Cellist Bion Tsang Celebrates Brahms Birthday in May with Free Download of Hungarian Dance No. 5 Until May 31

Tsang's cello performance of Hungarian Dance No. 5 -- Joachim's famous violin arrangement -- are featured on forthcoming CD from Artek Recordings

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) May 7, 2009 -- Believe it or not, but nineteenth century pop music can still bring an audience to its feet in the 21st century.

Cellist Bion Tsang (http://www.biontsang.com/home.htm) and pianist Anton Nel prove it with a first-of-its-kind performance of the violin/piano arrangements of four Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms which they recorded in Boston at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. Those live performances are included on the duo's second CD, "Bion Tsang and Anton Nel: Live in Concert, Brahms Cello Sonatas and Four Hungarian Dances," to be released this summer by Artek Recordings.

Brahms elevated popular music to the classical form when he composed dances based on gypsy folk music. The lively melodies of the Hungarian Dances still intrigue musicians and entertain audiences 176 years after Brahms' birth.

When Tsang, a cellist, hears the Hungarian Dances for violin (as arranged by famed violinist Joseph Joachim), he hears a challenge. While planning a 2008 tour with pianist Anton Nel, he decided to transcribe the violin arrangement to play on the cello, keeping it in the same key as the violin.

"I wanted my transcriptions to be recognizable by violinists, especially those with perfect pitch," Tsang says. "It puts everything a fifth higher in position on the cello, making it harder to play -- which is, in part, the point."

"The cello, of course, has a very different character than the violin," he adds. "It's a much more singing instrument. Because the distances are so much greater, it's harder to get around quickly on the instrument. Facile passages that sound easy on the violin tend not to sound so on the cello."

"I've loved these melodies on the violin for many years," he says, "and after transcribing and performing them on the cello, it's hard to hear them any other way."

In honor of Brahms' birthday on May 7, a free MP3 download of Tsang's performance of Hungarian Dance No. 5 (http://www.biontsang.com/home.htm) is available through the end of May.

The performances are also on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/momentumPR).

About Bion Tsang

Cellist Bion Tsang is internationally recognized as one of the leading instrumentalists of his generation. He is profiled in the book 21st-Century Cellists and was named a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant. Tsang has performed as guest soloist with such ensembles as the New York, Moscow and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, the American and National Symphony Orchestras, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He received his education at Juilliard, Harvard and Yale. For a complete biography and discography, please visit www.biontsang.com.

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