Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2

B. HUANG SULEIMAN ZHOU

Who’s afraid of big emotions? An-lun Huang’s piano trios dazzlingly demonstrate that contemporary music in no way has to be accessible only to a sworn community of experts. With his skill this Chinese-Canadian composer combines the best traditions from several world regions to produce a euphonious and harmonious whole – and does so with great class. The premiere ensemble for the Trio No. 2 from 2015 lends this first recording a special measure of authenticity. As a composer and as a teacher An-lun Huang is sought after throughout the world. His Chinese Rhapsody No. 2 marked the beginning of a breathtaking career: it was with this work that Huang’s fellow Chinese musician Lang Lang played his way to the first prize in the youth section of the legendary Tchaikovsky Competition. Music is a tradition in the master’s family: Huang’s father was one of Paul Hindemith’s last students at Yale. The Chinese element of course is not lacking in the piano trios. Again and again pentatonic motifs of earworm quality spread out East Asian flair. The fact that Huang understands his compositional trade is immediately audible. His music, instrumented for the difficult trio combination with a sleepwalker’s sureness and perfectly balanced in its proportions, enthuses listeners from beginning to end.