CD Album of Age 11,  A Musical Memory 《成长》
May, 2012 
Recorded in Stamford, CT

F.J. Haydn (1732-1809)
Sonata in C Major, Hob.XVI:50, I: Allegro

A note from the pianist: “Tom and Jerry are so busy here…When you hear the music box, that is Jerry pretending to be a ballerina dancing to cheat Tom who was chasing Jerry and his lost cheese...Do you hear them?”

F. Chopin (1810-1849)
Etude in G Flat Major (Black Key), op.10, No. 5

A note from the pianist:” Hold on tight!  Blast off!  Come to the outer space through the atmosphere with me...”

W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
Sonata in F major, K. 332, II: Adagio, III: Allegro assai

A note from the pianist:” Out of all the Mozart sonatas and concerti I’ve ever heard, second movements have always been my favorites.  But in this sonata, in addition to the heart-melting 2nd movement, I find a very powerful Mozart that you don’t usually hear....”

F. Chopin
Ballade in A Flat Major, op. 47, No. 3

A note about the music: “… vacations aren’t always fun.  A supposedly romantic runaway trip to a Mediterranean city called Majorca turned into a disaster.  Chopin was so used to the intimate and elegant salons in Paris that he felt completely lost when it came to being isolated in a rainy rural town.  Come, travel with Chopin, on the donkey-cart on the steep dirt road and miles of rocky gorge... Do you see his visions of death in the suffering of a life-threatening disease, the haunting sound of funeral chants, and the charming nights in Paris? After all the drama full of tears, laughter, and fear of death, Chopin made his way back to Paris finally and miraculously recovered.  Beautiful happy ending, but very special in Chopin’s music and life, though...”

J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in D major, from Well Tempered Clavier Book 1

A note from the pianist:” I am so excited to hear serious Bach sounding this happy. That is the joy he felt from heart! I even heard the presence of God! The Fugue reminds me of the hymnal chorus in His church! Halleluiah! ”

F. Schubert (1797-1828)
Impromptu, op. 90 No. 4   

A note from the pianist:”Is there always light behind the clouds even in tearful times? Such a nostalgic, heartbreaking, but graceful piece full of colors of different shades that every time I play it I feel like closing my eyes to brush them out on the canvas and in my heart...”

M. Ravel (1875-1937)
"Alborada del Gracioso" from Miroirs

A note from the pianist: “Is a jester always supposed to be taken as a joke? He is labeled by his appearance, his expression of love constantly being interrupted and taken light of, but his love song goes on...Who said this morning song of a jester was funny?”

F. Poulenc (1899-1963)
Intermezzo in A Flat Major, No. 3

A note from the pianist: “Did you know Poulenc visited Darien and had a performance here? I wish I were here to meet him! ...That’d be so cool!!  This beautiful piece smells like the blossom of purple lilacs. Just close your eyes and imagine, be sure to be creative!  A delicate young lady is having a cup of coffee in a café garden in Paris in an early summer afternoon.  She is not bothered much even when a summer shower blows away the sheer lace table cloth and breaks the small glass vase into pieces with lilacs trampled on the floor...” 

F. Liszt (1811-1886)
Concert Etude "Waldestrauschen"(Forest Murmur) in D flat Major 

A note from the pianist:”A melting sensation of ice and flowers altogether in a whispering forest.  Just like the name, you can hear the murmurs of breaking ice and budding flowers.  A tinkle of fairy dust falls as winter melts into spring...”

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