Search - Nishizaki, Dehi :: Chinese Music Series: Violin Meets Pipa

Generally annoying

Moses Alexander | Alabama, USA | 06/29/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Like most "cross-cultural" projects, this one falls short in many areas: 1) it pairs together two people who probably have little or no prior experience playing together 2) mixes clashing styles that don't blend well 3) are usually rushed recordings to get more "cross-cultural" products on the shelf. Then there are the problems unique to this album 1) Violin is not a good substitute for er-hu (the "Chinese violin")(just as the erhu can't capture certain techniques on the violin, the violin can't capture certain effects of the erhu...and it just sounds silly when it tries to) 2) Nishizaki is obviously a classical player, and the formality of the most formal of western classical music doesn't mesh well with the intellectual pensiveness of good Chinese classical music. There are a few interesting moments here, but that's about it...for the most part I would recommend getting either western classical music or Chinese classical music...but not mixing the two (which isn't enen the purpose of the project, but that's how it comes off.)"