Month: November 2009

Review: Lang Lang and the Seattle Symphony

Lang Lang is a rare commodity in the world of classical music today.  On the one hand, he is a star.  Put him on a program with the local symphony orchestra and the house will sell out.  His stardom arises from his limitless talent and unorthodox displays of ecstasy, joy, and fitful energy at the keyboard.  On the other hand, Lang Lang is an artist conscious of the box stardom could erect around him.  Lang Lang’s most recent CD, a program of chamber music, is a first for the pianist. He is also participating in Carnegie Hall’s Chinese music festival performing alongside other musicians from China and on November 10 in a performance with the Shanghai Symphony.  Defining this pianist is a difficult proposition.  Lang Lang is proving that stardom and artistry can coexist.

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Chamber music concert continues Russian tradition in Seattle

I have been to three of the four concerts put on by the Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle. Each time, I have high hopes for the future of this local group. The last concert I attended, a Rachmaninov retrospective performed by musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, was poorly attended and I wondered if the foundation would survive in Seattle. This worry was dispelled by Friday night’s concert which might mark a turning point for the foundation. Three fine guest musicians – Sean Osborn (clarinet); Erin Keefe (violin); and Alexander Tutonov (piano) – joined Natalya Ageyeva, a pianist and the foundation’s founder. A large crowd turned out for the performance, and, on paper, the program looked interesting.

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Intemperate Mahler from temperate San Francisco

San Francisco might seem like an unlikely place for a Mahler tradition to take root. Mahler’s epic, heaven shaking symphonies don’t exactly match up seamlessly with the casual atmosphere of the Bay Area, its progressive politics, and foggy, clement summer days. But, that is exactly what has happened in San Francisco since Michael Tilson Thomas stepped onto the podium as the orchestra’s music director in 1995.

Before MTT joined the orchestra, the SFS was already known as one of the West Coast’s innovative orchestras. Former music director Edo de Waart advocated the music of American minimalists and Herbert Blomstedt followed up De Waart’s successes with electric performances of non-standard repertory by Hindemith, Wourinen, and Nielsen.

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