J.S. Bach: Partita nr. 1 - Schubert: Piano Sonata nr. 21 - Chopin: Etudes op. 25

This week we were in a quiet place, spending time outdoors and discussing the future with friends and colleagues. There was hardly an opportunity to listen to music, but then I didn't feel like we missed something. All the more so as I had been stocking up on rich musical impressions at two live concerts just before we left. On Thursday (Feb 16th) I was graciously invited to attend a solo piano recital at Bozar featuring Lang Lang. I didn't know what to expect as I hadn't heard anything by this controversial musician. A genuine, larger-than-life artist or a billow of marketing-driven hot air? I had no idea. His eagerness to play the superstar role, however, raised my suspicions (reminding me of that other enfant terrible I've never been able to really take seriously, Nigel Kennedy). So there we were in a chock-full Henry Le Boeuf Hall with more than 2000 people in eager and noisy attendance (with a contingent of 150 seated at the podium facing the main hall). The good and great were amply represented. At the cloakroom I ran into Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, but in my haste sadly forgot to wisper her a word of caution as the spirit of the European project potentially derails under the iron grip of a blind oligarchy. Lang Lang had a Bozar spokesperson especially request a silent demeanour (no coughing, no cell phones) by the audience during the performance. It proved to be fruitless because as the concert unfolded the audience became more and more difficult to restrain. There was plenty of coughing from the start and after the break, the Chopin Etudes were interrupted three times by clamorous applause. And in the final Etude there was indeed a cell phone that (as I experienced it) artlessly and interminably brought the concert to a premature end. But despite those intrusions it was a memorable concert. And then I'm thinking particularly of that great, last Schubert sonata (D. 960) which Lang Lang presented as the story of a life compressed in just 40 minutes. Despite the almost unbearable tension in the hall brought about by an audience that was anxiously trying to gutturally restrain itself, Lang Lang made no concessions and played this valedictory sonata in the most intimate manner, taking his time to sculpt every note and colour every chord in the most exquisite manner. It was quite obvious that here is a pianist with prodigious technical powers, whose musical imagination is the only limit to what his artistry is able to produce. His Bach Partita surprised me by its old-fashionedness, eschewing the percussive clarity that is nowadays 'de rigeur', occasionally meshing the voices, stressing the legato character and indulging in a rich, creamy rubato. I'm personally not offended by a romantic, lyrical interpretation of Bach's keyboard works and happily took it in stride, intrigued as I was by the remarkable technical facility displayed by the pianist. What also surprised me was Lang Lang's sober mien behind the keyboard with very little of the histrionics that for some reason I was led to expect. By the time he broached the Chopin Etudes - which he has been playing since he was 13 - there was no doubt Lang Lang was up to the task. However, for me Chopin's opus 25 needs to be played in one sweep in order to reveal the almost symphonic architecture underpinning this monumental piece. That, rather than the endless possbilities for virtuoso display is what makes this such a compelling experience. With all the audience interruptions Lang Lang's performance, whatever its merits, became for me rather pointless. As said, the unquestionable highlight of the evening was in my opinion a truly great Schubert sonata. Perhaps too meandering and disjointed for some tastes, but I still marvel at Lang Lang's amazing colouristic abilities, conjuring washes of colour with a sleight of hand. Again, there is no doubt that this is an artist of extraordinary abilities. The risk is, I feel, that these capabilities do not find a sufficiently disciplined and deeply rooted vessel to contain them. Lang Lang's art is rich, very rich and at a certain point this opulence may teeter into the manierist, the facile or simply the bombastic. As a kind of litmus test I'd love to hear him in Debussy where the ascetic and the luxuriant seamlessly mesh. Will he be able to keep the 'juste milieu'? After the concert the affable star was signing autographs in the Bozar shop. I asked him and he said eventually he will be happy to record some Debussy. May take a while, though. Meanwhile we'll follow with interest. Thanks again to KDK and WVDH for the treat.