As the seasons change in earnest in November, Classic 107 has chosen the perfect soundtrack to accompany change: The Seasons. Released by Deutsche Grammophone, the album features the piano cycle by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky of the same name, recorded by the superstar Montreal pianist Bruce Liu.
Liu first rose to fame back in 2021 when he won the prestigious International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, and has already recorded an excellent album of French music called Waves. For this record, however, Liu chose something a little bit more understated in Tchaikovsky.
Composed in late 1875 through 1876, Tchaikovsky wrote music to accompany poetry being published in a St. Petersburg literary journal. The music features a wide range of moods and seasonal colours to match the poetry by an equally wide range of poets. While Liu makes these pieces shine, Tchaikovsky wrote the movements of The Seasons with amateur pianists in mind - the readers of the poems who may feel inspired to respond musically.
Watch this live performance of "June: Barcarolle" from The Seasons here:
You can hear excerpts from The Seasons on Morning Light with Nolan Kehler on Classic 107 every Wednesday morning just after 7:30 a.m. throughout the month of November.