CULTURE

CULTURE

Notes from a solitary pianist

Ju Xiaofu combines classical repertoire with introspective verses in Mist Without, his striking new solo album, Chen Nan reports.

By Chen Nan    |    China Daily    |     Updated: 2026-08-08 10:54

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The album cover for Ju's Mist Without. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A psychological novel

The result is Mist Without, an album title that exists between languages, between inner thought and external reality.

Its repertoire unfolds like a psychological novel, drawing listeners into a world of memory, uncertainty, and introspection.

The journey begins with Czech composer Leos Janacek's In the Mists, composed in 1912 during a difficult period in Janacek's life when he felt overlooked. The four short movements are filled with changing moods rather than long, flowing melodies. Then it moves into Janacek's Piano Sonata 1.X.1905, a work born of violence and historical tragedy. Unlike the dreamlike atmosphere of In the Mists, this sonata is much more direct and dramatic.

From there, the emotional landscape becomes darker and more unstable with Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit, or Treasurer of the Night — a masterpiece of technical difficulty and psychological intensity.

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