Powder snow. Sledding. Snow flurries. The phenomenon of snow fascinates young and old. In this collection of classical piano miniatures, pianist Shoko Kuroe transports us to an enchanted winter landscape.
And not, as one might expect, with the now sometimes kitschy evergreens of Christmas literature, but with a varied, captivating program of carefully selected and superbly performed pieces from various eras of music history. Romantic works by Schumann and Tchaikovsky stand alongside contemporary pieces by Gubaidulina and Vasks. Non-European countries such as Australia and Japan are also represented.
Shoko Kuroe takes us on an exciting journey through a winter we all wish and dream of. With virtuosity, sensitivity, and—with snow.
"The dramatic composition of their arrangement is clever, not overtaxing the children's concentration and stamina. Particularly charming are the floating "Tropical Fish" by Akira Yuyama, highly acclaimed in Japan for his children's songs, and his homage to Japanese sugar crystal candies entitled "Confetti from Okashi-no-Sekai."
Helmut Peters, fonoforum 03/08
(about CD "Elise in Wonderland")
"Excellently performed by Hamburg-based pianist Shoko Kuroe..."
Märkische Oderzeitung 14.10.2019
"Shoko Kuroe, a Japanese-born pianist living in Hamburg, performed the "Moonlight Sonata," one of Beethoven's most popular piano works during his lifetime, with the necessary emotions—calm and solemn in the first movement, lively in the second, for a highly dramatic finale—rapid, impetuous, and incredibly virtuosic."
Elbe-Jeetzel Newspaper, October 1.10.2019, XNUMX
01 Snowflakes Op. 57 No. 2
02 Sleighbells in the Snow
03 Sleigh with Little Bells
04 The First Snow Op. 11b No. 5
05 Sledge H. 167 No. 1
06 The Snow is Dancing
07 Footsteps in the Snow
08 The Snows of Fuji-Yama
09 Winter Storms Op. 12 No. 5
10 Winter Time I Op. 68 No. 38
11 Midwinter Op. 62. No. 3
12 Etude Op. 1 No. 12
