Zhang Guoping's selection for this
recording is a program consisting of original Chinese and Russian
pieces and transcriptions.
Zhang Guoping's performance of
Chinese pieces is quite impressive: technically sound, he naturally
feels all the musical nuances of his national music and interprets
them convincingly and confidently.
Zhang Guoping also made a nice
attempt in very well known pieces; Gridin's Rassipuha and Strauss's
Voices of Spring arranged for the button accordion by Yashkevich.
Written for the button accordion, these pieces are technically
extremely demanding on piano accordion, but Zhang Guoping meets
these demands with ease, effortlessly, and with wide musical expression.
However, some sections of these pieces are physically impossible
to be performed on piano accordion as they were written for the
button accordion.
Zhang Guoping had to rearrange
the music, which, in my opinion, didn't add to the beauty of the
piece, on the contrary. So, I suppose, that opens up an ever lasting
question: is it practical/desirable to play on piano accordion
pieces so obviously not meant for that instrument and then make
arrangements, in which the piece and the performer lose?
I was also very impressed with
the way Zhang Guoping performed Trepak, it is all on "one breath",
very crisp, clear, and emotional.
Overall, this recording is surely
worth purchasing.
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