Description
Chamber music, as the cornerstone of Western classical music, has held a significant position in the history of music since its emergence in the 16th century. This book focuses on the crucial field of piano chamber music, taking the classic ensemble works of piano with string and wind instruments as the core research objects, and systematically sorts out the artistic development of Western piano chamber music.
In the academic research field, music conservatories in Europe and America have long made chamber music a compulsory course, and the theoretical achievements are abundant. In contrast, although there has been a “chamber music craze” in China this century, it is still in the initial stage in terms of academic accumulation and research results, and there is no specialized work on Western piano chamber music. The publication of this book fills this gap and has pioneering significance.
The book is well-structured, consisting of an introduction and five main chapters. The introduction clarifies the concepts, characteristics, origin, and development of chamber music and piano chamber music. The following five chapters delve into keyboard chamber music in the Baroque period, as well as piano chamber music in the Classical, Romantic, Nationalist, and 20th-century periods. The book selects representative works of composers from each period, deeply analyzes their aesthetic qualities and artistic connotations, and sketches a clear development trajectory of Western piano chamber music for readers. It is an excellent research and learning resource for music professionals and enthusiasts.
About author
Sheng Yue, a young pianist based in the United States, holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and is a young teacher at the School of Music of Soochow University. She graduated from the Piano Department of the Central Conservatory of Music in 2012, under the tutelage of Professor Tan Xiaotang. Later, she went to Boston University in the United States to study under Professor Anthony di Bonaventura and pursue a DMA in piano performance. In 2019, she was recruited as an outstanding young scholar by Soochow University and has been teaching at the Piano Department of the School of Music ever since.
Sheng Yue has extensive performance experience. As a soloist, she has performed on important stages such as the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Lincoln Center in New York, Harvard University, the Ravel Conservatory in Paris, the Braine l’Alleud Music Festival in Belgium, the Virtuoso & Belcanto Music Festival in Italy, and the Shanghai Contemporary Music Festival. She has collaborated with many conductors and symphony orchestras. After returning to China, in 2020, she performed with renowned conductor Xu Zhong and the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra at the closing concert of the “Hot Beethoven” season, receiving unanimous praise.
Since returning to teaching, Sheng Yue has served as a judge in many important competitions, including the Singapore International Piano Competition, the China Youth Hummingbird Music Award, and the Steinway National Youth Piano Competition. She has been the chair of the judging panel for the Suzhou region of the Singapore International Piano Competition for three consecutive years and has been invited to serve as a judge for the 2024 Ailove Wason International Piano Art Festival’s finals.
In 2024, her personal album “Chinese Melody – Sheng Yue’s Piano Solo Album” was released by People’s Music Publishing House. The album features the world premiere recording of the full piece of “Chinese Melody” by renowned contemporary composer Professor Zhang Chao, and she has also published a research paper on the work in the journal “Chinese Musicology”. The magazine “Personality Wisdom” conducted a personal interview with her, and Professor Zhang Chao praised her performance as “perfectly embodying the unique abstract beauty of Chinese culture.”
