Made in USA - Gershwin, Beach & Barber / Claire Huangci
Alpha
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Made in USA - Gershwin, Beach & Barber / Claire Huangci

ModernMelancholic, romantic, dramatic, nostalgic

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Details

Composer
Samuel Barber, Amy Beach, George Gershwin, Earl Wild
Artist
Claire Huangci
Format
CD
Discs
1
Label
Alpha
Released
Sep 20, 2024
Catalog #
ALPHA1071
UPC
3701624510711

About

Presented as 'An Experiment in Modern Music' when it was premiered in 1924, Rhapsody in Blue made George Gershwin famous, and he soon set to work on a version for solo piano, recorded here by Claire Huangci. In her first solo disc for Alpha Classics, Claire was keen to celebrate this centenary alongside her roots in America, where she was born, studied music and made her debut as a concert artist at the age of nine. The brilliant improviser and transcriber Earl Wild (1915-2010) took Gershwin's songs (Liza, Fascinatin' Rhythm, Somebody Loves Me, I Got Rhythm, Embraceable You, Oh, Lady Be Good, The Man I Love) to form the basis of his Seven Virtuoso Etudes for solo piano. Equally virtuosic is the Op. 26 Sonata by Samuel Barber, whom Vladimir Horowitz (who premiered the work in Havana in December 1949) regarded as one of the few Americans capable of writing for the piano. The New Hampshire-born composer Amy Beach took her inspiration from the folk music of both the New World and the Balkans, while retaining her harmonic language inherited from the Romantics. Her Variations Op. 60 (1904) bear witness to these influences.

Critic reviews

  • “Made in the USA: Claire Huangci draws on the compositions of her home continent, North America.”

    Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Preis der deutschen schallplattenkritik (german record critics’ award) quarterly critic’s choice, February 2025

  • “Claire Huangci, to my ears, stands out for her quicksilver imagination – the agility with which she can steer through the music’s twists and turns.”

    Fanfare, Want list, November 2025

Tracklist 23 tracks

  1. 1 Rhapsody in Blue (version for piano) 15:11
    Track
    1
    Title
    Rhapsody in Blue (version for piano)
    Duration
    15:11
    Composer
    George Gershwin
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  2. 2 Theme: Adagio malincolico 01:10
    Track
    2
    Title
    Theme: Adagio malincolico
    Duration
    01:10
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  3. 3 Variation 1 00:51
    Track
    3
    Title
    Variation 1
    Duration
    00:51
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  4. 4 Variation 2 01:07
    Track
    4
    Title
    Variation 2
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  5. 5 Variation 3 00:50
    Track
    5
    Title
    Variation 3
    Duration
    00:50
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  6. 6 Variation 4 01:32
    Track
    6
    Title
    Variation 4
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  7. 7 Variation 5 02:39
    Track
    7
    Title
    Variation 5
    Duration
    02:39
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  8. 8 Variation 6: Quasi fantasia - Allegro all'ongarese 02:04
    Track
    8
    Title
    Variation 6: Quasi fantasia - Allegro all'ongarese
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  9. 9 Variation 7 02:01
    Track
    9
    Title
    Variation 7
    Duration
    02:01
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  10. 10 Variation 8 02:08
    Track
    10
    Title
    Variation 8
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  11. 11 Variation 8: Marcia funerale 04:25
    Track
    11
    Title
    Variation 8: Marcia funerale
    Duration
    04:25
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  12. 12 Cadenza 05:42
    Track
    12
    Title
    Cadenza
    Duration
    05:42
    Composer
    Amy Beach
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  13. 13 I. Allegro energico 07:16
    Track
    13
    Title
    I. Allegro energico
    Duration
    07:16
    Composer
    Samuel Barber
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  14. 14 II. Allegro vivace e leggero 02:11
    Track
    14
    Title
    II. Allegro vivace e leggero
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    Samuel Barber
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  15. 15 III. Adagio mesto 05:03
    Track
    15
    Title
    III. Adagio mesto
    Duration
    05:03
    Composer
    Samuel Barber
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  16. 16 IV. Fuga: Allegro con spirito 04:26
    Track
    16
    Title
    IV. Fuga: Allegro con spirito
    Duration
    04:26
    Composer
    Samuel Barber
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  17. 17 No. 1. Liza 03:06
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 1. Liza
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Earl Wild
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  18. 18 No. 2. Somebody Loves Me 02:54
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 2. Somebody Loves Me
    Duration
    02:54
    Composer
    Earl Wild
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  19. 19 No. 3. The Man I Love 02:27
    Track
    19
    Title
    No. 3. The Man I Love
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Earl Wild
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  20. 20 No. 4. Embraceable You 02:47
    Track
    20
    Title
    No. 4. Embraceable You
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    Earl Wild
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  21. 21 No. 5. Lady Be Good 03:35
    Track
    21
    Title
    No. 5. Lady Be Good
    Duration
    03:35
    Composer
    Earl Wild
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  22. 22 No. 6. I Got Rhythm 02:11
    Track
    22
    Title
    No. 6. I Got Rhythm
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    Earl Wild
    Performer
    Claire Huangci
  23. 23 No. 7. Fascinatin' Rhythm 01:34
    Track
    23
    Title
    No. 7. Fascinatin' Rhythm
    Duration
    01:34
    Composer
    Earl Wild
    Performer
    Claire Huangci