Grieg: Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 7; Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46; Ballade in G minor, Op. 24; Scenes of Country life, Op. 19 Sheng Cai

• Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907): Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7:
• 1 Grieg: Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7: I. Allegro moderato 04:21
• 2 Grieg: Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7: II. Andante molto 04:12
• 3 Grieg: Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7: III. Alla Menuetto, ma poco più lento 03:12
• 4 Grieg: Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7: IV. Finale: Molto allegro 06:02
• Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (trans pour piano):
• 5 Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (trans pour piano): I. Morning Mood 04:20
• 6 Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (trans pour piano): II. The Death of Aase 03:42
• 7 Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (trans pour piano): III. Anitra's Dance 03:27
• 8 Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (trans pour piano): IV. In The Hall Of The Mountain King 02:04
• Ballade in G minor, Op.24:
• 9 Grieg: Ballade in G minor, Op.24 17:55
• Scenes of Country Life, Op. 19:_
• 10 Grieg: Scenes of Country Life, Op. 19: I. In The Mountains 05:09
• 11 Grieg: Scenes of Country Life, Op. 19: II. Bridal Procession 03:46
• 12 Grieg: Scenes of Country Life, Op. 19: III. From The Carnival 06:39
• Total Runtime 01:04:49

Info for Grieg: Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 7; Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46; Ballade in G minor, Op. 24; Scenes of Country life, Op. 19

Pianist Sheng Cai devotes his latest recording to piano works by Edvard Grieg, Norway's most famous composer. At the age of 22, Grieg wrote his only Piano Sonata, Op. 7, dedicated to his teacher, the influential Danish composer Niels Gade. The piano arrangement of Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46 is recorded here in a piano transcription by Grieg and by the Russian pianist Grigori Guinzburg (1904-1961).

The Ballade in G minor, Op. 24 was composed during the winter of 1875-1876. Unlike Chopin's large narrative Ballades, Grieg's Ballade is a theme followed by 14 variations on a Norwegian mountain melody. Completed in 1881, Three Scenes of Folk Life Op. 19 form a triptych that combines melodies and rhythms inspired by Norwegian music.

Born in China, Sheng Cai studied at Shanghai Conservatory of Music and was a top prize winner at the 1998 National Competition. The following year, his family immigrated to Canada where he began studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He earned his Bachelor of Music Degree under full scholarship at New England Conservatory in Boston. His most important teachers include legendary pianists Anton Kuerti and Russell Sherman.

Sheng Cai, piano

Sheng Cai
Twenty-eight year old award-winning pianist, Sheng Cai has embraced the keyboard tradition which epitomizes the greatness of the romantic virtuoso. His performances have touched audiences and won the praise of critics on three continents. Of his Chopin 1st piano Concerto the Toronto Star headlined:"Young pianist impresses at debut" and continued "a young man with real talent... from a clear, singing tone to a subtle sense of rubato to a judicious choice of tempi... some of the same quantities embodied in Pollini's approach". Honored with a number of prizes and awards, Sheng Cai has been described as a pianist" with great confidence... gave more lucidity, color and power" by the Birmingham News.

Since his debut with the Toronto Symphony at just fifteen years old, Sheng Cai has since performed a broad spectrum of concerto repertoire --- Bartok, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Gershwin,Grieg,Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff,Saint-Saens, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky with numerous orchestras as guest soloist such as Toronto Symphony, Quebec Symphony,Windsor Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, New Bedford Symphony and Shanghai Sympnony,as well as with the Calgary Philharmonic,Ontario Philharmonic. Jalisco Philharmonic of Mexico and many others. In Canada, Sheng Cai has also performed with numerous regional orchestra such Sudbury, Kingston and Kamloops Symphonies, and with the Winnipeg Symphony Chamber Players, among others. He has worked with conductors such as David Lockington, Keith Lockhart, Yoav Talmi, Glen Fast, Robert Franz. Bruce Dunn, Guoyong Zhang, Wes Kenny, Marco Parisotto and Eckart Preu.

In recitals, Sheng Cai has been heard in such North American venues such Stainway Hall in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, the Cleveland Play House, the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, the Alys Stephens Center in Birmingham, CBC's Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, and other distinguished venue in Stratford,Elora,Montreal and Winnipeg. In China, he inaugurated the Ningbo Concert Hall, giving both recitals and concerto performances. As a chamber musician, Sheng Cai has collaborated with a number of fine artists, including the Enso Quartet. Many of his performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio, and he has recorded a CD for the Canadian Broadcast Company. In addition, he was invited to take part in the filming of Franz Liszt DVD of Ophra Yerushalmi.

Sheng Cai also recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio for Concertino Praga International Competition in the Czech Republic, these were released under Canadian Broadcasting Company label. He was top-prize winner at competitions throughout his teenage years, including the First Prize at the TD bank sponsored National Piano Competition, the Canadian Music Competition,Toronto Music Competition, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Piano competition, Toronto Symphony Piano Competition, and was the youngest finalist and special prize winner at the Bosendorfer International Piano Competition and the youngest finalist at Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

Sheng Cai is instrumental in advocating many neglected works that are peaks of the piano literature, works by composers such as Busoni, Enescu, Kablevsky, Medtner, Villa-Lobos and a number of his own works frequently shows up on his concert programs, his creative programming have made audience aware of such treasures of the piano literature deserves a wider audience.

Born in China, Sheng studied at Shanghai conservatory of Music and was a top-prize winner of the National Competition in 1998.The following year, his family immigrated to Canada where he began study at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Sheng Cai earned his Bachelor of Music Degree under full scholarship at New England Conservatory in Boston. His teachers have included pianist Anton Kuerti,Russell Sherman and Hungkuan Chen.

Booklet for Grieg: Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 7; Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46; Ballade in G minor, Op. 24; Scenes of Country life, Op. 19