Weiyin Chen - La Belle Époque (2026) [Hi-Res]

This album is a celebration of an epoch when music, dance and art inspired one another in abundance. This album brings us back in time to Paris 1871-1914. Imagine reliving “La Belle Époque” through a soundscape of music and composers of this era. As a classical pianist and fashion designer, the idea of music and creativ­ity simultaneously stimulating one another resonates with my artistic voice. Ever since I picked up a pencil to sketch designs, it unlocked a creative portal in my musical mind, sparking new compositional ideas. In this album, there are three composers from this beautiful era, La Belle Époque (1871-1914) and three works from the Ballet Russe, a ballet company based in Paris that was instrumental in bringing artists across disciplines together such as Coco Chanel, Pablo Picasso and Stravinsky. As this album unfolds through this artistic journey, it finishes with my own original composition: Improvisation on Scheherazade. It is inspired by one of the magnificent productions of Ballet Russe, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a symphonic suite based on One Thousand And One Nights, also known as The Arabian Nights.

Lili Boulanger, the first woman to have won the Grand Prix de Rome composition prize and the younger sibling to composition pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, witnessed 24 years of La Belle Époque in her lifetime (1893-1918). Like Debussy, her music is associated with Symbolism, conveying abstract ideas through suggestive imagery. In her Trois Morceaux, I. d’Un Vieux Jardin (of An Old Garden) II. d’Un Jardin Clair (of A Clear Garden) III. Cortège (Procession) we can hear how she paints these images through her harmonic palette.

Robert Schumann, Papillons Op. 2 was presented in a dance production through Ballet Russe during La Belle Époque. In addition to being a musician, Schumann was also a writer and often drew inspi­ration from literature; Inspired by novelist Jean Paul’s Flegeljahre, this suite of dance like piano pieces is meant to represent a masquerade ball. The final movement starts with the 17th century Germany’s Grandfather’s Dance, a traditional folk tune which was played at the end of a wedding or celebration. Repeated notes near the end denote the striking of a clock, signaling the conclusion of the ball. Papillons, in French meaning butterflies, were at times referenced by novelist Jean Paul as symbols of transformation.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918), a pioneer of La Belle Époque whose Clair de Lune, the third movement from his Suite Bergamasque was inspired by Ver­laine’s poem of the same title. Greatly influenced by the Symbolist poetic movement in the late Nineteenth century, Debussy has written melodies based on a range of poetry, including his own.

Chopin’s Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No.2 was featured in Ballet Russe’s dance production Les Sylphides and in its original presentation, Chopini­ana - a romantic reverie about mood and dance. When it performed in New York’s Metropolitan Opera, it was paired with Schumann’s Papillons.

Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, danced by many ballet companies worldwide to this day, had its Trepak featured as a part of Ballet Russe’s Le Festin in 1909. It revolves around a child’s imagination on Christmas Eve, featuring a Nutcracker doll: I. Miniature Overture II. March III. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy IV. Russian Dance, “Trepak” V. Arabian Dance VI. Chinese Dance VII. Dance of the Reed Flutes VIII. Waltz of the Flowers. This album features a rare solo piano arrangement by Stepan Esipoff and edited by Carl Deis.

Spanish composer Manuel de Falla (1876-1946), lived through La Belle Époque and his composi­tion El Sombrero de Tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) was the musical score for the identically titled dance production for the Ballet Russe, with designs by Pablo Picasso. What makes this dance production unique is that it incorporated Span­ish dance techniques instead of classical ballet. In this album, I am playing his Danza Ritual Del Fuego (Ritual Fire dance), a movement from his ballet El Amor Brujo (Love, the Sorcerer) written in 1915, in his own piano arrangement. This work is influenced by the traditional ceremonial dance to worship the Fire God.

Improvisation on Scheherazade, a fantasy of my imagination on Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade based on One Thousand and One Nights, music to another of Ballet Russe’s spectacular produc­tions. The story is based on Scheherazade, wife of a Sultan who saved her life by entertaining him with enchanting tales night after night, for a thousand and one consecutive nights. During La Belle Époque, there was a fascination with the Orient and the Far East. The rich sound and colors of this music, whisked me away on an imagina­tive carpet ride.