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Yuja Wang - Fantasia

A grand piano on a beach. And on that piano a raven-haired angel with huge black wings and wearing a fiery red dress. On this cover, everything’s a little out of the ordinary. Pianist Yuja Wang loves the unexpected and unconventional. Fantasia sees her perform the kind of pieces she usually plays as encores at her concerts: short works whose dazzling virtuosity and melodic power accentuate her ability to convey sensitivity, spontaneity and drama. When it came to the photo shoot, art director Fred Münzmaier and photographer Esther Haase drew inspiration from Jane Campion’s The Piano. The film poster shows a wild seashore, deserted apart from a woman standing next to a piano, on which is sitting a young girl. It’s an enigmatic image that gives free rein to our imagination.

No small effort was made to create a similarly evocative image for Fantasia, with Yuja Wang as our leading lady. The first challenge was to find a piano that could survive being exposed to the elements on Hamburg’s Elbe beach. The label had a longstanding relationship with Steinway & Sons, but a collaboration in these circumstances was out of the question! Eventually, after speaking to various theatrical suppliers, someone at DG was able to hire an instrument suitable for the occasion. Meanwhile, Esther Haase’s team brought along an array of stunning outfits and accessories, and Yuja Wang immediately began to experiment with different combinations. “She had a lot of fun on that shoot, and there was great chemistry between her and Esther right from the start,” recalls Fred Münzmaier. “That meant we were able to get a lot of beautiful shots, full of imagination and creativity, which I think reflect Yuja’s energy, joie de vivre and unique personality to perfection.”

Test

As well as the Fantasia pictures, the same crew were also able to produce a cover shot and other artist images for an album of Yuja’s Rachmaninov recordings that came out a year before Fantasia. Playing on the contrasts in the artist’s attire – a fur hat combined with a diaphanous dress – the visual concept here is no less eye-catching.

Yuja Wang - Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2

So successful was that particular photo shoot, in fact, that a third, equally sensational, but as yet unpublished portfolio of pictures is still waiting in the Deutsche Grammophon archive. Perhaps they’ll make an appearance on some future Yuja Wang album…