Customer Reviews

Classical Album 2: China Girl

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

CHINA GIRL blew me away and made me a big fan of Vanessa-Mae. People who talk about her technical ability and/or her pop-star personal style are missing the point. It is her musical creativity that is so amazing, and this album demonstrates it better than either her pop albums or her other classical albums.

This was the sixth or so album from an artist who was only 18 at the time, and two of the three works are her own compositions. It is neither a traditional classical recording nor real Chinese music.

I disagree with those who say that Takako Nishizaki's recording of The Butterfly Lover's Concerto is better than Vanessa-Mae's. I find Vanessa-Mae's interpretation to be more emotional and giving a better sense of the tragic story that is the program for this music.

Vanessa-Mae's Fantasy on Turandot does for Puccini's opera what Sarasate's famous Fantasy on Carmen did for Bizet's: capturing the essence of a long opera and giving us the best of the music in the form of a viruoso violin solo. This is a very moving piece of music.

Happy Valley is one of those rare musical works which seems to come of the blue sky, without any obvious influences and completely unlike any other music before it. It has Chinese vocals, but it is definitely not traditional Chinese music. Military-like themes on a violin?!? Its upbeat, enthusiastic nature is a nice contrast to the other two, more solemn, works.

The only thing wrong with this album is that it is only 45 minutes long, too short for a full priced album. But it is a really great and stunningly innovative album, which I think will be around for a long, long time. Buy it!

As you've read from the other reviews, there are only three compositions on this album. The quality, spiritedness, and passion in each of these pieces leaves the listener wanting more.

I loved the initial novelty of Vanessa-Mae when she first came out; she provided a sultriness and edge to The Violin Player through her own compositions and renditions of traditional classics. Sometimes, that novelty can wear off... for example, with Bond.

What I love about this album, and her previous Classical Album Part 1, is that Vanessa-Mae gets back to the basics and really shows us that she is indeed a classically trained artist at heart. She is able to take these traditional pieces and (to borrow a phrase from American Idol) truly make them her own. She is not just some manufactured phenomenon.

The inlay of the CD is are essays from Vanessa-Mae that explain to the reader her intent for doing this album: to get in touch or pay hommage to her self-admittedly neglected Chinese roots. The sincerity in the writing is very refreshing and honest.

I love all of the 3 pieces: Butterfly Lovers, Turandot, and Happy Valley. Each are different styles which VM pulls off extremely well. Both Butterfly Lovers and Turandot sing with emotion and intensity. Happy Valley builds an image of joy and excitedness that surrounded the HK-China Reunification. In each song, you are truly able to sense and feel VM's passion and emotion that just sings from her violin. I have heard a different version of Butterfly Lovers, and this one is definitely better. It has VM's unique touch to it.

Truly a worthwhile purchase, and finest album from VM to date. I give it 4-stars because I wish she included more content!

This CD consists of three Chinese related works.Vanessa Mae, a young Chinese violinist did a great job on the CD.
1.Butterfly Lovers is based on Chinese folklore. This work has unique and exotic melody which recall China. Vanessa Mae plays delicately and sweetly and expresses the feeling of young couple of this story very well.
2.Violine fantasy on Puccini's Turandot is based of Puccini's Original Trandot and composed for violin. This work is well condensed of famous parts of Opera version. Vanessa Mae plays not only artistically, like other classical music, but also exotically,like chinese music. "Turandot as a violin music" is also interesting.
3.Happy Valley is the composition for re-unified hong Kong with China. This music is played by orchestra, violin and chorus. Compared with other two, this one places a emphasis on joyful aspects rather than artistic aspects. We can imagine the situation that not only musicians, but also listeners enjoy this music and celebrate the re-unification.
As a whole, the works of this CD give a impressive for the Chinese unique and exotic melody. Vanessa Mae plays the merody, expressing Chineseness and artistic aspects. Needless to say, this is one of the best her works. You must listen to it.

This album shows the beauty of music from,about, or for China. I don't care about technique unless the playing is so horrible that I'm forced to notice bad technique. Butterfly Lover's concerto is beautiful if sometimes a trifle long(which is not her fault). The Turandot Violin Fantasy is absolutely beautiful finishing with one of my favorite pieces. Her playing style for this piece adds some extra emotion to that beautiful piece. "Happy Valley" is a wonderful modern piece that displays not only her ability to play ,but also compose. For some this may be her weakest album,but this is my favorite album of her's.

Woah! First review of this album. I'll try to make it good. Which isn't hard to do.

