-hued poetry meeting harder-edged logic. Tsung-Hsien Yang’s Albumblatter from Sansui Shack occupied its space with the well-formed assurance of a composer who has found his path, like a Brancusi sculpture. Mei-Fang Lin’s Mistress of the Labyrinthsounded to be the most pianistically challenging work of the evening, the exposed left hand passage work at the opening might frighten any pianist of a lesser calibre than Lynn Raley: but here, as throughout the evening, technical difficulties were surmounted and the scores delivered with persuasion and assurance. The audience seemed most intrigued by the Sound of Silence by Chi-Tien Lee: the pianist’s tasks included plucking strings within the piano, plus humming! Now that was a fresh moment!  It was an evening which will linger long in the mind.

My criticisms are very few: the sound of the Kawai piano was slightly hard: a better instrument would have lent an extra degree of velvety atmospheric languour which some of the music called for. The page turning was slightly distracting, but admittedly it looked a nightmare of a job!

Meanwhile the attractive venue was full, lighting and ambience were very good, the bilingual programme notes were helpful. It is to be hoped that Professor Raley will record his performance on YouTube at the earliest opportunity so that these works can find a wider audience that they richly deserve. Hats off!