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Now comparing to the cheer-leading of Toronto Star!

本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Mar. 17, 2005. 12:35 AM



Yes, yes — Lang Lang has claim to greatness


WILLIAM LITTLER

Having failed to bring a stopwatch to Roy Thomson Hall last night, I can't swear to having heard a world record broken in the performance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff's Flight of the Bumble Bee, but if Lang Lang didn't out-buzz Vladimir Horowitz he must have come pretty close.

The piano probably can't be played much faster than he played it on this occasion, his fingers barely touching the keys as he sped frantically to the double bar line. As a demonstration of Harry Potter-worthy keyboard wizardry, this bee-flight performance easily won the 22-year-old Chinese virtuoso his third ovation of the evening.

And this was only for his second encore. His Rachmaninov and his Liszt had already brought a near-capacity audience to its collective feet.

Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was not an encore but the evening's major keyboard event, with the China Philharmonic Orchestra making its Canadian debut as Lang Lang's accompanist.

Critics haven't been universally enthusiastic about his Rachmaninov of late, or about his interpretations in general, in the wake of a notorious review by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times accusing his recent playing of being "often incoherent, self-indulgent and slam-bang crass."

I didn't hear those qualities in last night's performances. I heard virtuosity of a breathtaking level, to be sure, but exhibited within appropriate musical parameters given the bravura nature of the music being performed.

The tempi chosen for the Rhapsody admittedly worked better for the piano than for the orchestra, which sometimes sounded a bit scrappy, trying to keep up. But the variations were individually characterized, the famous 18th variation was not milked for sentimental effect and the playing overall sounded musically on target.

As it happens, Rachmaninov was the first composer I heard this prodigiously talented young man play. It was the summer of 2000, he was still a teenager and his performance of the Russian composer's Third Piano Concerto turned an entire Chicago Symphony audience at the Ravinia Festival into a cheering chorus.

I felt at that time that I had heard one of the great keyboard talents of the present generation. My opinion has not changed. His return to Roy Thomson Hall this fall to play Chopin's E minor Concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra promises to be one of the musical events of the coming season.

As for the China Philharmonic Orchestra, at the precocious age of five it offered impressive testimony in support of the rising musical standards now being achieved in the world's most populous nation.

Back in the late 1970s, when the Toronto Symphony Orchestra visited the People's Republic, even Beijing's well-known Central Philharmonic sounded like a local institution. This new orchestra played with a high level of discipline and a clear right to be heard internationally.

Long Yu, its founding artistic director and a musician of considerable European experience, may have opted for square-cut rhythms in Rimsky Korsakov's Overture to The Tsar's Bride and a fast and loud approach to Arnold Schoenberg's orchestration of Brahms' Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Major, but he seems to be a good orchestral trainer, with an ability to draw out and shape large volumes of sound.

Those hoping for a burnished sound in the Brahms may have felt somewhat disappointed. His orchestra sounded bright, tense and rather hard-toned, eager to play with maximum physical impact.

Then again, it can't be relaxing, keeping company with Lang Lang.
Additional articles by William Littler更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
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Replies, comments and Discussions:

  • 枫下拾英 / 乐韵书香 / Lang Lang-Roy Thompson Hall-March 16, 2005
    本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛对朗朗是先闻其名, 后闻琴声. 早在两年前就在<纽约时报>上看到对他的报道, 一次在纽约路过Carnegie Hall时又看到关于他独奏音乐会的大幅广告. 那时就与两位在多伦多的喜欢音乐的朋友约好, 等下次朗朗来多伦多时一定一起去听他的演奏. 可惜因种种原因两位朋友今晚都不能去, 唉……

    今晚的音乐会其实是中国爱乐乐团的音乐会, 朗朗只是参加演出其中的一个节目. 但显然大部分听众都是冲着他去的. 当我7:40到RTH时, 大厅里已站满了人, 其中有许多华人, 看到了几位在多伦多还挺有名气的华人钢琴老师, 还有很多带着6-7 岁或更小的小孩的华人家长们, 以及华语媒体的记者们. 显然朗朗是一位让华人感到自豪的明星.

    当朗郎走上舞台时, 我的第一感觉就是朗郎越来越Cool了. 前不久曾看过他在Carnegie Hall独奏音乐会的DVD, 当时他穿的是红色的中装, 有点不伦不类的感觉. 但今晚他穿的是一黑色Jacket, 人好象比以前也瘦了些, 在舞台上的步法和对观众的行礼都颇有明星的风度, 看来DG唱片公司对他的包装还是下了不少功夫的.

