Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn: First Piano Concertos

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Free Music Notes for Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn: First Piano Concertos

Free Music Review: A Passionate, Lyrical & Considered Reading of Tchaikovsky
Hit: 5 Stars

It is interesting that there are generally only extreme reactions to Lang Lang here and elsewhere -- most people adore him, but there are some who absolutely loathe the pianist. Putting aside the racism factor -- which is, sadly, very much alive and well in the 21st century - - for whatever it is worth, I think that such zealotic opinions are a good sign -- for Lang Lang. After all, art is here to inspire us, for better or for worse. When a pianist can elicit such passionate (read: extreme) and diverse reactions to his musical interpretations, there is something to be said for his art.

It should not be lost on us all that Lang Lang won the gold medal in the young peoples' section of the most prestigious international piano competition in the world -- the Tchaikovsky International Competition. If those Russian diehards gave Lang Lang the nod.....there really is little left to say in that regard, no?

Another example of the new-controversial-superstar-bashing tradition is to be found in the story of the [former] Russian prodigy Evgeny Kissin (who is about a decade senior to Lang Lang), another pianist who inspires thunderous acclaim for the most part but toward whom there is a vocal minority of nay-sayers who just cannot stomach his intellectual approach to musical interpretation. That is OK. We need a few teapot tempests to stir our complacent (read: non-thinking) classical audiences out of their malaise.

But back to Lang Lang. I have listened to his Tchaikovsky recording many times and noted arresting nuances in the recording that I found refreshing, titillating and downright colorful. More significantly, listening to the recording causes me chills and tremors that are completely out of my control. Bottom line -- his reading sends me into a state of exuberance that rarely occurs, but which I have experienced when listening to or viewing live artists such as violinists Kyung Wha Chung (ever heard her Tchaikovsky Concerto??!!) and Nathan Milstein (get a load of his Bach!), sopranos Leontyne Price, Anna Moffo, and pianists Richter, Rubinstein, and even Lazar Berman. I cannot help the fact of my reactions-- all I can do is share with you that I have remarkable reactions to the reading. If it happens to me, then it may certainly happen to you. And that is a good thing, no?

I have also seen live Lang Lang perform the Tchaikovsky #1 with the Chicago Symphony under Maestro Barenboim where I noted the same nuances -- with a particularly polished brass section that brilliantly evinced a regality and delicateness that is virtually unprecedented in my experience. Of note is that Lang/Barenboim take their time with the piece. They are running at about 23 minutes for the first movement, for example -- which is not a triviality. That is a 10-20% slower rate of play than some of the great established pianists ( i.e., Argerich, Watts, Van Cliburn, etc., who wrap it up in as little as 19 minutes!), but very much in tempo with a handful of other absolutely wonderful artists such as Madamoiselle Victoria Postnikova (i.e., Mrs. Rostropovich) or the 1986 winner of the Eighth International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition -- Barry Douglas, who clocks in at 22'10". This reduced tempo, which is NOT necessarily too slow, enables Lang and Barenboim to elicit colors and underscore fine details of very complex passages that are all but lost when pianists rush through the piece as if they were in the Indy 500. Bottom line: I hear goodies via Lang Lang that have eluded me oft times in other recordings and performances, and I don't have to strain to taste them here.

I recommend Lang Lang's recording without qualifications. His genius (together with Barenboim's) is there in living color for you to admire or to scorn; regardless of the anti- Lang Lang contingent's sentiments, I believe that he, Kissin, along with a few other young stars (Pratt, Anderszewski, et al) will dominate the field for the first half of this century. If you love Lang Lang, get on the wagon now -- it's going to be one hell of ride. If you loathe Lang Lang, perhaps he'll grow on you -- as many greats tend to do (e.g., Horowitz had to grow on me, and it took a very long while). If Lang Lang doesn't grow on you, all I can say is that I am sorry that you will be missing a sublime experience.

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