Reviews of violinist Paul Huang’s concert performances often rave about his "golden tone," and his latest recording, Mirror (Naïve), captures that quality in all its glorious sonority. You might attribute that to his ancient violin: the 1742 "ex-Wieniawski" Guarneri del Gesú (which takes its name from the famous 19th-century Polish virtuoso and composer Henryk Wieniawski), on extended loan from the Stradivari Society of Chicago. "It's my trusted companion now for 11 years," he says. "This recording is made with the sound of this legendary violin." But there's much more at work here than
lovingly shaped wood and four strings.

Mirror finds Huang, accompanied by gifted concert pianist Helen Huang (no relation), weaving tender passages on such works as Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc's calming Intermezzo, from the French composer's dynamic Violin Sonata, FP 119 - composed between 1942-43 and dedicated to the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca—and Arvo Pärt's stunningly beautiful Spiegel im Spiegel, from which the album derives its title. Those impactful 20th-century works are rounded out by Sergei Prokofiev's virtuosic Violin Sonata, No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80, completed in 1946 and dedicated to the great Ukrainian violinist David Oistrakh, who performed its premiere.

Strings asked the violinist about the making of this new album:

You're known as a perfectionist. When did you know you were ready to record this album?

Never! I still don't think I'm ready to record!

The liner notes discuss the evolution of the duo. How have you both evolved over the years?

I often like to joke that we share similar emotions together when we listen to the same music. It's like watching a movie and hopefully the laughing and crying moments are in sync with what the director had intended. That's how I feel about our duo partnership. When you know that your partner is feeling exactly the same emotion as you, you don't feel alone anymore. In music, this is the most blissful experience one can hope for.

What is the unifying aspect of this program?

I always believe that music has the innate power to document time and history. When the team at Naïve and I discussed our collaboration together about three years ago, I knew that I wanted to dedicate an album to the Poulenc and Prokofiev F minor Violin Sonatas. Both works were written during the Second World War and are in a way shaped by that history. Through this album, I want to use music to reflect on the past while hopefully resonating with the pres-ent. Therefore, Helen and I thought it would be most fitting to also include Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel (Mirror in Mirror). The inclusion of the Pärt also provided a necessary balance of two otherwise heavy and dense sonatas.

War is a theme that runs through the Poulenc and Prokofiev. Why was it important for you to address that concept at this time?

Truth be told, this album concept was discussed years ago, and little did we know what the world was going to be like in 2025.
I simply was fascinated by the power of this music and wanted to highlight how Prokofiev and Poulenc reacted to the war by turning to music to document it and perhaps find peace in it. In a time that feels as tumultuous as the one that gave birth to these two sona-tas, I think it is fitting to turn now to history to reflect and ponder.

How does Pärt's Mirrors reflect that?

It is a mirror between the two sonatas, but also a reflection of the past and present.

Prokofiev also composed a piano sonata shortly before his violin sonata. How closely do you and Helen work together on selection of repertoire?

Helen and I have been duo partners for now ten years and have built an extensive duo repertoire together. Our first disc for Naïve, titled Kaleidoscope, featured Respighi and Saint-Saëns sonatas as well as a Chopin Nocturne and Paganini Cantabile. Poulenc and Prokofiev's F minor sonatas are the two sonatas that we have always wanted to pair together, so there was never a question that we wanted to make that happen with this disc.

The Poulenc is quite dynamic but has that captivatingly beautiful Intermezzo. What drew you to it?

I love the Poulenc Violin Sonata so much, and I particularly love the Intermezzo movement because it is so intimate but at the same time with a fleeting outburst of joy and nostalgia. It is not surprising to know that this sonata was written in memory of the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, who was killed by the fascists during the Spanish Civil War. The movement includes a quote by Lorca: "The sound of the guitar makes dreams weep." Poulenc, at times, uses the violin to emulate the sound of guitar-which often has an association of loneliness and grief-to pay homage to this great poet. I find this movement to be one of the most heartfelt and transcendent slow movements in the violin-piano duo literature.

The Pärt has a calmness that matches the Poulenc in its quietest passages. Is that what drew you to it?

Spiegel im Spiegel is iconic for its simplicity and its powerful ability to take listeners on a journey. It's a simple yet effective structure of mirroring notes from the page, while the visualization of the piece on the page, indeed, translates into the listening experience. I find that to be most incredi-ble. We included the piece not only to provide necessary calmness, but also to provide a bridge and mirror between the two big sonatas. Music theory geeks might notice that all three pieces on this album have key relationships: Poulenc in D minor, Spiegel im Spiegel in F major, and Prokofiev in F minor. They are in either a parallel or relative key to each other. One of the most incredible moments on this album is perhaps the transition from the quiet F major at the end of the Pärt into the ominous F minor beginning in the Prokofiev. I would encourage listeners to experience the album as a whole and not just search out excerpts or tracks only. It really is one big piece from track 1 to track 8!

What attracted you to the Prokofiev particularly?

I've always been attracted to Prokofiev's music because it often has the ability to switch moods without anyone noticing any transi-tions. Certainly, it is the case in this sonata, but more importantly, while this sonata is not programmatic, it's one that is so visceral, and anyone who would listen for the first time would immediately feel the music without even knowing the background of this piece. In the sonata, there are moments in the first and last movements in which Prokofiev is depicting "winds passing through the graveyard" with the violin on mute and mumbling scales up and down the fingerboard while the piano is playing steady chords like a church bell. I can go on and on about this piece and how Prokofiev uses music to document history, but I will leave this to the listeners to experience it and come up with their own story.

How did you prepare to record these specific pieces?

This recording is ten years in the making for Helen and myself. We are grateful for this opportunity to document our work through what we hope will be a meaningful album. As it is a very emotionally draining and heavy program to record, we decided to record as close to nature as pos-sible. We were fortunate to make this album at the newly built recording barn of our producer and engineer, the late Adam Abeshouse, in upstate New York. At times, deer would poke their heads through the windows to see what was happening inside the barn. The quietness of the surroundings during our three days of recording made this experience tremendously memorable and meaningful.