Andrew von Oeyen has chosen to be an artist of the world, linking music cultures in his interpretation. His debut album at Warner Classics House is proof of this. An album with Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2, Ravel’s Concerto in G and Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody, Maurice Ravel is the unifying thread of the disc….There is a standout performance of the Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns, played in a very fresh way. Andrew von Oeyen is a piano virtuoso, has a brilliant technique that helps him solve natural passages of virtuosity. His playing has fine phrasing and colors, but what’s new and special, if I may say so, are the connections made in interpretation among these three large works. Von Oeyen is joined by the PKF-Prague Philharmonia, led by its musical director and principal conductor, Emmanuel Villaume, a Frenchman who enjoys much success in the United States, highlighted by his position as Music Director of the Dallas Opera and frequent guest appearances at important venues. I should mention that the pianist added as a bonus track his own solo piano version of the “Meditation” from Thais by Jules Massenet. The bottom line is that Andrew von Oeyen’s album is well worth listening to— it is an album well thought-out and accomplished flawlessly from a technical standpoint.