China Daily Global Edition (USA)
A medley of emotions
The notable new recording from pianist Gina Alice Redlinger reflects the life-changing experiences of motherhood, her high-profile marriage and moving to China, Chen Nan reports.
TI have been playing these pieces since I was a child. Every note has a meaning. I have tried to bring out my very true emotions in the moment.”
here are two concerts that pianist Gina Alice Redlinger will never forget. One is a concert she attended with her father in Berlin when she was 10 years old, where she saw Chinese pianist Lang Lang performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1. It was the first time that she saw a live performance of his and, 15 years later, they would be married.
The other is a concert held in her hometown of Wiesbaden, where Lang played Bach’s Goldberg Variations on March 1, 2020. The recital marked the first of many scheduled to be held throughout Europe, North America and Asia in support of Lang’s recording of the Bach piece.
After Redlinger and Lang tied the knot, punctuated with a wedding banquet at the Palace of Versailles in France in June 2019, she moved to China and has gained a significant fan base in the country as the wife of the famed pianist.
On Nov 5, Redlinger released her debut album, titled Wonderworld, with which she hopes to return to the role of a pianist in her own right.
Released by Deutsche Grammophon, the album features a compilation of 28 pieces, including classical, modern, Western, Chinese, jazz and movie tunes, reflecting the experience and life changes of the pianist after she moved to China, as a wife and became a new mother.
“I spent 14 days recording the pieces in Shanghai, which I selected myself. Each one has a story to tell and I am happy to share them with the listeners,” says Redlinger, adding that her husband, Lang, was with her every day during the recording. “He has lots of experience recording albums, which he shared with me,” she adds. Lang is also credited as the album’s producer.
“It’s the first time that I produced an album. I know that this album is meaningful for my wife,” says Lang. “She has been dedicated to taking care of the family after we got married. She is also a talented pianist.”
Unlike performing in concert halls, it was an intimate and intense experience playing those pieces in the studio, Redlinger notes.
“I have been playing these pieces since I was a child. Every note has a meaning. I have tried to bring out my very true emotions in the moment,” she says.
Tracks on the album include German composer Robert Schumann’s
Traumerei, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s
Prelude in D Major Op 23 No 4, Chopin’s Nocturne Op 9 No 2 and Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi’s
Merry-Go-Round of Life, one of the soundtracks of the animated fantasy film, Howl’s Moving Castle, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
The pianist also recorded one of her original pieces, titled Encore, for the new album, which she describes as delivering a sense of feeling — illusory and vague.
She says living in China has enriched her understanding of the country. Chinese music also inspires her. Redlinger has also included Chinese music, such as Ren Guang’s Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon, on the album.
“I have always had a deep affection for Chinese music, which is like watercolor painting, and after moving here, I traveled to many beautiful places and learned about
Chinese culture,” Redlinger says. “My husband plays Chinese music at home and he also told me lots of stories about it.”
She adds that next year, she plans to perform Yellow River Piano Concerto during her Chinese tour. The piano concerto was arranged in 1969 in a collaboration among Chinese musicians, including Yin Chengzong and Chu Wanghua, and is based on the Yellow River Cantata by Chinese composer Xian Xinghai.
The album closes with Lang and Redlinger’s four-handed performances of Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian
Dance No 5 and Waltz Op 39 No 15. The latter is dedicated to their son, who was born in January.
“Our son has already shown great interest in piano. Every time we play at home, he will search for the sound and come to us,” says Redlinger. “It’s not easy to keep a regular daily practice schedule, because being a mother means a lot of work taking care of the baby. However, becoming a mother has certainly helped me to better understand music.”
The pianist was born to a German father and a South Korean mother in Wiesbaden, Germany. She started to learn the piano when she was 4 years old and began giving public performances in Germany at the age of 8. She studied at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt and later became a student of renowned pianist Gary Graffman at Hamburg’s Academy of Music and Theater. After graduation, she played with several Chinese orchestras, including the Shenzhen Symphony and the Guangzhou Symphony.
Gina Alice Redlinger, pianist