Piano Works of Harry Ore - Music inspired by Eastern and Latvian Folk Tunes

Piano Works of Harry Ore - Music inspired by Eastern and Latvian Folk Tunes

MS 1841 (MSR Classics, CD)

DDD
Stereo
FIRST RELEASE (7 September 2023)

Playing time: 65'18"
Tracks: 17
Booklet pages: 8
℗ 2023 Zhaoyi Long
© 2023 Zhaoyi Long
Main country of recording: United States of America
Country of manufacture: United States of America
Reviewer: Geoff Pearce
Review of Piano Works of Harry Ore - Music inspired by Eastern and Latvian Folk Tunes published on 31 October 2023

Zhaoyi Long, piano

Harry Ore (1885-1972):

Works Based Upon Eastern Folk Tunes

1 South China Fantasy – The Lady and the Flowerseller, Op 17 No 1

Five South Chinese Folksongs, Op 17 No 2
2 Prayer of the Monks
3 The Autumnal Moon as Seen from a Palace
4 The Raindrops Knocking at the Leaves of the Banana Tree
5 The Hungry Horse Rings the Bell
6 Song of Despair

Two Southern Chinese Melodies, Op 18
7 Two Butterflies
8 A Thunderstorm in Fair Weather

9 Macau Lullaby, Op 19

Concert Suite based on Oriental Music, Op 23
10 Japan: The Lion of Echigo
11 South China: Goldrain from the Weeping Tree
12 Philippines: The Mosquitoes Above the Lake of Sampálok
13 Indonesia: A Greeting from Portuguese Timor

Works Based Upon Latvian Folk Tunes

14 First Rhapsody, Op 6

15 Second Rhapsody, Op 7

Two Latvian Bagatelles, Op 21
16 Adagio cantabile
17 Prestissimo

Born in 1885, Harry Ore was a Jewish Latvian pianist, composer and teacher. At an early age, Ore's professional musical training was steeped in the Russian tradition under the tutelage of Joseph Wihtol (1863-1948) and Anatoly Liadov (1855-1914), both of whom were pupils of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908). In 1915, Ore launched a tour throughout the Orient, from the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin to Shanghai in 1917, albeit without establishing a long-term residence. From 1921 onward, he settled down in Hong Kong and Macau, where he resided for more than fifty years until his passing. Pianist Zhaoyi Long has performed in venues across the United States, China and Italy, including Boston's Jordan Hall, New York's Merkin Concert Hall, Cincinnati's Werner Hall, Hong Kong's City Hall, Theatre of Macau Cultural Center, Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall and He Luting Concert Hall of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Long has also been invited to attend numerous international music festivals, including Manhattan in the Mountains Music Festival, New York International Masters Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival in Italy. In addition, she has attended masterclasses with esteemed pianists, including Jörg Demus, Alexander Korsantia, Meng-Chieh Liu, Alessio Bax, Jerome Lowenthal, Julian Martin, Vladimir Feltsman, Qifang Li, Arthur Greene, Joanne Polk and Norman Kreiger.

Recorded 7 and 14 December 2022 and 1 March 2023 in the Robert J Werner Recital Hall, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.