Bloomingdale School of Music Presents Latin American And Chinese Musical Landscapes in Review
José Maldonado, guitar
Weiwei Zhai, piano
David Greer Recital Hall, Bloomingdale School of Music, New York, NY
May 2, 2025
One of the great joys of New York is the abundance of music, often in small, lesser-known venues, and often free. Such was the case this past Friday as pianist Weiwei Zhai and guitarist José Maldonado performed at David Greer Recital Hall in the Bloomingdale School of Music. In tribute to their respective roots in China and Latin America, their unusual program offered around an hour of fairly short, generally accessible solos and duos from China, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Costa Rica – with a short Bach movement added as an opener. The Latin American composers included Mexican Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar, usually known as Manuel Ponce (1882-1949), Puerto Ricans William Ortiz Alvarado (b. 1947) and Rafael Hernández Marîn (1892-1965), and Costa Rican Alonso Torres Matarrita (b. 1980). The Chinese composers were Shiguang Cui (b. 1948), Jianzhong Wang (1933-2016), and Qing Liu (b. 1956) – all writing in the twentieth century – plus one traditional Chinese folk song arranged by Peter Schindler (b. 1960).
As well as offering colorful music, the duo offered a friendly salon-type feeling. Both artists are also experienced teachers, and sharing their knowledge about the music in a personable way seemed quite natural for them. José Maldonado in fact shared his brief oral “program notes” in both English and Spanish. Dr. Zhai and Dr. Maldonado both have doctorates, and both have amassed credentials that the reader can find online at the following websites:
Weiwei Zhai and José Maldonado.
I must confess to some sadness learning that we would not hear the program as listed on the website, so would miss the Cinco Preludios of Ernesto Cordero (b. 1946) and the movement from his Concierto Evocativo. These are very special pieces from a much-loved Puerto Rican composer from whom I’d like to hear more in live concert (though recordings abound); there was still, however, plenty of variety in the revised program. Other changes included the addition of pieces by Shiguang Cui, William Ortiz Alvarado, Rafael Hernández Marín, the Schindler arrangement, and, as mentioned, a Bach piece.
One rarely needs to explain to this listener the addition of Bach – especially an arrangement of the uplifting Sonata in C, BWV 529, originally for organ – but here, as Mr. Maldonado explained, it was a nod to the Baroque era to preface Ponce’s “tease of new and old” in his Prélude for guitar and harpsichord. The Bach made for a joyful nod, and the Ponce that followed exuded a similarly ebullient spirit, leading the duo into remarkable exchanges and dovetailing. They played with rhythmic precision, good articulation, and energy. Where the two performers had a massive challenge was in the inevitable dominance of the hall’s bright Steinway piano over a guitar’s more delicate sound. This would, of course, have been less of a problem with harpsichord (as the Bach could have been as well), but one plays on what is available. Short of bringing in a harpsichord or the precarious miking of the guitar, there were few options. The lid of the piano was already down, but perhaps closing the front of the lid under the music rack (even with some heavy cloth) could have helped.
Matching became moot as Weiwei Zhai continued the program with three Chinese solos, first Jasmine Flower, arranged by Peter Schindler. As Dr. Zhai commented, the folk song itself is extremely famous (as this reviewer knew, having reviewed a violin version of it at Carnegie Hall during which the largely Chinese audience sang along to it). In this Schindler transcription, the melody was set amid disparate styles, from a dreamy Broadway-ish introduction to more salonish variation and florid, virtuosic treatment. Octave tremolos that perhaps were meant to evoke Chinese pipa techniques resulted in a Liberace-esque glitz, but Dr. Zhai played with sincere involvement. Ditty from Shandong Folk Suite by Shiguang Cui followed, refreshingly in a style that was free of Western cliché, and Dr. Zhai played it with pure sparkle and spirit. She concluded her solo group with Liuyang River by Jianzhong Wang, whom she described as partly influenced by Ravel and Debussy, with its pentatonic runs suggesting the river’s waters. Indeed, one heard plenty of pentatonic – as one had in the prior two pieces – but she showed a flair for its impressionistic washes of sound.
Dr. Zhai then introduced the Song of the Yue Boatman (Ancient Chinese Song) by Qing Liu, arranged for piano and guitar by the two performers themselves. It worked well – with the guitar feeling naturally suited to its folkish simplicity. It was quite touching, and somehow the balance worked better than it had in prior selections.
The duo then moved on to a more sobering work by William Ortiz Alvarado entitled HY-1-4175 (the phone number of the composer while living in New York as a self-described Nuyorican). Composed in 1987, it was the most ponderous and elusive piece on the program, fraught with the emotions of being both a New Yorker and a Puerto Rican. One could hear the dreaming, the sense of longing, and the fragments like flashes of memory (at one point punctuated by percussive guitar tapping). At times the piece seemed disjunct, but such an impression served to underscore the piece’s theme of displacement.
More immediately moving was the same composer’s solo Pavana played heartbreakingly by Dr. Maldonado. Even in its moments of extreme softness, his sound was always soulfully present. Perfume de gardenias by Rafael Hernández Marín followed as a healing balm, and Recordando un Bolero by Alonso Torres Matarrita brought the duo together for a sentimental finale with seductive Piazzolla-esque tinges, closing the program with a glow. For those who wanted further glow, there was a reception afterwards in the yard. Though this reviewer could not stay, many in the audience were headed there joyfully. What a gift to the community!
