"Liszt is one of the most important pianists and composers in the history of music, and I have curated and produced this album as a tribute to Liszt with his 'Traveling Years' at the core." via Universal Music's Decca Factory Card, pianist Zuo Zhang recently released his second solo piano album "Traveling Years". 
Zuo Zhang selected one of his favorite masterpieces from each episode of Liszt's Traveling Years, which deeply influenced the musicians of the time and later. She also subtly links the works of Wagner, Schoenberg, Ravel, Planck and other composers to present a new version of "Traveling Years".
"In the beginning, it can take everyone into a very dark world, all the way down, and finally a crazy dance, a happy ending, starting from a heavy start and ending with a happy ending." Zuo Zhang introduced.
Because he was busy performing at home and abroad, Zuo Zhang often lived a fast-paced life of one city a day, one country for two weeks, and one continent for three weeks. Due to the epidemic, she stayed in China for a long time, and she also had more opportunities to slow down and think about her life and music journey. "Traveling Years" was born under such an opportunity.
In July 2021, Zuo Zhang recorded "Traveling Years" in the performance hall of Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall. Recording in the concert hall gave her a stronger sense of presence, and there would be unexpected situations, such as sudden strong rainstorms.
"The process of recording is a test of physical strength and concentration. People's state will be ups and downs. This rain is especially magical. It happened to be when I was tired." Zuo Zhang remembered that the concert hall was very quiet, and you could hear the rain beeps. Tick, everyone stopped for three hours. "Although the recording was forced to be interrupted, we used this time to discuss many details of the recording. It was a very interesting episode."
The tracks in the album have also become the repertoire of Zuo Zhang's tour in Asia and Europe. In August 2021, Zuo Zhang appeared at the Lucerne Music Festival and held a piano solo concert. That year, the theme of the music festival was "Crazy" (crazy), and Zuo Zhang performed some of the "crazy" tracks in the album, which is similar to the theme of the music festival.
In addition to being a busy pianist, 34-year-old Zuo Zhang is also a new mother. The change of identity has also given her a different understanding of music and is more unfettered. "There may have been many rules and regulations in the past. It seems that my mother is more brave, and it can be seen from the selection of the songs that she is very bold."
In March of this year, Zuo Zhang just finished her European and American tour. At the end of June, she will start again, starting from Shanghai, to perform in the United States.
She has always liked symphony, jazz, and string quartet. In the past few months of her "retreat" in Shanghai, she listened to a lot of musical works that she didn't know well before, and even fell in love with opera, and found that vocal music is also very interesting. .
"Players are like athletes, they must be in good health." To this end, Zuo Zhang will ensure adequate sleep for 8-10 hours a day, actively exercise, not eat junk food, and ensure a good physical state in order to maintain a high-intensity performance state. .
"Travel Years"
"Traveling Years" not only refers to the piano works of "Piano King" Liszt, but also can be understood as an unusual experience in the journey of life. Zuo Zhang borrows this concept and creates album tracks around Liszt's "Traveling Years" .Zuo Zhang selected one of his favorite masterpieces from each episode of Liszt's Traveling Years, which deeply influenced the musicians of the time and later. She also subtly links the works of Wagner, Schoenberg, Ravel, Planck and other composers to present a new version of "Traveling Years".
"In the beginning, it can take everyone into a very dark world, all the way down, and finally a crazy dance, a happy ending, starting from a heavy start and ending with a happy ending." Zuo Zhang introduced.
Because he was busy performing at home and abroad, Zuo Zhang often lived a fast-paced life of one city a day, one country for two weeks, and one continent for three weeks. Due to the epidemic, she stayed in China for a long time, and she also had more opportunities to slow down and think about her life and music journey. "Traveling Years" was born under such an opportunity.In July 2021, Zuo Zhang recorded "Traveling Years" in the performance hall of Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall. Recording in the concert hall gave her a stronger sense of presence, and there would be unexpected situations, such as sudden strong rainstorms.
"The process of recording is a test of physical strength and concentration. People's state will be ups and downs. This rain is especially magical. It happened to be when I was tired." Zuo Zhang remembered that the concert hall was very quiet, and you could hear the rain beeps. Tick, everyone stopped for three hours. "Although the recording was forced to be interrupted, we used this time to discuss many details of the recording. It was a very interesting episode."
The tracks in the album have also become the repertoire of Zuo Zhang's tour in Asia and Europe. In August 2021, Zuo Zhang appeared at the Lucerne Music Festival and held a piano solo concert. That year, the theme of the music festival was "Crazy" (crazy), and Zuo Zhang performed some of the "crazy" tracks in the album, which is similar to the theme of the music festival.
In addition to being a busy pianist, 34-year-old Zuo Zhang is also a new mother. The change of identity has also given her a different understanding of music and is more unfettered. "There may have been many rules and regulations in the past. It seems that my mother is more brave, and it can be seen from the selection of the songs that she is very bold."In March of this year, Zuo Zhang just finished her European and American tour. At the end of June, she will start again, starting from Shanghai, to perform in the United States.
She has always liked symphony, jazz, and string quartet. In the past few months of her "retreat" in Shanghai, she listened to a lot of musical works that she didn't know well before, and even fell in love with opera, and found that vocal music is also very interesting. .
"Players are like athletes, they must be in good health." To this end, Zuo Zhang will ensure adequate sleep for 8-10 hours a day, actively exercise, not eat junk food, and ensure a good physical state in order to maintain a high-intensity performance state. .
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