Racimo con Brio: Triangle in for a Treat this Week
by Victoria Racimo, Williamsburg Yorktown Daily (09/10/09)
Two exceptional, virtuosic musical artists come to town this week. One born and bred in Richmond, VA, the other born and bred in Shanghai, China. One a tenor, the other a pianist. One male, the other female. Yet, the differences fell away after my recent conversations with William Ferguson and Xiayin (Sha-een) Wang.
I discovered these two outstanding artists share very similar approaches to their music. They both said it’s not about how well one performs repertoire or a work, be it large and demanding or intimate and small. It’s not about how beautifully you sing an aria or how well you play the notes. While those attributes are important, what matters most is how well you communicate your direct personal connection to your music and how compelling your musical artistic expression is to an audience. Then it comes down to how well they connect with their audience in performance. Music becomes both message and messenger.
Xiayin (Sha-een) Wang loves color. As with a painter and their subject matter, Ms. Wang carefully chooses her musical palette. Too much red in a Ravel might overpower the inner voices that she looks for. Too much blue in a Haydn might not allow the warm hues and tender lines to show through.
Ms. Wang stated that "I need to know myself, what kind of performer I am – I try to be very individual, have a personality in the music. I have something to say that someone else may not have. One must make their own definition of the music they play – they must have an understanding of what they’re playing."
When she approaches her music, she wants her audience to experience "…an inner feeling of me – of something that I do in detail that maybe no one else has done. I want an audience to hear what comes from my heart in the music I play. It has to be truthful. I look for the certain something that I, as a performer, have with a certain composer. Then hopefully the audience will get that same kind of connection.”
Ms. Wang returns to the Kimball Theatre on Wednesday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. in a varied and exciting program featuring, HAYDN – Sonata No. 52, E Flat Major, DEBUSSY – “L'isle Joyeuse”, SCRIABIN – Waltz Op. 38, RAVEL – “Gaspard de la Nuit: Scarbo”, BACH-MARCELLO – Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974, CHOPIN – Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor (Op. 4). It’s a large and grand program – colorful to be sure. Visit Ms. Wang's Web site or call 1-800-HISTORY for tickets. Ms. Wang will also be presiding over a Piano Forum at The College of William and Mary, Room 154, Ewell Hall, at noon Wed., September 16. Open and free to the public.
As with Mr. Ferguson, Ms. Wang has racked up impressive credentials, three Carnegie Hall performances, a rave NY Times review, three outstanding CD releases, two on the Marquis label and the recently released Naxos CD, “Scriabin Piano Works,” which made Billboard four weeks in a row. She continues to win the hearts of audiences wherever she performs.
Besides a resume that boasts critically acclaimed performances in some of the world’s most important opera houses, Mr. Ferguson regularly performs in recital. He likes to create programs with a theme, a thru-line. He finds this aspect entertaining for an audience as well as educational. He chooses repertoire that’s half in English with a mix of one to two other languages. He loves to dig for American material.
“No song is safe,” he laughed. I asked if he programs for his audience. He said, “Not usually. A recital should play in Clarkesville, Tennessee as well as Chicago or New York - if a program is put together with thought and care and I’m passionate about what I’m presenting, then geography is rarely a deciding factor. For me, what matters is how well I engage the audience – how relevant I can make my music.”
He runs the gamut with his choices. He will do a Woody Guthrie song on the same program with a Shubert, a Copland or a Gershwin. What’s important to him is that the songs he chooses have a connection to each other. By selecting particular songs for a program with an underlying theme or purpose presents a fresh point of view to the listener. He strives to make the words and music come alive for the first time listener as well as the 101st time listener.
He said that “All people need to be sung to – something primal in that experience, in an unamplified, natural voice - from a gentle baby’s lullaby to a Puccini aria exploding out of the chest. How do we let people know they need that?”
This Sunday, the Williamsburg Symphonia League’s presents “A Concert Afternoon” from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Kingsmill home of Dr. & Mrs. James Carty in Williamsburg. You will have a chance to hear some of the music Mr. Ferguson is passionate about. He is giving this performance as a benefit for the Williamsburg Symphonia.
The program is eclectic and includes: THEODORE CHANDLER, “I Rise When You Enter”, EDOUARD LALO, “Vainemant, ma bien-aimée”, FRANZ SCHUBERT, “Die Forelle Frühlingsglaube,” AARON COPLAND, “The Dodger,” “Simple Gifts,” GEORGE GERSHWIN, “Our Love is Here To Stay,” “They Can't Take That Away,” “Somebody Loves Me.” For tickets call 757-229-0640. Click here for more information about William Ferguson.
What drives these two young and accomplished musical artists is what drives any sincere and dedicated artist – namely, the chance to express their soul whether in music, painting, poetry, or pottery. Up close and personal, this week.
Please note: This is not a disclaimer but rather a disclosure. Mr. Ferguson and I share several mutual close friends in the opera world. As for Ms. Wang, my company, Palomino Entertainment Group, manages her career.