XinRu Narrates
Every great piece of piano music holds a story. In this series, I take beloved piano cycles apart and weave them into new narratives — each programme telling one story, from the first note to the last. It began as my doctoral work at the Royal Academy of Music; it has become a lifelong way of creating. The stories below will keep growing.
The Next Story…
A new narrative is being written at the piano. Every new story premieres on YouTube — subscribe and be there when the curtain rises.
‘Kinderszenen's Remembrance’
A person recollects his childhood, as horrible memories stir up in fragments. Kinderszenen represents the warm, wonderful and happy memories; Stockhausen's Klavierstücke, the terrible and melancholy ones we do not want to remember but can never forget.
‘Dreaming Kreisleriana’
This story is a dream. It begins with falling into a dream with Humoreske No.10, and expresses almost every sensation we can experience, until we wake up by the end of Humoreske No.11.
‘Fantasy Review’
Two viewpoints: the person who experiences the fantasy journey, and the person who observes it. Fantasiestücke displays the actual experience, while Schoenberg Op.11 and Op.19 express the views and afterthoughts of the observer.
‘Carnaval Eddy’
Carnaval represents a mirage, constantly interrupted and intruded upon by doubt, uncertainty and disbelief — represented by Geoff King's Family Photos.
Follow the Stories
New narratives premiere on YouTube — and the ideas behind them live on the blog.