This is the third album by Ms. Mae that I own. (I guess there are a few made when she was 11 or 12, but those are nowhere to be found.) The first album, called "The Violin Player" is what music reviewers call, "Techno-acustic fusion", which means putting a techno beat to music that wouldn't normaly have it. I liked the album, but was a little mirfed by the abundance of synthesysers, (less Atari and more Stratavari I say). But the over all credit had to go to the fact that it was different. I don't know about you, but when I see child prodigys playing, I am usually unenthused. Talented, yes. Respectable, yes. Fun, not really. I have always liked listening to music. Seeing it performed has always been a distraction. When I go to a music performance, I tend to close my eyes and just enjoy.

Except on occation...

Vanessa Mae's one of those exceptions. OK, I'll admit, I haven't seen much video of her, but what I have seen has been increadibly fun. She loves playing, and you can tell. The talent in those fingers almost becomes a side effect compared to the complete blast she and the musicians are having on stage.

So what am I getting at? Well, I only have a thousand words to say it, so I better get to it. I was left wanting a more natural sounding "Violin Player", but oh well. So then came the "Classical Album 1", which is good, but it doesn't stand out. So then came "The Classical Album 2". And even the cover looked different. And so I listened, and was all smiles. This is the Vanessa Mae that I love. This is not just an album of violin music for violin players, it is epic.

Track number one is epic in size, over 25 minutes, and is epic in scope. Based off of a Chinese legend, the Butterfly Lover's Concerto is a real treasure. I did not even know it existed before I listened to this album. The sound is rich, the theme is grand, oh how I love it.

Track number two is an excerpt from Puccini's Turandot, without words, and interpereted for the violin. I don't know what else to say other than I love this one too.

So what becomes of a prodigy? It is a great novelty to see an eight-year-old play a piano like an adult. But what happens to the kid when he really becomes an adult? What ever it is, I bet it isn't as extrodinary. How would one stay extrodinary? My best bet is by composing, and composing well. And this is what makes Vanessa fantastic. Track number three is Vanessa's own composition written for the reunifacation of Hong Kong to China. And it is pretty darn good.

And that's it. Three tracks, 45 minutes, and every second is worth it. The music is rich, the sound is full, and the playing is . . . perfect I guess (I'm not an expert on that stuff). Fan of classical? Get it, it's good. Curious, and on the fence about buying classical? Get it as well. The fun that I see Vanessa and crew having on stage really seemes to come out in the music. Something that is hard to do, but done well.

The butterfly lovers violin concerto is my favorite vioin concerto of all times, and I think Vanessa-Mae did a splendid job with her performance of this piece on her Classical Album 2. I could just listen to it over and over again (which I have done and will certainly do again). The violin fantasie on Turando is also very beautiful. Regardless of the fact that the chorus in Happy Valley seems to get on some people's nerves, I personally think it is a very successful composition by Vanessa-Mae and a great performance by all those involved in the recording process. The chorus sounds awesome and in no way takes away from the piece.

Of all the Vanessa Mae albums, this is the one that best captures my imagination and takes me away to a better place. I would often listen to this album as i lay on the back of my m1a1 combat tank, after conducting military gunnery exercise. With all that was going on around me, this album brought me peace. I feel it is her best album because it sounds more like a story being told through music as opposed to a solo spot or technical excercise. It is also unfamiliar to me. How many versions of the four seasons must I hear? Or any other work for that matter. This is her best album. Classical album 1 is great, I,m a doun sounds like heaven. I agree with those that say she should avoid techno pieces. I am not some classical purist. I am actually metalhead at heart, but i really hate electronic disco beats, and feel that they take away from the feel of the music.

Simply put, Vanessa Mae is one great talent. She does not receive the attention she deserves because her music falls into the classical genre. Nonetheless, as an Ozzy, Queen, Zep, Doors, and Stones fan, I have to say that this young lady rocks solidly on the electric violin. Give her a listen now!

I listened to the previews of the songs and they sounded perfect to teach Tai Chi. But when I got it.... it was NOT at all useable for that. My bad.

This cd was good, but there were some parts which were terrible. First of all, for the Butterfly Lovers, her technique is so shallow and cold. For those looking for a good performance of Butterfly Lovers-which is a gorgeous piece of music-check out Takako Nishizaki's version. The Turandot fantasy lacks the strength it should have. It sounds so flimsy with Vanessa Mae scratching her way through the grand and dramatically inspired sections. Last but not least, the chorus on Happy Valley is so annoying it makes you want to rip the cd out of the cd player and throw it as hard as you can against a concrete wall. If anybody ever records Happy Valley again, get rid of the terrible chorus. Other than that, the music was pretty neat. Well the three tracks deserve one star each (hence the three star rating) because some of it was good. There were definately parts in Butterfly Lovers where the music was so beautiful you could almost ignore Vanessa Mae's violin playing. Vanessa Mae has a lot of talent and potential, but on this album she rarely shows it.