Evening Conversations David Fung

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Fantasie in C Minor, KV 475
• 1Fantasia in C Minor, K. 47512:18
• Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849): Nocturne in C# Minor, Opus posth.
• 2Nocturne No. 20 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. posth.04:07
• Tan Dun, Eight Memories in Watercolor, Opus 1
• 3No. 1. Missing Moon02:06
• 4No. 2. Staccato Beans01:20
• 5No. 3. Herdboy's Song01:40
• 6No. 4. Blue Nun01:13
• 7No. 5. Red Wilderness02:11
• 8No. 6. Ancient Burial02:49
• 9No. 7. Floating Clouds02:01
• 10No. 8. Sunrain01:27
• Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943): Preludes 8-12, Opus 32
• 11No. 8 in A Minor: Vivo01:49
• 12No. 9 in A Major: Allegro moderato02:45
• 13No. 10 in B Minor: Lento05:35
• 14No. 11 in B Major: Allegretto02:33
• 15No. 12 in G-Sharp Minor: Allegro02:29
• Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Arabesque, Opus 18
• 16Arabeske in C Major, Op. 1806:44
• Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Kinderszenen, Opus 15
• 17No. 1. Von fremden Landern und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and People)01:46
• 18No. 2. Curiose Geschichte (A Strange Story)01:04
• 19No. 3. Hasche-Mann (Catch-as-catch-can)00:33
• 20No. 4. Bittendes Kind (Pleading Child)01:12
• 21No. 5. Gluckes genug (Happy Enough)01:06
• 22No. 6. Wichtige Begebenheit (An Important Event)00:53
• 23No. 7. Traumerei (Dreaming)02:51
• 24No. 8. Am Camin (By the Fire-side)01:03
• 25No. 9. Ritter vom Steckenpferd (Knight of the Hobby-horse)00:39
• 26No. 10. Fast zu ernst (Almost Too Serious)02:07
• 27No. 11. Furchtenmachen (Frightening)01:55
• 28No. 12. Kind im Einschlummern (Child Falling Asleep)02:19
• 29No. 13. Der Dichter spricht (The Poet Speaks)02:23
• Nocturne in C Minor, Opus posth.
• 30Nocturne No. 21 in C Minor, Op. posth.03:15
• Domenico Scarlatti, Sonata KP34/L7 (Minuet)
• 31Keyboard Sonata in D Minor, K.34/L.S 7/P.1501:36
• Sonata KP141/L422 (Toccata)
• 32Keyboard Sonata in D Minor, K.141/L.422/P.27101:56
• Sonata KP32/L423 (Aria)
• 33Keyboard Sonata in D Minor, K.32/L.423/P.1403:00
• Total Runtime01:22:45

Info for Evening Conversations

It is with great pleasure that Yarlung Records presents David Fung's second album, Evening Conversations, which was recorded on March 27th, 28th and 29th, 2006, in Zipper Hall in Los Angeles. For Evening Conversations, we chose two Neumann U-47 tube microphones, and used an intimate perspective for the microphone setup. We wanted the sound to complement this introspective repertoire. The performance is recorded directly to two tracks through specially-modified tube microphone preamplifiers and custom cables.

The eighteenth-century…was an age of conversation. And music, modeled on this principal pastime, was a medium for wit, sentiment, and rhetorical flourish. Mozart's Fantasy and Scarlatti's sonatas, which bracket this recital by David Fung, remind us why the keyboard was considered such an ideal vehicle for a composer's flights of fancy.

