Guy Johnston’s recording of Ye Cello Concerto reviewed

Guy Johnston recorded Xiaogang Ye’s cello concerto “My Faraway Nanjing” with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Dane Lam on ‘The Backyard of the Village’ album, recently released on Signum Records. The album has received 4* reviews in both BBC Music Magazine and

BBC Music Magazine

“Ye’s com­pos­i­tion is at its strongest when it embraces darker musical col­ours, as heard in My Faraway Nanjing, a cello con­certo com­mem­or­at­ing the vic­tims of the 1937 Nanjing Mas­sacre. Guy John­ston gives a bravura per­form­ance, while the Royal Liv­er­pool Phil­har­monic Orches­tra is on fine form, con­jur­ing a great depth of sound.”

Limelight:

“Guy Johnston’s cello moves through the darkened orchestral textures like a single figure in a Käthe Kollwitz charcoal – isolated, exposed, stubbornly human. The work’s closing gesture, an attenuated cello shriek followed by percussion blows of almost physical brutality, ranks among the most devastating pages in recent Chinese orchestral music.”

Read the full review:
limelight-arts.com.au/reviews/xiaogang-ye-the-backyard-of-the-village-royal-liverpool-philharmonic-orchestra-dane-lam

More information on the album can be found here:
prestomusic.com/classical/products/9843808–the-backyard-of-the-village-orchestral-works-by-xiaogang-ye