Tao Piano

On this CD:

1. Fairy Tales (2) for piano, Op. 20 No. 1 in B flat major
Composed by Nikolay Medtner
Performed by Jennifer Tao

2. Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ("Waldstein") Op. 53
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Jennifer Tao

3. Sonata No. 2: Concord, Mass., 1840-60, for piano (& optional viola, flute), S. 88 (K. 3A2) The Alcotts
Composed by Charles Ives
Performed by Jennifer Tao

4. Sonata for keyboard in D major, K. 491 (L. 164)
Composed by Domenico Scarlatti
Performed by Jennifer Tao

5. Miroirs, for piano (or orchestra) Alborada del Gracioso
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Jennifer Tao

6. Au lac de Wallenstadt, for piano (Années I/2), S.160/2 (LW A159/2)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Jennifer Tao

7. Ballade for piano No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, CT 2 (Four Ballades)
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
Performed by Jennifer Tao

Editorial Reviews
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE: May/June 1999
Although Im inclined to admire any artist who shares jacket-photo spread with a cat, Jennifer Tao has more than exemplary taste in furry friends to commend her. This is evident immediately from the Medtner that opens the disc and impresses with Taos febrile and persuasive sense of rubato. Her tone is rich and unforced, with chordings that pile up sonorously in climactic passages.

Romanticism of the upper-case sort seems to be Taos bag, judging from the febrility that also marks her reading of the Chopin, particularly evident in the quiet passion of the B section. This erupts into volleys of runs, then manic accelerandos and a provocatively crazed reprise of the Ballades waltz tune. Ending with descending octaves of crushing finality, the coda owns the desperation that Chopins music demands.

MCKEE: American Record Guide, May/June 1999
Although I'm inclined to admire any artist who shares jacket-photo spread with a cat, Jennifer Tao has more than exemplary taste in furry friends to commend her. This is evident immediately from the Medtner that opens the disc and impresses with Tao's febrile and persuasive sense of rubato. Her tone is rich and unforced, with chordings that pile up sonorously in climactic passages. The Beethoven leaves a more equivocal impression, its opening ostinato uncertain and skittish. Though Tao's... read more

Album Description
A dazzling selection of piano favorites of blockbuster popularity, brilliantly performed by gifted artist Jennifer Tao on the Eroica label. The Medtner work leads the listener through an emotional forest of wild, even hair-raising intensity. American Record Guide (see review) found the Medtner impressive with Taos' ferbile and persuasive sense of rubato. Writing about the Beethoven sonata, ARG called her tone rich and unforced, with chordings that pile up sonorously in climactic passages, ending with a finale that flows confidently and with a sense of grand design. Beethoven's opening material is an exquisitely complicated and richly nuanced subject for a sonata movement, followed by a hymnlike, lyrical second movement which develops into effortlessly flowing triplets and intensifies into sixteenth notes where the rhythmic impulse asserts itself again. All of this finally subsides into a flowing, scalar passage work, melting into the gentle closing with its swift modulations. The ensuing development and recapitulation cast a new light on this richly varied exposition, rounding out Beethoven's multifarious proposition. In the summer of 1835, Franz Liszt followed his lover, the unhappily married Contesse Marie d'Agoult, to Switzerland. The lake imparted a soothing serenity to the lovers, just as the expansive, open sonoroties and lulling rhythm of the piano composition give graceful haven to the simple melody. One of the most impressive qualities of the work is the left hand accompaniment. The root of the arpeggiated chord strikes off the main beat, giving a pleasantly disorienting sensation. The beauty of the melody is augmented in the reprise by virtuoso touches that suggest the impression of a clear but distant voice yodeling. Au lac is a masterpiece, a shimmering landscape of crystal clear sounds, free of discord and stress. Chopin's Ballade focuses on its lyrical and at times passionate second theme, which erupts into a cathartic waltz. Throughout, Jennifer Tao's virtuoso pianism remains positive and mature, faithfully serving the dramatic function of one of Chopin's most popular compositions. All's well that ends well, and the Ballade returns, after the final statement of its opening theme, with an almost unbearable frenzy that carries us wildly to the fateful conclusion.

