Chinese-born pianist Mélodie Zhao was 17 when she recorded Liszt’s formidable Transcendental Études for Claves. Despite the overall dry sound quality and relative lack of dynamic range, this young pianist’s keyboard capabilities and affinity for the composer’s multi-faceted style are attention-worthy. Her leaps in Mazeppa sport exciting nervous energy, while she displays good instincts for when to hold back and when to press ahead in the first two etudes. True, Feux Follets is a bit glib and undifferentiated, but damned if Zhao doesn’t sustain optimistically bright tempo (well, for the most part she does), and that’s no small feat. While bravura selections like Eroica, Wilde Jagd, and the untitled 10th Allegro agitato etude would greatly benefit from more power and heft, Ricordanza, Harmonies du soir, and Chasse Neige showcase Zhao’s natural gifts for lyrical phrase shaping. The latter, in fact, stands out for its appreciably varied tremolos. Keep this young pianist on your radar.
