Yuja Wang excels in Janáček and Shostakovich in Bucharest

By Edward Sava-Segal, 16 September 2021

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“Yuja Wang marvellously switched from virtuosic passages to subtle textures”

Reviewed at Romanian Atheneum (Ateneul Român), Bucharest on 15 September 2021

Haydn, Symphony no. 31 in D major "Hornsignal”

Janáček, Capriccio for Piano Left Hand and Winds

Stravinsky, Octet for winds

Shostakovich, Piano Concerto no. 2 in F major, Op.102

Sgambati, Mélodie (transcribed from Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice)

Kapustin, 8 Concert Etudes, Op.40: Toccatina no. 3

Yuja Wang, Piano

Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Yuja Wang with the Mahler CO: between lyricism and volatility

Edward Sava-Segal, 1st May

Yuja Wang and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra frame Chopin’s E minor concerto with two Prokofiev works, the First Symphony and Second Piano Concerto.

****1

Delicacy at the cost of spark: Mitsuko Uchida with the Mahler CO

Mengguang Huang, 26th January

While Uchida’s performances showcase remarkable precision and refinement, they occasionally feel restrained, leaving room to explore the improvisatory charm that make Mozart’s music so compelling.

***11

Magic and solemnity: Uchida and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Susan Stempleski, 28th March

Mitsuko Uchida and the MCO continue their exploration of Mozart’s piano concertos and the players deliver a polished New York premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Chorale Quartet.

****1

Lessons in grief: Picture a day like this triumphs in Aix

David Karlin, 5th July

Sir George Benjamin and Martin Crimp’s fourth opera shares the best qualities of their previous work but is an inspiring, breathtaking fable.

*****

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

The First and Second Viennese Schools in one: Uchida and the Mahler CO

Alexander Hall, 1st February

Dame Mitsuko Uchida demonstrates why she is one of today's greatest Mozartians, while her MCO players give a virtuoso account of a work steeped in the Viennese tradition.

****1

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Edward Sava-Segal

Edward has been living in New York for the last 25 years, one of the reasons being the extraordinarily rich cultural life in this city. He has studied piano and classical music in his early years. He switched later on to computer science and data architecture but he kept an unwavering interest in following the classical music phenomenon here in New York and in his travels. Edward occasionally reviews fine arts events for the most prestigious literary magazine in Romania, his home country.

Yuja Wang excels in Janáček and Shostakovich, directing the Mahler CO in Bucharest