Tao Piano

Tao Piano, Music, Ludwig van Beethoven, Fryderyk Chopin, Charles Ives, Franz Liszt, Nikolay Medtner, Maurice Ravel, Domenico Scarlatti, Jennifer Tao, 20th/21st Century Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard, Ballade for Keyboard, Baroque Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard, Chamber Music & Recitals, Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard, Classical, If you like Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Scarlatti, you'll love this CD, featuring Eroica artist Jennifer Tao, pianist, Keyboard, Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title, Romantic Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard

Average customer rating:

Songs Manufacturer: Naxos American ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Brubeck | Brubeck, Dave | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Jazz General | Jazz | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Jazz | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B0007ORDZE Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

1. All My Love - Dave Brubeck
2. Strange Meadowlark - Dave Brubeck
3. The Things You Never Remember - Dave Brubeck
4. So Lonely - Dave Brubeck
5. Don't Forget Me - Dave Brubeck
6. There'll Be No Tomorrow - Dave Brubeck
7. The Time Of Our Madness - Dave Brubeck
8. Tao - John De Haan
9. Final Curve/Search - Cliff Jackson
10. Dream Dust/Hold Fast To Dreams - Cliff Jackson
11. Hold Fast To Dreams - Cliff Jackson
12. The Dream Keeper - Cliff Jackson
13. Day After Day - Cliff Jackson
14. Once When I Was Very Young - Cliff Jackson

Average customer rating:

Sheila Silver To The Spirit Unconquered Manufacturer: Composers Recordings ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000005TXN Release Date: 1996-03-05

Tracks:

1. I. With Great Intensity - Strained, Sometimes Violent - The Guild Trio
2. II. As If In A Dream - The Guild Trio
3. III. Very Fast, Rhythmic, And Precise; Suddenly Mysterious - The Guild Trio
4. IV. Calm And Stately - The Guild Trio
5. I. La Mer A Cassis (The Sea At Cassis) - Gilbert Kalish
6. II. La Pendule (The Pendulum Clock) - Gilbert Kalish
7. III. La Descente Vers L'Enfers (Descent Into Hell) - Gilbert Kalish
8. IV. Dans Une Foret Demie-Brulee (In The Half-Burned Forest) - Gilbert Kalish
9. V. La, Tout N'Est Qu'Ordre Et Beaute, Luxe, Calcme Et Volupte (There, All Is Perfection And Beauty, Luxury, Calm, And Delight) - Gilbert Kalish
10. VI. Vers Le Paradix De Mes Reves (Toward The Paradise Of My Dreams) - Gilbert Kalish
11. Dynamis - William Purvis
12. Dance Converging - William Purvis

Average customer rating:

Piano Manufacturer: Eroica ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Beethoven | Beethoven, Ludwig van | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Chopin | Chopin, Frédéric | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ives, Charles | ( I ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Liszt | Liszt, Franz | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Medtner | Medtner, Nikolai | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ravel, Maurice | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Domenico Scarlatti | Scarlatti, Domenico | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Character Pieces | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatinas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Ives, Charles | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000034D21 Release Date: 1999-10-05

Tracks:

1. Fairy Tale In B-flat, Op. 20, No. 1
2. Sonata In C, Op. 53 'Waldstein': Allegro Con Brio
3. Sonata In C, Op. 53 'Waldstein': Introduzione: Adagio Molto
4. Sonata In C, Op. 53 'Waldstein': Rondo: Allegretto Moderato
5. Sonata No. 2: 'The Alcotts'
6. Sonata In D, K. 491, L. 164
7. Miroirs: Alborada Del Gracioso
8. Au Lac De Wallenstadt
9. Ballade No. 1 In G, Op. 23

Average customer rating: Five stars

Kui Dong: Pangu's Song Manufacturer: New World Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B0006A9GD6 Release Date: 2004-11-30

Tracks:

1. Earth, Water, Wood, Metal, Fire (Earth)
2. Earth, Water, Wood, Metal, Fire (Water)
3. Earth, Water, Wood, Metal, Fire (Wood)
4. Earth, Water, Wood, Metal, Fire (Metal)
5. Earth, Water, Wood, Metal, Fire (Fire)
6. Pangu's Song
7. Blue Melody
8. Crossing (Movement I)
9. Crossing (Movement II)
10. Crossing (Movement III)
11. Three Voices

