Lang Lang Live at Carnegie Hall

Lang Lang: Dragon Songs (Plus DVD) This is music of great diversity and charm. Lang Lang returns here to his native China for solo, chamber, and orchestral music. Those expecting great exoticisms will not find them here. We are all aware of how the East influenced the West in music - Debussy, Ravel, and other com...	Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2; Paganini Rhapsody Pairing stars like Lang Lang and Valery Gergiev in two of Rachmaninov's most-popular works should yield a success, but it doesn't. In the Piano Concerto No. 2, Lang Lang's soggy rhythms and heavy phrasing are magnified by engineering that spotlights his instrument, even when the ...	Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4 What a beautiful recording! Perhaps the most exciting thing about Lang Lang's playing is that when he plays softly and lyrically, he doesn't sound as if he's holding back; when he opts to stomp and yell, it sounds equally natural. The First Concerto is played with lightness a...	Memory If it is possible to play the piano charismatically, then that is what Lang Lang does. His total identification with each piece gives his playing a warmth, a personal touch, that is unique. His performance of Mozart's K. 330 is ideally classical. The opening movement seems play...	The Magic Of Lang Lang Lang Lang is the world s most successful pianist, the hottest artist onthe classical music planet (The New York Times). He has an extraordinaryability to connect with audiences on a deeply personal level, transcendingthe classical music world and achieving a level of popularity r...
Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn: First Piano Concertos Barely out of his teens on this recording, Lang Lang demonstrates plenty of virtuoso finger dexterity, but also places his personal stamp on the music. In the Tchaikovsky, a barn-burner of a piece that some pianists use to show how fast and loud they can play, Lang stresses the l...	Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3, Scriabin Etudes Recorded during live concert performances, Lang Lang's second Telarc release justifies all the positive buzz surrounding this young pianist's rapidly ascending international career. He brings plenty of finger power and long-lined drama to Rachmaninov's ubiquitous Third Concerto, ...	Haydn, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Balakirev / Lang Lang This CD, apparently a recording debut, presents a Chinese pianist in his teens in live performance (at Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood). It has many successful elements. The first one is the pianist's selection of Haydn to begin his program, since few pianists these days bother to investi...	Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story “Number One” was a phrase my father—and, for that matter, my mother—repeated time and time again. It was a phrase spoken by my parents’ friends and by their friends’ children. Whenever adults discussed the great Chinese painters and sculptors f...	Chopin: The Piano Concertos 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 joi...

Good, but could be much better
I attended this concert and an earlier one given by Lang Lang before he became a superstar, and the truth is both the fans and the critics are right. There is no question in my mind that Lang Lang can be one of the world's top pianists. It is a question of whether he can stay away from the excesses that are present on this recording, the temptation to play in an overromanticized, self-indulgent, and unmusical way. He can definitely do it; his recording of Rach 3 is proof. So is the Tan Dun, which happens to be an excellent, shimmering, nuanced performance. I think he will probably settle down as he gets older. I have been somewhat disappointed in the concerto recordings, mostly because I find some of his playing much too slow (see the Tchaikovsky 1). On the other hand, I am quite sure Daniel Barenboim had at least something to do with it, because Barenboim does not strike me as the type of conductor who would stay out of the pianist's way. When Kissin recorded the Tchaikovsky 1 with Karajan, he also played the first movement too slowly. Later, when he played it on TV with Seiji Ozawa, he turned in one of the best performances of all time and played it normally.

We all should love our profession this much!
After listening to, a well as WATCHING this young man exude pure delight as his entire body gets involved in his performance, I think we should all love our profession as much as he does. We who are well-seasoned pianists, must remember that it took us time to reach our 'fuller' potential. It time for us to 'grow' into the hands we needed to handle the demands of the classical composition. It took time for us to learn how to 'measure' out the phrases; 'breathe', for the piano, and introduce all the emotions and color that any composition contains. For the 'moment' in this young man's life, I think he's enjoying the exhiliration of dancing upon the keys; the excitement of his personal achievement, and as he matures, he'll remember to 'grace' the piece and honor the composer. I believe he'll come to want to 'tell a story', rather than show his agility and 'aerobic' skills as he bounces about on the piano stool. The story I think this musician will one tell, is one will evolve into the likes a Van Cliburn or Victor Borge (both who we've all enjoyed I'm sure). I don't see a Horowitz in the making; Horowitz was not 'made' - he just embodied music in a way few will ever come close to. Count the billions of people in this world; single out the hand-ful that can make us feel joy; admiration, and deep respect for a talent so dedicated, and so in tune with his inner-self. It is Lang Lang that lives right now; one day, Lang Lang will bring to life each individual who has composed the works he plays - he has the skill to do it, only the maturity and the 'listening' to what the composer wants to have said, (at times) is lacking.

Worst Wanderer Fantasy EVER?
I can't believe the positive reviews this recording has gotten. Don't believe the hype folks; Lang Lang may have technique to burn, but most 1st-year conservatory students possess at least the same interpretive depth, if not more. When he isn't indulging himself in interpretive excess, then Lang Lang is playing as if he really doesn't care much at all. His Schubert is garbage. Let him stick to playing Chinese compositions unknown to Western audiences, because virtually none of us will have any way of drawing comparisons between his interpretation and that of others. I can only assume that his interpretation of Dun Tan is the definitive version --- but I doubt it.

Pianistic Glory at its best!!!!
Wow!! I have read several of the 'negative' reviews here and can only conclude (after viewing the DVD four times and counting) that what may be going on with these folks is something they themselves simply don't understand (about themselves!). They cannot or will not accept that here with Lang Lang, as with Evgeny Kissin (ever notice?) the world is being introduced to the next and even greater generation of pianistic virtuosos, young prodigies who can do everything that Horowitz and even Lizst ever did and more... I have no doubt those two would agree were they alive today. Karajan wept (for joy)when he heard the young Kissin perform Chopin's Fantasy in F# minor, Mehta was so taken with Kissin's performance under his baton that he could not refrain from hugging the young boy after a stellar performance... Andre Watts, not often praising his contemporaries, mused about finding the nearest bridge to jump off after hearing Kissin play realizing he was not in the same league and one other recent winner of an International Competition had to pull his car over to the side of the road, he was so taken with Kissin.... yes, I know it seems like I forgot we are talking about Lang Lang.... Lang Lang can do everything Kissin can and maybe more...Are we to believe that these aforementioned individuals are musical idiots prone to such actions?!! Folks! accept it, embrace it and thank God for it!... just as he did when simultaneously brought Chopin and Liszt to our world in the early 1800's (they were the same age except for a year) He has now given us another Double Blast of Pianistic Glory in Kissin and Lang Lang! Pity those who can't get beyond their envy, jealously, general jadedness with life... or whatever ails them... they need help, lots of help! As for me and many like me (BTW, it doesnt count for much but I am a pianist myself)... we are so grateful and blessed to have these 2 young men and the miracle of DVD technology to bring their concerts right into our living room!

An outstanding performance and story of a child prodigy
Lang Lang has the charm of an ebullient child as he plays the piano. I have never seen a pianists enjoy himself with such gay abandon, a delight that lured me into a space of complete attention. I sat with a smile on my face thoughout most of the performance. However, his wonderful performance air was only second to his pianism. You will gasp in awe during Reminiscenses de Don Juan. Lang Lang conveys powerful energy though the piano without losing the delicate touches and grace. The skill is a contradiction that few virtuosos have. Bravo!