Zhengyu Xu Presents “Dialogue”: Liszt and Vine Across the Centuries

KNS Classical presents Dialogue, a new recording by pianist Zhengyu Xu, pairing Franz Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, S.178 with Carl Vine’s Piano Sonata No. 1: two works separated by more than a century, yet connected by their distinctive approaches to musical continuity and structure.

The album takes its title from the relationship established between these two sonatas. Liszt’s 1853 masterpiece develops an extensive single-movement architecture through thematic transformation, while Vine’s 1990 Sonata achieves coherence through rhythmic organisation, recurring material and carefully controlled changes of texture. Heard together, they create a dialogue not only between two composers, but between two different periods and conceptions of the piano.

Zhengyu Xu has received numerous international distinctions, including First Prize at the Ankara International Piano Competition and the 2025 Berlioz International Music Competition, as well as the Grand Prize at the 2025 Carl Reinecke International Music Competition. He holds an Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Kansas, where he also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.

With Dialogue, Xu brings these contrasting musical languages into a carefully considered programme, highlighting the structural and expressive connections that allow each work to offer a new perspective on the other.

This remarkable album is now available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and YouTube. Do not miss it!

CD Page: Dialogue
Artist Profile: Zhengyu Xu