Playing time: 62'
Recording date: unknown; released: 1996, remastered: 2022
Guan Pinghu (1897-1967) has been widely regarded as perhaps the leading qin player of his generation, including e.g. having a recording travel on the Voyager spacecraft. However, although he'd appeared in some significant anthologies (including already here from Ocora & Wind), there were no dedicated recitals available when I wrote my original discussion.
But the situation has changed with streaming, with several releases out of China (sometimes labeled only or mainly with Chinese characters, but nonetheless appearing on e.g. Qobuz). These are historical recordings, and it appears that the same handful of individual pieces reappear in different combos for the different releases, but the one I've selected here claimed (prominently) to be a remaster, and has very good sound. The program also consists of, I would say, Guan's very best pieces. So other than the difficulty of not knowing catalog information etc. (with the info here from Qobuz...), this is actually an easy recommendation among qin albums in general. It would now be my first choice to illustrate the genre for a new listener....
To purchasing information for this disc.
T. M. McComb