Zhu Xiao-Mei: J. S. Bach -- The Art of Fugue

Recorded at Mendelssohn-Saal, Gewandhaus zu Leipzig in February 2014.
Available on CD worldwide in September 2014.

Johann Sebastian Bach is a key figure in the eventful life of the Chinese pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei. She is one of the most renowned Bach interpreters of today and recorded the contrapuntal masterpiece The Art of Fugue in Leipzig, the composer's last realm and the place of origin for this piece of music.

It is also because of her astounding life journey that the celebrated pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei stands out in the world of music: she was born to an artist family in Shanghai and had her first performances on TV and radio at the age of six. Her venturous path through life took her to Paris -- and via a re-education camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution -- where her career as an international pianist took off. Zhu Xiao-Mei carefully selects her public performances in Europe, Asia and America and focuses her programmes on what she refers to as "mountains of the soul" -- masterpieces by Bach, Scarlatti, Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart and Schumann, the interpretations of which mature during long periods of preparation.

The Art of Fugue is one of the greatest pieces of music ever composed and represents "the
absolute zenith of polyphonic art" to Zhu Xiao-Mei: "The Art of Fugue exercises a total fascination on you. Itʼs like a magnet: you canʼt detach yourself from it. It is music that opens the gates to an infinite world where time no longer exists; a world where beauty and peace reign supreme, detached from all earthly contingencies."

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