Customer Reviews:

Five stars.......2005-01-12

Average customer rating: Mostly academic esoterica Absolutely worth the listen

CDCM Computer Music Series, Vol.5 -- Winham Laboratory at Princeton University Manufacturer: Centaur ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B0000057TS Release Date: 1993-11-04

Tracks:

1. Just-More-Idle-Chatter - Paul Lansky
2. Approximate Rhythms - Brad Garton
3. Elmore - Andrew Milburn
4. Night Machines - Martin Butler
5. Still Life With Piano - Frances White/Jennifer Tao
6. Contraption - Alicyn Warren/John Ferrari
7. Wasting - Brad Garton/Paly Lansky/Andrew Milburn

Customer Reviews:

Mostly academic esoterica.......2001-09-11

Generally, in fact, one could say that much of what is presented here is precisely what might be expected from university academics presented with an expensive array of MIDI synthesisers and a computer or two to drive it all: obtuse, impenetrable works with little relevance to the world at large. Certainly many of the items here smack of having been interesting intellectual exercises, which no doubt amused their composers during the compositional process, but which don't really provide much lasting sustenance for listeners thereafter.

Paul Lansky's "just_more_idle_chatter" (1987), for instance, is the second of a series of works created from vocal fragments and other similar computer-generated sounds. Stochastically assembled by computer program, it consists of a babble of singing voices, from which a listener constantly tries to deduce meaning but where, in fact, there is simply none to be found. The work's somewhat boppy but, none the less, complex series of rhythms and harmonic shifts, although constantly evolving, ultimately never actually make it anywhere. The piece starts out quite amusing but I fear that by the end of its 9 minutes, most listeners may just be left with the uneasy feeling that they've been subjected to some sort of clever joke that they don't really understand.

It wouldn't be too bad if this was the only track like that, but unfortunately, most of the disc leaves me with very much the same feeling. Martin Butler captures the essence of my misgivings in his sleeve note for his work "Night Machines" (1987), a work featuring a rambling collection of musical ideas for a small computer-controlled MIDI ensemble. He writes, "the title is intended to suggest that the machines had as much to do with the music's creation as the composer did." Just so! I feel that exactly the same could be said of most of the other works, as well. Many feel cold, mechanistic and devoid of emotion - just clever academic exercises of little lasting worth. Even their momentary stabs at humour seem oddly detached.

When this disc was released, a dozen or so years back, MIDI synthesisers, samplers and computer interfaces to drive them were fairly new and expensive, and weren't yet common additions to most teenagers' bedrooms. Producing works like these was no doubt a fun and exciting thing to do. Probably, at the time, these pieces were felt to have some degree of artistic merit. And while Paul Lansky's "Idle Chatter" pieces may have made it into the electroacoustic canon through their sheer novelty value, I'm not sure that very much can now be said for most of the rest of this disc.

Happily, there is one sole and glorious exception to my criticisms and that is "Still Life with Piano" (1989) by Frances White. This is easily the most substantial item on the disc - a comment that is not merely a reference to its 15-minute duration. The depth of emotion - to say nothing of sonorities - explored in this involved work for piano, tape and live electronics is nothing short of extraordinary. The tape part uses piano sounds which have been processed by computer to reveal, through temporal and spectral manipulations, undreamed-of sonorities hidden within them. Indeed, this is the one work that really lives up to the title of the disc, truly exploring its own 'inner voice'. The real piano - played on this recording by Jennifer Tao, and further altered in real-time through live electronic processing equipment operated by the composer herself - quietly re-articulates the material from which the tape was derived. While the manipulated sounds plumb the depths of the sonic spectrum, or else develop into large scale, reverberating explorations of themselves, the live pianist provides a more intimate and immediate perspective, providing a welcome touch of humanity to an otherwise quite cold and sterile release.

The disc is worth having for this one track alone and if there were more like this on it, I wouldn't hesitate to give this release the full five stars. Unfortunately...

Absolutely worth the listen.......2000-09-27

I'm not too sure of that thesis now.

The pieces are based to a large extent on a non-classical inheritance (with the exception of still life with piano), and are probably from the op-art school. Take for example, the very listenable "night machines".

