I have to confess to a little puzzlement on receiving this Lang
Lang double disc set for review; after all, surely it was only
released in 2004 and reviewed widely, including these pages (see
review).
There quickly followed a DVD of the same Carnegie Hall concert,
a fairly standard procedure, so what is the above? Well, this
is the ‘Deluxe Edition’, which appears to be a slice of shameless
milking of the product by DG, whereby we get the lion’s share
of the concert (up to the final Liszt item) on audio-only CD,
and then the Liszt and all the encores, plus short interview fillers,
on a companion DVD. Fair enough I suppose, in this day and age,
though some of the pianist’s many admirers may well be frustrated
at only having half and half, as it were, to say nothing of already
owning one of the previous incarnations.
So
it’s slightly odd to have just the playing for most items
and then to witness Lang Lang’s rather emotive physical keyboard
manner for the rest of the recital. For my part, I much prefer
the CD, which has better sound quality anyway, with no distraction,
so maybe that’s why fewer items are on the DVD. Whatever the
case, I certainly enjoyed much of the playing on offer.
This
recital joins a starry list of famous Carnegie Hall debuts,
and the programming – and playing – of the first item reminded
me of Evgeny Kissin’s RCA debut set from 1990. The Schumann
Abegg Variations is a marvellously inventive, exuberant
8 minutes, and Lang Lang really goes for it. His technique
is easily the equal of Kissin’s, and on comparison I also
find his tone rather more pleasing and his phrasing less four-square
and dogged. Kissin’s right hand passagework is miraculous,
but the Chinese pianist finds a tad more colour and variety
in the inner sections.
His
Haydn I find less quirky than previous reviewers, who have
criticized the phrasing and rubato. Yes, it’s true he rather
indulges in the slow movement, which I find unconvincing,
but the outer movements have a wit and zest which is very
infectious. Brendel or Schiff will give you ‘safer’ readings,
but Lang Lang’s quirky edge is similar to the recent Hamelin
reading on Hyperion, and that’s high praise indeed.
He
barely waits for the thunderous applause to subside before
launching into Schubert’s great ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy. Here,
I do like his architectural overview of the piece, which can
seem rather diffuse and episodic in the wrong hands. He paces
well, careful not to take things too quickly too early, so
that we really get a sense of cumulative impact when the fugue
is finally reached. Overall, I still prefer Perahia on Sony
(just) but this is mightily impressive and intelligent live
playing.
The
Tan Dun ‘Watercolour’ pieces are quite enjoyable, sitting
somewhere between Debussy and early Bartok, and are an obvious
and worthwhile addition to the programme by a Chinese pianist.
The Chopin Nocturne is less enjoyable, the phrasing pulled
around rather mercilessly and the bass lines unnecessarily
thumped out.
The
Liszt Don Juan Fantasy is stunning in its virtuosity
– the more so for seeing those fingers fly in a blur across
the keyboard – but I have heard more convincing shaping of
the middle ‘Mozartian’ section, especially from that grand
Lisztian Earl Wild. Still, it’s an astonishing live performance
and Lang Lang’s grimacing and contorting, whilst a bit affected
and theatrical, shows a genuine ‘living’ of the moods and
contrasts within the piece.
The
encores are nicely done, with an appreciatively straight Träumerei
and an exceptional Liebestraum, elegantly shaped and
executed. The ‘Horses’ bit is a throwaway oddity mainly there
to give his dad a chance to show his accomplishment on the
erhu, a bowed one-string affair that sounds at times like
a saw. The audience, rather predictably, go into raptures
at the end.
The
DVD extras are also predictable, with short (2 or 3 minute)
interviews extolling the virtues of his chosen items, rather
than any probing questions. The best, by far, is the section
‘On Youth and Music’, where he is seen wowing a teenage audience
in what looks like a rough-ish inner city school by playing
Liszt on their battered grand then listening intently as some
of them doodle at the keyboard. At least it shows genuine
humility for his gifts and the need to share them - and not
just with a white, intelligent middle-class audience.
This
may fill a gap if you don’t have either of the earlier issues,
though from what I can ascertain it’s dearer than either of those
so I’m not quite sure of its place in the market. Ultimately,
if you can do without the extras- and I could – the original CDs
are cheapest and probably still most worthwhile.
Tony Haywood
