Review: Lang Lang triumphs at Philharmonic Society opening. The Orange County Register, Oct. 20, 2015.
Review: Lang Lang triumphs at Philharmonic Society opening. The Orange County Register, Oct. 20, 2015.
October 21, 2015
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I like your review style, TMangan. Very authentic :). Would love to feature your reviews in our weekly curated email digest that goes out to thousands of people.
Not having attended this recital, i can nevertheless easily recognize in Tim’s review precisely the pianist whom i have heard many times for over a decade now. Saying that he “tends to exaggerate” is an understatement (a sin of which he can never be accused of being guilty). He is such a tremendous talent that i feel frustrated every time i hear him, always thinking: can’t he please do exactly the same thing he does but just a little less of it? Not quite so fast in fast passages, not quite so slow in slow ones, just a little less rubato and less extreme contrasts – his playing could then be so brilliant and truly musical! But i guess then he wouldn’t be Lang Lang. The visual stuff doesn’t bother me much but i know that it is a distracting problem for many other listeners.
Last week here in downtown LA we were “entertained” by a pianist (wearing three hats in each of the three performances as soloist/conductor/accompanist) who may be described as an ultimate Anti-Lang-Lang. This triple-threat man has such an unerringly perfect musical taste that seemingly he would not be able to exaggerate anything even if his life depended on it. If any pianist can be accused of “exaggerated moderation” in music, it would be Sir Andras Schiff. He engenders a different kind of frustration in me every time i experience his music-making: can he please get just a little bit wild and crazy sometimes? Again, probably not – because that is not who he is.