News
	Wu Qian's debut CD 'Schumann, Prior, Liszt' is now available to purchase as a special pre release from the Dal Segno online shop for only £12.99.
Gramophone Magazine September 2009 Wu Qian - Schumann, Prior, Liszt (DSPRCD041) “Her fiery attack of Kreisleriana’s fugue and the work’s wraith-like ending are splendidly realised.” BBC Music Magazine May 2009 Wu Qian - Schumann, Prior, Liszt (DSPRCD041) “This, her first recording, shows huge promise. Qian responds to Shumann’s imagination in Kreisleriana with rare poise and an engaging spirit, drawing the listener in” The Times 2nd May 2009 Wu Qian - Schumann, Prior, Liszt (DSPRCD041) "The Chinese pianist starts her first recital disc with a confidently, unmannered reading of Schumann’s Kreisleriana.” International Piano Magazine Review May/June 2009 Wu Qian - Schumann, Prior, Liszt (DSPRCD041) “Yet another young female Chinese pianist of dazzling talent? The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is that she may prove to be the best yet. Certainly if this debut recording of Shumann’s Kreisleriana with Dal Segno is anything to go by. Wu Qian combines fearlessness with technical finesse and a remarkably intuitive sense of timing....A daunting task, in other words, for any pianist, but Wu Qian trusts to her instincts and the results are quite simply flawless. The second movement is a particular triumph.”
The Observer Review 19th April 2009 Wu Qian - Schumann, Prior, Liszt (DSPRCD041) “The young Chinese virtuoso Wu Qian captures the violently opposing nature of Schumann’s manic depression perfectly here and continues this idea of two states of mind with Alexander Prior’s epic new work Svyatogor’s Quest. Wu Qian laps up this demanding piece before recing through Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 with the same abandon. Exhilarating Stuff.”
Wu Qian features as Rising star in BBC Music Magazine's April 2009 issue. Read BBC Music Magazine article...
January 2009 Dal Segno signs pianist Wu Qian Dal Segno Records is delighted to announce the signing of the pianist Wu Qian who will be making her debut recording to be released early in 2009. The programme will be Schumann’s Kreisleriana Opus 16, Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 and Petrarch Sonnet 104 and finally Svyatogor’s Quest by Alexander Prior who dedicated this work to Qian. Qian was born in Shanghai in 1984 and started learning the piano at the age of six. By nine she was a star of the Shanghai Conservatory and was practising seven hours a day and playing the daunting Chopin Etudes. At the age of eleven she was spotted by a visiting British professor and Qian auditioned and won a scholarship to the Menuhin School, where she spent five years before progressing to the Royal Academy of Music. She made her Royal Festival Hall debut in 1999 and her Wigmore Hall debut in 2003. She tours regularly throughout Britain and Germany and has received many accolades for her stunning performances. Qian was nominated as the classical musician in The Independent December 2006 article on The Rising Stars of 2007. ‘Her Albeniz was richly coloured, her Rachmaninov majestic and her Schumann encore had a dreamy lyricism. If I had listened blind, I’d have said it was a male Western virtuoso.’ ‘She plays Liszt, Schumann and Prokofiev with rare distinction.’ Michael Church – The Independent
Evening Standard (19/12/08) BEST ALBUMS OF 2008 PIANO ROLL RECORDINGS: TCHAIKOVSKY AND GRIEG (DSPRCD 035) A disc that came my way this year - though these are 1992 recordings of early piano rolls is this one of Tchaikovsky and Grieg items played by Percy Grainger, Horowitz, Cherkassky and Gabrilowitsch. Grainger's sublimely subjective reading of Erotik (from the Lyric Pieces) is worth the price of the disc alone. Barry Millington Tchaikovsky and Grieg – The Piano Roll Recordings (DSPRCD035) “Insightful and affectionate performances of the rarely heard Norwegian Folk Song arrangements of Grieg are a particular delight here. Grainger’s Tchaikovsky is equally discerning.” Performance **** Recording *** BBC Music Magazine Review The Great Pianists Vol.8 – Artur Rubinstein (DSPRCD024) “Rubinstein’s charismatic personality shines through this programme, ranging from a bristling Prokofiev Suggestion Diabolique and an ecstatic Debussy L’isle joyeuse, to authoritative Brahms, Chopin and Spanish works.” Performance ***** Recording *** BBC Music Magazine Review The Great Pianists Vol.7 – Vladimir Horowitz (DSPRCD023) “The tour de force in this programme of piano rolls comes in the fast sections of Tchaikovsky’s Dumka and the Bizet Carmen Variations, both of which Horowitz dispatches at superhuman speed.”