    看朗郎Carnegie Hall recital 的DVD时觉得朗郎的表演--特别是他的面部表情--过于夸张, 但还是很喜欢他弹李斯特的<对莫扎特的唐璜的回想>, 非常有气势, 砸琴砸得过瘾! 所以一开始就盼着看/听他现场砸琴. 他今晚弹的是拉赫马尼洛夫的<帕格尼尼狂想曲>. 该曲是拉氏以帕格尼尼的小提琴变奏曲中的第24首--A小调 为基础编写的钢琴协奏曲. 乐队的开始让人感到帕格尼尼的小提琴变奏曲中的第17首--降E大调的影子, 当朗郎在乐队的伴奏下弹A小调的主题时, 我开始几乎听不到钢琴的声音, 令我大为吃惊. 整个协奏曲听下来的感觉是: (1)乐队声音太强, 经常淹没了朗郎的琴声. (2) 朗郎的技巧也确实不错, 弹得很放松, 无论是在开始的L'istesso Tempo还是后来的Andante Cantabile (如歌的行板), 他都弹得很自如, 手指可以充分表达他对
    音乐的感受.(3)他确是一个showman, 很有感染力,如在整个乐曲弹完以后把手在空中停留一秒钟,让听众感到意尤未尽的感觉.(4) 也许是看不到近镜头的关系, 现场看, 郎郎没有象在DVD上那么夸张. (5)他弹琴有点象弹Jazz, 不严谨,总有点Improvisation的感觉,有些notes一带而过.

    后来我想也许是现场听效果不好的原因吧,于是中场修息时买了一盘DG最近刚出的CD(他与俄罗斯的Orchestra of Mariinsky Theatre及著名指挥Valery Gergiev的合作演出),结果回家一听发现有同样的问题.再听伦敦交响乐团Andre Previn和Vladmir Ashkenazy演奏的同一个协奏曲,明显的感到Ashkenazy的老道,不管是快,慢,每一个note都弹得非常地到位,have full control while still be creative and inspirational. 看来朗郎要达到象Ashkenazy那样的境界还需要更多的磨练,只是不知道他有没有那个耐心.....

    谈朗郎不禁让我想起姚明,他们两人的talnet是豪无疑问的,但他们现在所受到的观注是否与赞助商们看中了中国人的市场有关?若是在十,十五年前,他们在北美会象今天这样红吗?

    听了朗郎和Ashkenazy弹的<帕格尼尼狂想曲>, 让我一时对拉赫马尼洛夫的兴趣大增,所幸的是Naxos Historical 出了他自己弹的,明天一定要去HMV把它找来听听.

    咳,最近侃音乐侃得也太多了,都差点忘了NBA了,Houston 最近连胜六场,加油啊,T-Mac and 姚明!更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
    • :)
      • 看来我们高估了朗朗的明星魅力, 这里没啥人感兴趣嘛.
        • 还真不太知道这人这么红,呵呵。就是听AM680老提Longlong Roy Thompson Hall March 16,提了一个多月,呵呵。// 另外问一个问题,干吗好象这里弄严肃音乐的人老爱有British口音?难道还有崇英情结不成?多谢指教。
          • 从字面上就看出accent来了?历害!连我自己都不知道啊...
            • 没那个能耐,呵呵。我是说听收音机的时候,象那个TSO的Peter 鹌鹑什么的。
              • he was born in toronto, but went to school in England.
          • sorry, i think i misunderstoo you. you meant in Canada? I am not sure they all have British accent, but lots of them have European origins.
    • 还是要钻一下牛角尖。楼主口误,把《帕格尼尼主题狂想曲》说成是协奏曲,而实际上这是一首地道的主题变奏曲 ^^ 另外,除了郎朗,其他的好像没说啊~~ 老音乐迷也是追星族? 呵呵
      • 对我来说, Orchestra 与钢琴的对话就叫协奏曲了 :) 其它的实在没啥好说的, 余隆看上去不象个艺术家, orchestra 就是Loud, 演了两首民乐改编的作品, 陪器很单调, 基本上就是弦乐队的演奏来代替二胡, 太没有想象力了....
        • 同意,大把大把的素材就这么被糟蹋了。。。。 《大地之歌》如何?
          • 没有演<大地之歌>
            • 瓦卡!还说首演呢~ 观众的意愿被强奸! Though I believe the audience didn't care that much. ^^
      • 我也学你“钻”一个牛角:你文中说的“帕格尼尼的小提琴变奏曲”应是“帕格尼尼的小提琴随想曲”
        • 好好好, 我们就需要这些精益求精的好同志们!
          • 不是精益求精,是实事求是~~:))
    • Now comparing to the cheer-leading of Toronto Star!
      本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Mar. 17, 2005. 12:35 AM



      Yes, yes — Lang Lang has claim to greatness


      WILLIAM LITTLER

      Having failed to bring a stopwatch to Roy Thomson Hall last night, I can't swear to having heard a world record broken in the performance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff's Flight of the Bumble Bee, but if Lang Lang didn't out-buzz Vladimir Horowitz he must have come pretty close.

