Where Fairburn Walked

Jian Liu

2025 BEST CLASSICAL ARTIST

Pianist Jian Liu’s WHERE FAIRBURN WALKED is a collection of illustrative solo piano works by twenty-four New Zealand composers from the past century. This album is an independent companion to the two volumes of “New Zealand Piano Works”, recently published in China. The seventy-eight works featured in this collection offer an insightful overview of New Zealand’s musical excellence and achievement.

The recordings can be downloaded as a complete set or as three programmes consistent with each of the three compact discs.

ALBUM REVIEW by Elizabeth Kerr (FIVE LINES)

GRAHAM REID’S ELSEWHERE REVIEW

Produced by Jian Liu
Recorded by Graham Kennedy at the Adam Concert Room, NZSM, Wellington
Piano tuning by Michael Ashby
Mixed and mastered by Graham Kennedy
Design by Spencer Levine
Printed by Studio Q

1. Sleigh Ride 00:49
2. Paper Dragonfly 02:19
3. Fragment 01:35
4. Rotorua (Boiling Mud Pools) 01:51
5. An Idyll 02:23
6. Nocturne 02:38
7. Clouds Over Aoraki 01:47
8. Mysterious Whirly Square Dance 01:36
9. Outlines Through Rising Mist 02:03
10. Homage to Ravel 03:14
11. Simple Piano Pieces No. 1 for Gabe 01:00
12. Simple Piano Pieces No. 2 for Amelia 01:16
13. Foxglove Bells 02:26
14. What a Silly Joke 01:12
15. Lullaby for Matthew 02:52
16. Covenant 04:09
17. Fragment 03:25
18. Love Songs - For Charlotte (to Larae Parry) 01:41
19. Love Songs - For Adelaide (to Sylvia Rand) 02:28
20. Love Songs - For For Salesi (to Salesi Le’ota) 01:48
21. Caroline Bay Suite No. 1 Sunrise over the bay 01:09
22. Caroline Bay Suite No. 2 Children playing 00:57
23. Caroline Bay Suite No. 3 Running on the beach 01:29
24. Caroline Bay Suite No. 4 Carnival 01:11
25. Birthday Music - Rosebud 01:12
26. Birthday Music - Janaya 01:59
27. Birthday Music - Morgan 02:29
28. Birthday Music - Anna 02:28
29. Six Little Preludes I. 00:43
30. Six Little Preludes II. 00:49
31. Six Little Preludes III. 01:18
32. Six Little Preludes IV. 01:38
33. Six Little Preludes V. 01:02
34. Six Little Preludes VI. 00:44
35. Elusive Dream 02:40
36. Arteria Meridionale No. 2 04:04
37. Three Inventions No. 1 02:07
38. Three Inventions No. 2 01:26
39. Three Inventions No. 3 01:24
40. Nga Manu – Tahi. Sitting on the eggs 01:19
41. Nga Manu – Rua. Hatching of the eggs 00:36
42. Nga Manu – Toru. Chicks feeding furiously 00:36
43. Nga Manu – Wha. Fledglings getting a grip on things 01:11
44. Nga Manu – Rima. Flying away, stumbling, into the wide world 00:29
45. Nga Manu – Ono. The runt of the family struggles to get away 00:59
46. Nocturne 03:54
47. Olveston Suite I. Great Hall 01:13
48. Olveston Suite II. Kitchen and Scullery 01:06
49. Olveston Suite III. Dining Room 01:09
50. Olveston Suite IV. Writing Room, Edwardian Room 01:45
51. Olveston Suite V. Billiard Room, Persian Room 01:19
52. Olveston Suite VI. Great Hall (return) 01:21
53. Tone Clock I. 02:26
54. Tone Clock X. 03:52
55. Tone Clock XX. Te Kapowai (Dragonfly) 01:39
56. Tone Clock XXIII. Pyramids, Symmetries, Crevice of Sleep 04:44
57. Six Preludes No. 2 (In memory of Frederick Chopin) 03:21
58. Six Preludes No. 8 01:14
59. Six Preludes No. 7 02:07
60. Six Preludes No. 15 01:51
61. Six Preludes No. 24 (For my mother) 03:01
62. Six Preludes No. 21 01:33
63. Oriori (Variations on Hine e Hine) 09:23
64. Sleeper 04:24
65. The Horizon from Owhiro Bay 03:20
66. Arapatiki 05:42
67. Four Short Concert Studies I. 01:49
68. Four Short Concert Studies II. Diabolus 01:25
69. Four Short Concert Studies III. 03:49
70. Four Short Concert Studies IV. 01:04
71. Three Short Pieces I. Raindrops on a misty pond 02:37
72. Three Short Pieces II. Moths in the light 01:47
73. Three Short Pieces III. Galaxy 04:44
74. Shadow Hands (or John Chen) 08:17
75. Three Pieces I. Prelude 03:46
76. Three Pieces II. Canzonetta 02:46
77. Three Pieces III. Rerere 02:15
78. Jettatura 04:45

Released: 27 June 2024
Catalogue: RAT-D149

An internationally celebrated concert pianist, chamber musician, and educator, Dr Jian Liu studied with Professor Jin Zhang and Dr Caio Pagano and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale School of Music, where he was a student and assistant of Professor Claude Frank.

Jian is a champion of New Zealand music, having premiered and recorded many New Zealand compositions. He has performed and taught throughout Europe, Asia, and North America, and his artistry has taken him to some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. He has released many solo and chamber albums in New Zealand and the USA, and recordings of his performances have been broadcast on various traditional and online platforms.

Dr Liu is the Acting Head of School and Head of Piano Studies at New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University of Wellington.

Elizabeth kerr on jian liu