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Chopin: The Piano Concertos

 Rating 4
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80% Recommended by our customers.
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: Music
Release date: 2008-09-09
Media: Audio CD
discs number: 1
Ean: 0028947779841
Upc: 028947779841
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Artist:
Lang Langsee more Classical Music by Lang Lang

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Album tracks: (6)
 I Allegro maestoso
 II Romance: Larghetto
 III Rondo: Vivace
 I Maestoso
 II Larghetto
 III Allegro vivace

Professional Review:
The long-awaited and highly anticipated recording of Lang Lang performing Chopin's Piano Concertos nos. 1 & 2 has arrived. Both concertos are among the most beloved in the repertoire and Lang Lang's many concert performances frequently receive the highest praise. Lang Lang is joined by Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Philharmonic in a brilliant pairing of talent and temperament. This is sure to become a benchmark recording of these beloved concertos. Lang Lang has sold over 100,000 CDs in the US alone and will be on tour September to November throughout the US, including many performances of the Chopin concertos.

User Reviews:
 Rating 3   Written on September 9, 2008
   Summary: Beautiful playing, but the overall feeling is dull and lacking in brio
It's startling to read in the product description that Lang Lang has sold only 100,000 CDs in the U.S., despite his sold-out concerts and mass popularity. (Perhaps downloads account for the small disc sales.) On the three occasions that I've heard him, I was impressed by his sensitivity in Chopin, not to mention his touch and technique. At heart I think Lang Lang is a lyrical player, and although he can sound like a fish out of water when it comes to traditional German style, Chopin affords a lot of personal leeway (this latitude has also benefited his compatriot Yundi Li).

These Chopin performances will not suit anyone looking for extravert fireworks or nervous energy a la Argerich, or for the noble command of Michelangeli and Pollini. Zubin Mehta establishes a conventional framework that isn't high in energy, and the soloist enters Concerto #2 in a ruminative mood. Despite the ease of his passagework, Lang Lang phrases almost with hesitancy. The slow movement of #2 is sung gently, and here his phrasing seems just right in its balance of simplicity and freedom. The waltz finale feels too restrained, however, and lacks brio and spring.

Concerto #1 is deservedly more popular, but I wish Mehta didn't start out sounding so uninvolved. Lang Lang's playing is also too relaxed, lovely as it is. Not every note should sound like a raindrop. The slow movement of #1 is hushed but loses tension as it goes along. Keeping the line taut at such a soft volume is difficult. Heard as pure playing, however, Lang Lang again shows how nuanced his touch is. The finale is marked Rondo vivace, and one wishes for a lot more vivaciousness here. Only in the development section does the soloist find reserves of power and depth that make you pay attention.

In all, this doesn't sound like a young man's Chopin to me, and Mehta's dull accompaniment can't be the only reason.

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CatalogMusicMusicMusicMusicMusicMusic
Release date2008-09-092008-02-052008-09-022008-10-142007-05-082005-02-08
MediaAudio CDAudio CDAudio CDAudio CDAudio CDAudio CD
discs number111111
Ean002894777984100289480065880886971101324088697244142900289477642740028947752318
Upc028947779841028948006588886971101324886972441429028947764274028947752318
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