This piece is intensely visual. You can imagine walklng past a street in the rain, in a futuristic city, where the electronics designers and architects have ganged up and produced these "semi-intelligent" squashy sort of monoliths dotting the side of the street. They wait umtil the twilight, then chatter to each other, imitating the disco music from down the road. At times they sound nearly human. They only exist, though, to entertain the travellers in the darkness and the rain.

As for "approximate rhythms", this piece attempts what I last heard in a piece called "the book of love", similarly for percussion. Not just a stage for minimalist transitions, continuously occupying the ear with tiny variations, this piece contains it's own tiny universe of sounds and places. The last section of the piece is totally surprising and engaging, almost like a water painting of a temporary paradise. Beautiful and shot through with many colours.

Wasting is so strange, original and, well, disturbing, I just can't think of any class of works it is a member of! I won't try to descrbe it, except to liken it to something By Samuel Beckett I once encountered, called "the unnameable".

Still life with piano is a slowly uncoiling work with a soundscape rather similar to Harry Partch. Lots of slowly decaying gentle sounds with anharmonic accompanyments. I like this, but it is best to hear it when you just about to fall asleep...!

The other two pieces may well appeal to other folks but Elmore isn't too ingenious... to my ear, but that's me. Idle Chatter is constructed too much for the pop market for my tastes, but is even so engaging and curious.

Contraption is worth a few repeats and fits in closely with approximate rhythms.

These pieces have really nothing to do with the world occupied by Jacob Druckmann and Milton Babbitt, but are non the less worth looking into quite a bit.

Average customer rating: Very nice, good selection of tunes and superb piano playing

Tao Piano Manufacturer: Eroica Classical Recordings ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Beethoven | Beethoven, Ludwig van | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Chopin | Chopin, Frédéric | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ives, Charles | ( I ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Liszt | Liszt, Franz | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Medtner | Medtner, Nikolai | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ravel, Maurice | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Domenico Scarlatti | Scarlatti, Domenico | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Character Pieces | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatinas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Ives, Charles | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000FDIL Release Date: 1999-12-15

Tracks:

1. Fairy Tale in b Flat, Op.20, No.1
2. Son in C, Op. 53 'Waldstein': Allegro Con Brio
3. Son in C, Op. 53 'Waldstein': Intro: Adagio Molto
4. Son in C, Op. 53 'Waldstein': Rondo: Allegretto Moderato
5. Son No.2 'Concord, Mass., 1840-1860': 'The Alcotts'
6. Son in D, K.491, L.164
7. Miroirs: Alborada Del Gracioso
8. Au Lac De Wallenstadt
9. Ballade No.1 in g, Op.23

Album Description

Customer Reviews:

Very nice, good selection of tunes and superb piano playing.......2001-12-08

Average customer rating:

Tao Lin Debut Recording Manufacturer: Piano Lovers ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000068GO2 Release Date: 2002-01-01

Tracks:

1. Mozart - Rondo in a minor, K. 511
2. Mozart - Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333
3. Mozart - Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333
4. Mozart - Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333
5. Beethoven - 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80
6. Schubert - Sonata in A, op. 120 (D664)
7. Schubert - Sonata in A, op. 120 (D664)
8. Schubert - Sonata in A, op. 120 (D664)
9. Balakirev - Islamey

Album Description

He came to South Florida in 1990 to pursue undergraduate studies under Roberta Rust at the Harid Conservatory (where he received the Award for Outstanding Performance) and graduate studies under Ivan Davis at the University of Miami. As winner of each School's concerto competition, he performed Mozart's Concerto No. 24 and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and was a prize winner in competitions of the National Society of Arts and Letters, the Music Teachers National Association and Florida Symphonic Pops and in the Eighth Annual Palm Beach International Invitational Piano Competition.

Tao Lin made his European debut in 1995 with a concert tour of Norway. Enthusiastically received by critics and audiences, he was invited back for another tour in 1997. In the U.S., he has participated in the Aspen, Round Top, Sanibel and Highlands Music Festivals (working with such teachers as David Northington, Joseph Kalichstein and Stephen Hough), and appeared as guest artist in both the Tennessee and Virginia Music Teachers Association Conferences as well as three times in the popular Mainly Mozart Festival.

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Music Review

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