One can imagine from the title that pianist Lang Lang must have been enthusiastic. The rest of us have reason to be enthused as well. Franz Liszt was born on Oct. 22, 1811, and if you glance at your calendar you’ll note that his 200th birthday is this coming Saturday. It’s also the day that Lang Lang’s live concert in celebration of the event is being broadcast to theaters around the nation, including two AMC Theatres in Torrance which will screen them (see below) on Monday evening.
Despite Ken Russelll’s “Lisztomania,” a bio-pic starring The Who’s Roger Daltrey, a few stragglers among us may not be aware of the fame and stature that the Hungarian-born Liszt achieved during his lifetime. Actually, Lang Lang himself sums it up best: “Liszt was a rock star – he was wild, and women idolized him” That’s all you need to know. Just close your eyes, and listen.
Well, keep them open long enough to read this review.
The work that Lang Lang has chosen to record ranges in temperament and tone, revealing the artistic reaches of both performer and composer – and Liszt was a keyboard prodigy who toured Europe over and over.
By way of a prelude, or an appetizer, Lang Lang begins with the Romance “Ô pourquoi donc” in E minor, followed by the familiar “La campanella” in G-sharp minor from Grandes Études de Paganini. This one sounds as if Lang Lang has one hand on a toy piano while the other plays on a more conventional instrument. His fingers skitter across the highest octaves, but then – as the piece truly demands – he gets down and goes to town.
Following the Consolation No. 3 in D-flat major, which is as dreamy and unobtrusive as its title, Lang Lang launches into the Grand Galop chromatique in E-flat major, which one can best describe as jaunty. Where are the can-can girls?
Another familiar selection, Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat major, has quite a beautiful melody, and is beautifully played. Wait, there’s more. Lang Lang plays it with true feeling.
Included, also, are two of the Hungarian Rhapsodies. The No. 6 in D-flat major seems ornate and exploratory. We follow the pianist into an aural labyrinth, and there are many discoveries along the way, some soft, some bright and hard, some measured, some ready to scamper off. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 in A minor, known as the “Rákóczy March,” was recorded years ago by Vladimir Horowitz. Enthralled by that particular rendition, Lang Lang revisits it here.
Those with the time and the inclination to do so can compare this version with others, for it is an oft-recorded piece, one that requires a gentle touch during certain passages and a willingness to press ahead resolutely during others (for it is, after all, a “march”).
One may ask how Schubert’s “Ave Maria” sneaked into the mix. The liner notes are silent on this point, but Liszt made transcriptions of works by other composers, Schubert among them, and I’m guessing that “Ave Maria” is one of them.
“Liszt My Hero” concludes with a performance of the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Valery Gergiev, of the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. The original premiere took place in Weimar in 1855 with Hector Berlioz wielding the baton and Liszt himself seated at the piano. My knowledge of Berlioz is only that of a composer – and an entertaining memoirist – but I can say that I’ve heard Gergiev conduct on several occasions and he’s always riveting.
The three-movement piano concerto is full of Romantic fervor and verve. It ends, as so much in that era did, like a locomotive blowing its whistle and coming to a fanfare of a screeching halt.
Comments from the peanut gallery? The album is superbly recorded and Lang Lang is unquestionably gifted. The packaging, however, is a little too artsy and busy, and the liner notes – while well written – are not extensive (more meat, please; less potatoes). Yes, but this is a delight that transcends time. That’s because, sounding fresh and vital, the music surges to life when it’s in the right hands, as it is here.
Lang Lang Live on Franz Liszt’s 200th Birthday is just that, a live classical music in-theater event featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Charles Dutoit, and being “cinemacast,” at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the Del Amo 18 and at 8:30 p.m.; also on Monday, in the Rolling Hills 20, both in Torrance. ER
