Melancholy, passion, brilliance

By Zoltán Szabó, 10 June 2016

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“he dared to play with a barely audible tenderness that I have never experienced in any piano recital”

Reviewed at City Recital Hall, Sydney on 8 June 2016

Tchaikovsky, Les Saisons (The Seasons) for piano, Op.37a or Op.37b

Bach, Italian Concerto, BWV971

Chopin, Scherzo no. 1 in B minor, Op.20

Chopin, Scherzo no. 2 in B flat minor, Op.31

Chopin, Scherzo no. 3 in C sharp minor, Op.39

Chopin, Scherzo no. 4 in E major, Op.54

Lang Lang, Piano

Lang Lang headlines a festive evening at the Pittsburgh Symphony

Sam Jacobson, 19th March

Lang Lang gives a dramatic, technically brilliant rendition of Grieg’s beloved piano concerto.

***11

Mixed results from Angel Blue and Lang Lang in Carnegie Hall recital

Susan Stempleski, 8th March

The pianist impressed but the soprano proved less than ideally suited to some of the selections in a wide-ranging recital program that included Rachmaninov, Strauss, standards and spirituals.

***11

Lang Lang steals the show at LA Phil's season-opening gala

Laurence Vittes, 1st October

At Disney Hall, Gustavo Dudamel and Lang Lang open the LA Phil's season with Rachmaninov and Ginastera.

****1

Lang Lang sparkles in Hong Kong Beethoven

Christopher Halls, 15th December

Star pianist Lang Lang delivers a drama-packed Beethoven concerto; Jaap van Zweden and the Hong Kong Phil impress in Copland's fanfare-filled Third Symphony.

****1

Master of contrasts: Lang Lang excels in Saint-Saëns in Seattle

Erica Miner, 29th September

A manic 20th-century ride and a Technicolor showpiece bookend the astounding virtuosity of superstar pianist Lang Lang.

*****

At the Concertgebouw, it's all about Lang Lang

Clare Varney, 1st June

No ordinary evening at the Concertgebouw, where Lang Lang’s partnership with Andris Nelsons is the perfect vehicle to examine the complexities and contrasts found in the music of Beethoven.

****1

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Zoltán Szabó

Zoltán Szabó is a cellist and musicologist. Having migrated from his native Hungary to Australia in 1985, he worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney until 1991, when he became Principal Cello with Opera Australia. In 2017, he was awarded with a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD). Currently, he is teaching music history and musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Tchaikovsky’s melancholy, Chopin’s passion, Lang Lang’s brilliance