During his time in Italy and later in Leipzig, Charles Gounod was drawn by the balance of sonic beauty and proportion to be found in the music of Palestrina and J.S. Bach. He developed an innate desire for simple directness as can be heard in the excerpt from the Messe solennelle de Sainte Cécile and the Méditation sur le premier Prélude de J.S. Bach, now better known as Ave Maria. Gounod’s talents for melody and mood painting are demonstrated in his Romances sans paroles, while his sense of wit can be heard in the famous Marche funèbre d’une marionnette.

Steinway Artist and award-winning composer and pianist, Warren Lee’s solo recordings for Naxos include Le Bal by Anton Rubinstein (8574216), considered a ‘praiseworthy performance of such rarely encountered repertoire’ by MusicWeb International, and regarded as being ‘played with wonderful skill filled with rich expression’ in audiotechnique.

Of Lee’s recording of Liszt’s Ungarischer Romanzero (8573805, Vol.50 of the Naxos complete edition) Ritmo admired his ‘excellent articulation technique, impeccable control and great musicality creating beautiful stories’, and Lee has also recorded the piano version of Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus on 8573974.

Warren Lee made his debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of six. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Yale School of Music, he was the First Prize winner of the Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition and the Grand Prix Ivo Pogorelich in 1995. He has performed on four continents, often in collaboration with international artists and leading orchestras. His multiple recordings for Naxos have been streamed over 15 million times and have garnered favourable reviews worldwide. A Steinway Artist as well as an award-winning composer, Warren Lee received the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award in Hong Kong in 2012 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2015 for his contribution to the music profession. In 2017 he received the Ian Mininberg Distinguished Alumni Award from the Yale School of Music.