Pianist Hsiang Tu presents a delightful collection of works from the animal kingdom. Bestiary on Ivory offers a wide-ranging collection from Bolcom and Bartok, through...

Pianist Hsiang Tu presents a delightful collection of works from the animal kingdom. Bestiary on Ivory offers a wide-ranging collection from Bolcom and Bartok, through Schumann and Saint-Saens. Praised by The New York Times for his "eloquent sensitivity" and The Boston Intelligencer for his "impeccable technique," pianist Hsiang Tu has graced the audience with his creative programming and wide range of repertoire. Hsiang is currently working on the complete cycle of piano solo works by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel and thematic recitals featuring animal-themed music and opus-one compositions. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Mr. Tu has performed twice as concerto soloist at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and appeared in venues all over the world, including the National Museum Cardiff, National Recital Hall in Taipei, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and Museum of Modern Art in New York. Hsiang Tu was winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition, and is currently Professor of Piano at Virginia Tech.

REVIEW:

Every one of the pieces Tu has chosen for his Bestiary album sounds positively beastly in terms of its technical difficulty. Yet Tu sounds like a happy warrior, joyful in engaging the beasts and having fun in slaying them. This is an album of mostly fun music, and Tu manages to tickle us as he is tickling the ivories. We need more recordings like this to lift our spirits in these difficult times. Strongly recommended.

-- Fanfare (Jerry Dubins)