"DISCOGRAPHY"

Berlin Techno wizard, Khan of Finland, radically reimagines four movements from Boris Bergmann’s classical composition, The Richter Scale instilling them with elegiac ambience, plangent percussion and a myriad of electronic sonic states.

The Premixes and Remixes add a compelling dimension to The Richter Scale. These electronic orchestrations retain the elemental essence of the original compositions while adding new sonic dimensions that will engage listeners of classical music, contemporary classical, techno and other popular genres.

The Richter Scale Premixes is the first of three releases from The Richter Project, centred on the recording of Boris Bergmann's The Richter Scale, an hour long contemporary classical piano composition performed by Steinway artist Ji Liu.

The Premixes are electronic remixes of movements from German composer Boris Bergmann's hour-long work, The Richter Scale, written for pianist Ji Liu and Steinway's Spirio | r piano. The Premixes were created by Berlin techno producer Khan of Finland together with Bergmann and pianist Ji Liu. Recorded during the pandemic, these electronic orchestrations offer a unique take on The Richter Scale.

While retaining the elemental essence of the original piano composition, The Richter Scale, the Premixes add an entirely new sonic dimension to the original piano movements fusing them with elements of elegiac ambience, plangent and driving percussion and a plethora of other electronic sounds and moods.

The team for Heresy Records' release of The Richter Scale Premixes EP is comprised of highly respected artists in their field, including producer Khan of Finland, composer Boris Bergmann, pianist Ji Liu and executive producer Eric Fraad.

The Richter Scale is an hour-long piano composition by German Composer Boris Bergmann. it is is the centerpiece of The Richter Project that comprised of 3 recordings: The Richter Scale Premixes, The Richter Scale and The Richter Scale Remixes. The Richter Project engages with the theme of subterranean seismic eruption as a broader reflection of cultural and emotional states of trauma, upheaval and resolution. Particularly in our post-pandemic global environment, the work serves as a metaphoric meditation on the environmental, geopolitical, medical, cultural and social cataclysms gripping and transforming the world today. In terms of structure, the composition is a kind of musical episodic film describing bizarre historic events relating to earthquakes.

The Richter Scale is available on CD at international record stores and online shops and digitally via all major DSPs including Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, etc.

Track Listing

Prelude
A Planet’s Pulse
Richter the Poet
Seismograph
Recurring Dream
Expecting the Big One
Dance of the Things
How to dance out an Earthquake
Reversing the Mississippi
Voyager Golden Record
Epilogue – To the Beloved Ones

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Sunrise
Chapter 3: Odyssey - “People United Will Never Be Defeated”
Chapter 4: Daydream
Chapter 5: Solitude Song
Chapter 6: A Written Reverie
Chapter 7: Raindrop
Chapter 8: Coming Home
Chapter 9: Chapter 2: Earth Idyll
Chapter 10: Hope and Pride
Chapter 11: Interlude: Chaos
Chapter 12: Deja-vu - Hope and Pride
Chapter 13: Elegy
Chapter 14: Transcendental Surpass
Chapter 15: Recapitulation - Reversed World
Chapter 16: Blue Sunrise on Mars
Chapter 17: Galaxy Idyll
Chapter 18: Einstein-Rosen Bridge
Chapter 19: Paralleled World
Chapter 20: Contemplation of Harmony
Chapter 21: Finale - Metempsychosis Ritual

“The Book of Moments was composed during the pandemic and was influenced by my experiences and travels between the east and west in 2020. To me, this project is a lens through which I see the world and exists as a species of performance art that transcends its purely musical dimensions. ‘The Book of Moments’ also pays homage to the sacrifices made by frontline professionals and staff members who worked day and night and enlightened our society during this challenging and memorable odyssey". — Ji Liu

Ji Liu presents a remarkable recital at Verbier Festival.

Ji Liu begins with two of Liszt's Transcendental Etudes (Appassionata and Harmonie du soir). These selections belong to a series of twelve solo piano compositions dedicated to the Polish virtuoso's teacher Czerny, and their technical challenges easily assert Liszt's moniker as the "Paganini of the Piano." The recital's other highlights include Schubert's unfinished Piano Sonata No. 8, two of Debussy's Préludes, and Saint-Saëns' spell-binding Danse macabre.

Made possible by the support of the Tabor Foundation.

In this stunning album inspired by "Fire and Water", Ji Liu draws on the ancient Chinese five-element theory of Wu-Xing to beautifully illustrate fire and water. Enjoy soothing and mellow sounds that brilliantly reflect the calming character of water, alongside contrasting intense and fast-paced pieces inspired by the element of fire.

"American Icons" (2010). In 2010, pianist Ji Liu joint Academy's Symphonic Brass and Prof. James Watson, together, they recorded this album featuring some of the most famous and iconic works of the whole of twentieth-century music in arrangement for symphonic brass including a fresh orchestrated version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

"This American anthology is well named... In Rhapsody in Blue – with its opening glissando astonishingly delivered by a trumpet – pianist Liu Ji finds comedy and tenderness and he’s less brittle than Donohoe under Rattle (EMI, 12/87)..."

PIANO REFLECTIONS (2014) is an outstanding debut album which showcases Ji's exceptional talent and features brand new recordings of the most beautiful piano classics of all time. Immediately after its release in 2014, it hit No.1 at all UK's major Classical charts including UK Official Classical Chart, Specialist Chart, Classical Compilation Chart, Amazon Classical Chart, Classic FM Chart and iTunes Chart. This album was also selected as John Suchet's "Album of the Week" at Classic FM; and was nominated as the "best classical album of the year" at the prestigious Chinese Music Awards in 2014.

PIANO ENCORES (2015) is the second album from piano sensation Ji Liu. A collection of awe-inspiring works by some of the world's greatest composers, including Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninov. 18 stunning showstoppers played beautifully by Chart No.1 pianist Ji Liu - sure to get any audience on their feet.

PURE CHOPIN (2016) is a collection of 16 brand new recordings dedicated to Ji's favourite composer - listen to some previews below.The new album is not totally dedicated to Frederic Chopin - the bonus track, 'Nocturne Orientale', is an original piece written by composer and friend Stephen Hough.​