The much-anticipated follow-up studio album, a masterful offering performed with charm and fabulous warmth, is available worldwide, November 11, 2023.
The second studio album, Essence Romantique from Judy Hung, will be available worldwide, November 11, 2023, on all major streaming platforms.
After the successful release of “Essence Baroque” on solo baroque violin and solo harpsichord in 2022, Judy Hung’s follow-up album “Essence Romantique” takes the listener to the nineteenth century; recorded on historical pianos from the Romantic era, including Broadwood (1823), Graf (1826), and Erard (1866) of The Richard Burnett Collection of Historical Keyboard Instruments, Finchcocks Charity, UK. These pianos were chosen because of their ability to provide an authentic depth of interpretation by delivering the capabilities of the pianos from the Romantic era.
The selected repertoire by Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, and Brahms was chosen to highlight the expressive Romanticism of 19th-century music and the historical pianos.
Inspired by literature, letters, and actual period sound documentation of the Romantic composers and performers, Judy Hung seeks to celebrate the expressivity that was the “essence” of Romanticism and push herself in new directions of her creative expression.
Through playing on various 19th-century pianos, the “Essence Romantique” recording will provide contemporary audiences, who primarily know the Romantic repertoire by hearing modern pianos, with a fresh and new listening experience.
“Playing some of the most celebrated 19th century piano music on period pianos allowed me to step back to the Romantic era,” says Judy Hung. “Listening to the album, audiences will hear the subtle but distinctive differences between a modern and historical piano. For me as a musician, it is wonderful to realize the project with the pianos that inspired composers to write and to understand what they were written for. It was a beautiful musical journey.”
Playlist
~Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
1-4 Piano Sonata, No.31, Op.110
＊Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
5 Moment Musical, D.780, No.2
＊Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
6 Lieder ohne Worte, Op.19b, No.1
＊Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
7-19 Kinderszenen, Op.15
＋Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
20 Étude, Op.10, No.3
＋Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
21 Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, S.161, No.5 from “Années de pèlerinage, deuxième année:
Italie”
＋Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
22 Intermezzo, Op.117, No.1
23 Intermezzo, Op.118, No.1
24 Intermezzo, Op.118, No.2
25 Intermezzo, Op.119, No.1
Total Time: 67:45
JUDY HUNG
Pianos: ~Broadwood (London, 1823), ＊Graf (Vienna, 1826) & ＋Erard (London, 1866). The Richard Burnett Collection of Historical Keyboard Instruments, Finchcocks Charity, UK.
Recording: Resonus Classics (UK). March 2023. © Judy Hung Music (https://judyhungmusic.com/)
Album Graphics: Chia Wei Hu
Album Cover Photography: Claudia Romero-Dneprovski; www.crdphoto.com
This recording project is made possible thanks to the financial support of the ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation, the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec, he MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, as part of the Montérégie-Ouest Territorial Partnership, and Canada Council for the Arts.
