A CD is a composition too. Not only does it contain compositions, but together they form a new entity. At least, that is the case with this new recording by the Dutch pianist Mengjie Han. He deliberately links Isaac Albéniz and Maurice Ravel. One of them epitomising all things Spanish, the other a Frenchman through and through. And rising between them, literally and metaphorically, the imposing peaks of the Pyrenees. However, nothing is as it initially appears to be. Although of course Albéniz's Iberia and Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin can only be played consecutively, Mengjie Han would have preferred them to be heard 'simultaneously', so as to demonstrate how interwoven their idioms are. After all, Ravel is a lot more Spanish than you might expect, and Albéniz a lot more French. In 2014 Dutch pianist Mengjie Han won Third Prize at the 10th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht, The Netherlands. As the first Dutch Prize winner of the Liszt Competition in nine years, he embarked on an extensive concert tour both in the Netherlands and abroad. He won First Prizes at the Steinway Piano Competition, the Young Pianist Foundation Competition and the Princess Christina Competition, which led to performances in North-America, Africa and Asia. Next to his accomplishments as a soloist Mengjie Han is a passionate chamber musician with the Amatis Piano Trio. The trio has won several international competitions and has been named "New Generation Artists 2016-18" by the BBC as well as "Rising Stars" by the ECHO, which will lead to a concert tour of the most important European concert halls in season 2018/19.