Connecting Cultures | Michigan State University College of Music

Professor of Piano and chair of the Keyboard Area Deborah Moriarty.

Pianists Deborah Moriarty and Zhihua Tang have a long and rich personal history. Zhihua studied with Moriarty when pursuing her DMA, and now they are colleagues on the faculty of the Michigan State University College of Music. That history, and their genuine friendship, has led to their first collaborative recording called Connecting Cultures.

Their label, Blue Griffin Recording, explains that through this album, Moriarty and Zhihua “express a renewed faith in the promise of cultures coming together, through music, to move toward a future built on common ground.” Connecting Culturesincludes “music from a wide variety of cultures and promotes female and minority composers alongside composers whose works have become standards in the repertoire.”

Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano Zhihua Tang.

Moriarty is professor of piano and chair of the Keyboard Area at MSU, and Zhihua is assistant professor of piano and leads the Collaborative Piano program in the area. They are artists at the top of their game, and their familiarity with one another and choice of repertoire both delights and educates the listener.

Recently, they agreed to an interview with Julie Amacher for her New Classical Tracks program. Below is an excerpt and a link to the full recording of the interview.

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW

New Classical Tracks, Deborah Moriarty and Zhihua Tang interviewed by Julie Amacher

What is it like to work with a former student who is now a colleague?

Moriarty: “There’s nothing more exciting than having a student become a colleague. I can’t even describe it. To go from being the mentor and being the person who is giving them ideas to having an exchange of ideas. The roles shift. One of the great things about working with Zhihua is that we work as equals. We have fun. We have a good time.”

How did you decide which cultures you would represent on this recording?

Tang: “We included music from all corners of the world. We try to pick pieces that are diverse in style but at the same time, they do share some commonalities. All the composers draw from their roots and express simple beauty in life.”

Moriarty: “If you want to connect cultures, you have to do it in a way that will cause people to listen. When we chose the repertoire, we wanted works we thought people would listen to. Then they could move further into appreciating that particular culture.”

Why did you choose Antonín Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances?

Moriarty: “Those are dances we’ve played quite a lot and enjoy. We wanted to choose two contrasting dances. The first one is the triumphant opening of the album, and the second one is one that we love to play.”

Can you talk about the two Chinese composers on the recording?

Tang: “Those two pieces are by two wonderful Chinese composers from two different generations, Wang Jianzhong and Gong Huahua. Jianzhong’s piece, Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon, is more of a traditional folk song from the Guangdong province in Southern China, and it’s joyful, peaceful and relaxed.”

Moriarty: “Let me say also, as somebody who is not Chinese, I think that one of the great things about going to China and having a lot of students from there has been my exposure to this incredible music. Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon is like colorful tripods chasing the moon. Every time we play, I think people are just amazed at the beauty of it.”