      The piano probably can't be played much faster than he played it on this occasion, his fingers barely touching the keys as he sped frantically to the double bar line. As a demonstration of Harry Potter-worthy keyboard wizardry, this bee-flight performance easily won the 22-year-old Chinese virtuoso his third ovation of the evening.

      And this was only for his second encore. His Rachmaninov and his Liszt had already brought a near-capacity audience to its collective feet.

      Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was not an encore but the evening's major keyboard event, with the China Philharmonic Orchestra making its Canadian debut as Lang Lang's accompanist.

      Critics haven't been universally enthusiastic about his Rachmaninov of late, or about his interpretations in general, in the wake of a notorious review by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times accusing his recent playing of being "often incoherent, self-indulgent and slam-bang crass."

      I didn't hear those qualities in last night's performances. I heard virtuosity of a breathtaking level, to be sure, but exhibited within appropriate musical parameters given the bravura nature of the music being performed.

      The tempi chosen for the Rhapsody admittedly worked better for the piano than for the orchestra, which sometimes sounded a bit scrappy, trying to keep up. But the variations were individually characterized, the famous 18th variation was not milked for sentimental effect and the playing overall sounded musically on target.

      As it happens, Rachmaninov was the first composer I heard this prodigiously talented young man play. It was the summer of 2000, he was still a teenager and his performance of the Russian composer's Third Piano Concerto turned an entire Chicago Symphony audience at the Ravinia Festival into a cheering chorus.

      I felt at that time that I had heard one of the great keyboard talents of the present generation. My opinion has not changed. His return to Roy Thomson Hall this fall to play Chopin's E minor Concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra promises to be one of the musical events of the coming season.

      As for the China Philharmonic Orchestra, at the precocious age of five it offered impressive testimony in support of the rising musical standards now being achieved in the world's most populous nation.

      Back in the late 1970s, when the Toronto Symphony Orchestra visited the People's Republic, even Beijing's well-known Central Philharmonic sounded like a local institution. This new orchestra played with a high level of discipline and a clear right to be heard internationally.

      Long Yu, its founding artistic director and a musician of considerable European experience, may have opted for square-cut rhythms in Rimsky Korsakov's Overture to The Tsar's Bride and a fast and loud approach to Arnold Schoenberg's orchestration of Brahms' Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Major, but he seems to be a good orchestral trainer, with an ability to draw out and shape large volumes of sound.

      Those hoping for a burnished sound in the Brahms may have felt somewhat disappointed. His orchestra sounded bright, tense and rather hard-toned, eager to play with maximum physical impact.

      Then again, it can't be relaxing, keeping company with Lang Lang.
      Additional articles by William Littler更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
    • 不知道勃拉姆斯钢琴四重奏用乐队奏出来是什么味道。You see, it's always something that interests me - to hear a chamber work played by the full force of an orchestra. Moreover the orchestration was done by Schoneberg!
      • one word: too loud, Schoneberg might not like it either
        • actually those were two words :)
        • 四月二号我会去听那场现代作品音乐会,届时会看到加拿大著名的St.Lawrence SQ。现在tsoundcheck的票只卖$5,I can't miss it. Lemme know if you wanna come along.
          • thanks!
            i am not sure, i may have to do babysitting.
          • 我怎么看到最便宜也要$27?
            • 我说的是tsoundcheck,专门照顾年轻人的票 ^^ 你想去吗?
              • Is there any requirement on age? I am not young any more....//sob
                • 15-29
          • 看了之后,可介绍一下吗~~谢谢~~
    • 不过如此,也就是如此~~对年轻人要鼓励为主~~~~~朗朗还年轻~~祝百尺竿头更进一步~~
    • 要命是正当年,我觉的艺术还是要有人生的感悟,不然就是纯技巧了,当然也有曲高和寡.但是老(小)莫又是从哪里来的这些感悟呢?少年老成吗?请老师们原谅我的愚猛.
      • 说的很好, 郎郎的长处就是技巧. 钢琴是他的一个玩具. 莫扎特的音乐也是讲技巧, 但是那是创造性的技巧--如何用前人没用过的方式来表现音乐的一切可能性. 郎郎是耍刀的, 而莫扎特是让人知道纸他也能做成刀的.
        莫扎特可不是少年老成, 他到死都是一个孩子.
        • 谢谢,还有问题,不过我慢慢问.问一个和音乐有点联系的,你能听mp3吗?
          • 不客气, 我也是瞎侃---我可以听MP3, 甚至还有一个iPod, :)