„In the age of compressed digital downloads, it is refreshing to hear real sound and real music again, reminiscent of RCA Living Stereo in its golden age, or Mercury Records at its height. Yarlung's sound is liquid and transparent, just as if you were sitting in the concert halls with superb acoustics, where these recordings are made.“ (Mori Shima, Stereo Sound)

„…Like Schumann and Scarlatti, Chopin, Mozart, and Rachmaninov before him, Tan Dun was learning to master the secret of the miniature - a compositional form he has likened both to zen calligraphy and to the watercolor: 'capturing essences with the minimum of gesture.' This is a fitting epigraph for this collection of short pieces, jewels of the composer's craft and worthy tests of a performer's taste and skill.“ (Christopher Hailey, Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey)

„It is always rewarding to work with an artist like David, whose musical interpretations are rich and fresh without being eccentric, and always completely sincere.“ (Bob Attiyeh, producer)

David Fung, piano

David Fung
Described as “stylish and articulate” in the New York Times and praised as having “undoubted talent” by the Los Angeles Times, pianist David Fung is widely recognized for playing that is elegant and refined, yet deeply poetic and intensely expressive. In recent seasons, Mr. Fung has appeared as guest soloist with all the major orchestras in his native Australia, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and internationally with ensembles including the Israel Camerata Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra.

A frequent guest artist of concert series and festivals throughout the world, Mr. Fung has performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, Bari International Music Festival in Italy, Edinburgh International Festival, Music at Menlo in California, Ravinia Festival, and in New York's Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall, Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall and Royce Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, Scotland's Queen’s Hall, Belgium's La Monnaie, Toronto's Glenn Gould Studio, the Sydney Opera House, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the National Concert Hall in Taiwan, and Israel's Mann Auditorium. At his Edinburgh International Festival debut, Jonas Green of the Edinburgh Guide described Mr. Fung as being “impossibly virtuosic, prodigiously talented... and probably [doing] ten more impossible things daily before breakfast.”

Highlights of the 13/14 season include performances of Brahms Second Piano Concerto with Marin Alsop and the National Orchestra of Belgium, the West Coast Premiere of Chen Qigang’s Piano Concerto “Er Huang” with Lan Shui and the San Francisco Symphony, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major with Michael Hofstetter and the Royal Chamber Orchestra as well as with Edwin Outwater and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major with James Feddeck and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Other highlights include a tour in Taiwan of Beethoven’s late piano works, and return invitations to perform solo recitals at the Ravinia Festival, the Atlantic Music Festival, and multiple concerts at the Bari International Music Festival in Italy where he returns as Artistic Director for the third year.

The Bari International Music Festival enjoys a reputation as one of the most important chamber music festivals in the south of Italy. Since joining the festival in 2010, Mr. Fung’s innovative programming has led to sold-out performances in the festival series, which takes place in the one thousand year-old Vallisa. The Corriere del Mezzogiorno has praised the festival for “spreading an infectious love of classical music throughout the city of Bari” while “attracting large numbers of younger audiences to its concert series.”

Mr. Fung’s debut album with Yarlung Records linked the virtuosity in the piano music of Liszt and Ravel: Liszt’s Sonata in B minor and Les jeux d’eau à la villa d’Este, with Ravel’s Jeux d’Eau and La Valse. His second album with Yarlung, Evening Conversations, featured a solo recital of intimate works by composers ranging from Mozart to Tan Dun. Evening Conversations was praised as “an overall favorite” by James Harrington in the American Record Guide and was named one of the Top 10 Recordings of 2011 by Linn Records. As a chamber musician, Mr. Fung has recorded the complete violin and piano works of American composer Lawrence Dillon with violinist Danielle Belen (Naxos) and partnered with Canadian ‘cellist Elinor Frey in her album Dialoghi (Yarlung).

A winner of the most prestigious national and international awards, Mr. Fung garnered international attention as a top prizewinner of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Brussels and the Arthur Rubinstein Piano International Masters Competition in Tel Aviv, where he was further distinguished by prizes for Best Mozart Concerto and Best Performance of Chamber Music. Mr. Fung was the Grand Prize winner of Australia’s most important music prize, the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year Award.

Mr. Fung was the first pianist to graduate from the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles and is an official Steinway Artist.

Booklet for Evening Conversations