Move Records Australian classical & art music, est. 1968
Front cover art for Cutetudes

Cutetudes

Cutetudes (‘cute’ + ‘études’) is a set of twenty short, classically related and humorous piano pieces Julian Yu wrote on commission from pianist Ke Lin.

Ke Linpiano Julian Yucomposer
  • CatalogueMD 3419
  • Released30 Nov 2017
  • Playing time63 minutes 33 seconds

Listen & tracks

4 of 29 tracks have a preview · 6 works · 63:33

  1. CutetudesJulian Yu 20 movements32:04
    1. 1 Condensed Prelude :55
    2. 2 Two Swans Under Two Moons 2:42
    3. 3 Compound Tragedy 2:36
    4. 4 A Phone Call to Mozart :42
    5. 5 What for Elise? 2:30
    6. 6 Finished Symphony 1:23
    7. 7 Czernissimo 1:10
    8. 8 Why are Butterflies Sad? 1:52
    9. 9 Folk Tune on Bach :49
    10. 10 Interrupted Symphony 1:30
    11. 11 Dovetailed Interlude 1:08
    12. 12 Oriental Canon 2:53
    13. 13 On Wings of Stars 1:15
    14. 14 Harmonic Phrases at an Exhibition 3:16
    15. 15 God Save Hanon :47
    16. 16 Hanonica :50
    17. 17 Paganini and the Hundred Birds 1:15
    18. 18 Rondo alla Twinka 1:19
    19. 19 Caterpoint :52
    20. 20 To Comrade Shostakovich 2:20
  2. 21 Impromptu Julian Yu 3:43
  3. 22 China Rhapsody Julian Yu 10:15
  4. 23 The Happy Couple Returns Home Julian Yu 3:58
  5. Pictures at an ExhibitionModest Mussorgsky 2 movements8:25
    1. 24 Promenade 1:56
    2. 25 The Great Gate 6:29
  6. 26 Music for Symphony Orchestra Yasushi Akutagawa 5:08

The set takes its name from a blend of English “cute” and French “étude”. Each miniature teases a familiar classical idea – a condensed Bach prelude, a phone call into Mozart, Hanon saved by the national anthem – while folding in Chinese tunes and textures.

Longer pieces follow: Impromptu, worked up from a 1981 piano improvisation; the virtuoso China Rhapsody, built entirely from Chinese song and instrumental material; and The Happy Couple Returns Home, spun from a Huangmei-opera aria in pure arpeggios.

Two movements from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition appear in Yu’s oriental piano version, with zither-like figuration. The programme closes with his arrangement of a rondo movement from Yasushi Akutagawa’s Music for Symphony Orchestra.

In the artist’s words

I first met Ke Lin in 2012. He was the pianist accompanying a Chinese cultural school orchestra on their tour to China, and in those concerts he performed my piano pieces China Rhapsody and Impromptu brilliantly. His friendly nature, immense talent and generous appreciation of my music ensured that we became good friends. His innate musical understanding, passion, dedication, enthusiasm and virtuosity all indicated that he should be a successful concert pianist, so I was amazed to discover that he has a very demanding day job (as an actuary) and practices the piano after hours while also caring for his family. He is a man of remarkable gifts.

Two years after his first child, Lia, was born, Ke commissioned me to write a set of piano pieces for her to learn when she was a little older. The result was the Cutetudes (‘cute’ + ‘études’), a set of classically-related, humorous pieces. After that, I sent him a few of my other pieces for piano, and the idea for this CD was born.

— Julian Yu

As an actuary working in the life insurance industry, I appreciate the importance of luck in our everyday life, and luck is exactly what got me involved in this project with Dr Julian Yu, whose music I deeply love.

Many years ago, I bought an interesting album called For Children on the MDG label which comprised piano music composed by a number of leading contemporary composers including Kurtág and Gubaidulina. I was hoping to introduce these pieces to my daughter Lia to raise her interest in piano music from an early age. Unfortunately, this idea was quickly abandoned after I listened to the album myself. The music sounded far too complex and dissonant for a young child!

About a year later, I was invited to perform Julian’s virtuoso tour de force China Rhapsody at the 20th anniversary concert for the Xin Jin Shan Chinese Cultural School. At the same concert, the New Goldberg Orchestra (NGO), which is comprised of students of the Chinese school, also performed Julian’s Xin Jin Shan Symphonic Poem, commissioned specifically for this event. I immediately fell in love with this extraordinary work, especially the children’s chorus which brought back many fond memories of my childhood. Julian later revealed to me that the chorus section was actually based on a very popular school song that I knew when I was young. However, the melody has been intentionally turned upside down to disguise its origin.

After the success of this concert, Julian and the NGO were invited to perform at the Shanghai International Summer Music Festival. I was fortunate enough to join the orchestra on this trip, pretending to be a harpist. As there were insufficient items on the program for the orchestra, I also got the opportunity to perform a number of solo piano pieces including an early work by Julian called Impromptu.

Impromptu is a highly sophisticated work published by Universal Edition in Austria, one of the most important publishers of contemporary classical music. The style of this work couldn’t be more different from the Symphonic Poem or China Rhapsody; it is full of dissonances and irregular rhythms! Not surprisingly, it reminded me of the album For Children. As Julian could write music in a diverse range of styles, I secretly hoped that he could one day compose some simple piano works that were both contemporary in style and, at the same time, accessible to children. The only problem was that I did not know how to ask him.

The China trip gave me the perfect opportunity to share my idea with Julian and, to my astonishment, he was very enthusiastic about it. He started working on it immediately. The original plan was to compose 10 pieces, but inspiration kept coming to him so that he ended up composing 20 pieces altogether! The title Cutetudes was Julian’s idea and it is a portmanteau, blending the English word ‘cute’ with the French word ‘étude’, which means study.

I can’t thank Julian enough for these wonderful creations. They are little gems, and I enjoy playing them immensely. Lia, who is now six and half years old, has also started to learn piano. She really enjoys hearing me practicing these pieces every morning before I go to work, and her favourite piece from Cutetudes is called “Two Swans under Two Moons”.

— Ke Lin

Artists

Photograph of Ke Lin

Ke Lin

piano

Ke Lin was born in Shanghai and started learning the piano at age 3. However, his interest in playing piano only began at age 12 after hearing a recording of Chopin’s ‘Fantaisie Impromptu’.

 Photograph of Julian Yu

Julian Yu

composer

Julian Yu is a multi-award-winning Australian composer whose musical language is imbued with elegance and expressiveness, both enhanced by impeccable craft and a special attention to detail.

 Photograph of Modest Mussorgsky

Modest Mussorgsky

composer

Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period, celebrated for a boldly national voice that stood apart from Western convention. His music turns repeatedly to Russian history, folklore and the vivid colour of everyday speech.

 No photograph: Yasushi Akutagawa

Yasushi Akutagawa

composer

Digital booklet

Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDF

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Compact disc

Buywell Music Australian Music Centre

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Performers

Details

List price
$25.00 AUD
Total playing time
63 minutes 33 seconds
Release date
Categories
Classical, Keyboard
Genres
Contemporary Classical, World & Cross-cultural
Musical work copyright
© 2017 Move Records
Sound recording copyright
℗ 2017 Move Records
Catalogue
MD 3419
EAN
9314574341928

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