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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

01.23.2006 Lang Lang

Ah where do I begin with this one... Normally I don't see too many classical music shows, not so much because I don't like it, moreso that I don't like them enough to spend xx.xx amount of dollars. As a cavet, my classical palette isn't anywhere close to where my rock/indie/metal is. With that been said, I am not a complete philistine. I have listened to Lang Lang before. Beyond the numerous accolades and awards, Lang Lang was probably as close to a true piano prodigy that I'll see.

The show took place at the Orpheum Theater, one of Vancouver's older venues. The crowd was about 90% capacity with a rather odd seating on stage. The solo pianist would be playing in profile. The first set of the show I found to be very introspective yet slightly on the tedious side. The Mozart piece was played well as was the Schumann piece. The second half of the show was where things really picked up. In particuar, the Liszt pieces showcased much of the technical prowess that he was known for. However, as well as the pieces were played you do get a sense of criticism that has been with Lang Lang being overly flamboyant with heavy phrasing and lacking sensitivity. The 6 traditional Chinese works were a welcome suprise and quite enjoyable. The 5 encores made everything worth it in the end. I don't think I've ever witnessed that many encores before. I can't remember the last time I felt that much anticipation as to whether or not there would be another encore let alone 5 times.

Setlist:

W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) Piano Sonata No. 13 in B flat major, K. 333
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Fantasie for piano in C major, Op. 17
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Traditional 6 Traditional Chinese Works
Enrique Granados (1867-1916) Goyescas, H. 64 No. 1: Los Requiebros
Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Isoldens Liebestod: Schlußszene aus Tristan und Isolde, transcription for piano (after Wagner), S. 447
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody for piano No. 6 in D flat major, S. 244/6
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Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Etude Opus 10 No. 3 in E major
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) Flight of the Bumblebee
Waltz from "The Painted Veil"
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody for piano No. 2 in C sharp minor



$20/0 It was free but it was 2+ hours well spent.

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