classical music: Yundi Li

classical music: Yundi Li

classical music:

Yundi Li

Horowitz in Hamburg: The Last Concert

Vladimir Horowitz, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2008

A Fond Farewell
For those familiar with Vladimir Horowitz's televised recital from Vienna a few weeks prior to this one, both the repertoire and the manner of performance will be similar. There are a few differences in details, which mainly spring from the differences between ...

Schoenberg Violin Concerto Op.36/Sibelius Violin Concerto Op.47

Sibelius, Schoenberg, ...

DG, 2008

Great Sibelius but the Schoenberg is the showstopper
It'd be tempting to say the classical music recording industry is in great shape when the Schoenberg on this disc is the primary work and the Sibelius is the "flip-side." But a look at much of the rest of the industry shows that this is an anomaly...still, we'll take ...

The Magic Of Lang Lang

Frederic Chopin, David / Afanasieff, Walter Foster, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2008

Incomparable!
I am 72 and have had the good fortune to listen to many of the great pianists "in person" at various musical venues over a lifetime. I have also developed an extensive music library over the years. Comparing artists is a waste of time and effort as each has his or her ...

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4

Pascal Moragues, Ludwig van Beethoven, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2007

My Lang Lang weekend, Pt. 2- No disappointment here!
I received this disc of Beethoven piano concertos by Lang Lang on the same day as his Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2; Paganini Rhapsody, and listened to both for the first time this weekend. Like many, I was disappointed by the Rachmaninov Piano Ct. No. 2 with ...

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2; Paganini Rhapsody

Sergey Rachmaninov, Valery Gergiev, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2005

Pay no heed to the anti-hype
This is a great CD. I've listened to it at least 10 times both in my car and in my phones at work. Yes, I have other versions of these pieces. This version certainly stands up to any I've heard. One disclaimer though is that I have seen Lang Lang in concert and ...

Chopin: The Piano Concertos

Chopin, Zubin Mehta, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2008

A sublmial reading of Chopin's: and I bet that's the way Chopin would have it!
Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1, the second one composed by him, was first performed during one of Chopin's "farewell" concerts before leaving Poland. The treatment by Lang Lang and Mehta in this recording is suitably nostaglic, though in terms of tempo not nearly as ...

Lang Lang: Dragon Songs (Plus DVD)

Lang Lang

Deutsche Grammophon, 2007

Thoroughly enjoyable!
Recorded in Bejing in 2006, this combination CD/DVD from Deutsche Grammophon offers a comfortable mix of East and West in fourteen musical selections that run the gamut from major compositions in China such as the 1939 "Yellow River Concerto," running 20 minutes in ...

Schumann, Brahms: Piano Quintets

Brahms, Schumann

Virgin Classics, 2007

An odd mixture of inspiration and ordinariness
If you were to sample the first and last movements of the Brahms Piano Quintet on this CD, the musical alliance of Andsnes and the Artemis Qt. seem ideal. Aided by gorgeous recorded sound, the ensemble carries wonderful convinciton in their phrasing -- you are pulled ...

Lang Lang: Live at Carnegie Hall

Lang Lang

Deutsche Grammophon, 2004

A Neophyte Review of Lang Lang: Live at Carnegie Hall
This review will not be as euridite as some you have read who are very knowledgeable about music -- particularly piano. I have just recently returned to piano lessons after an absense of about 30 years, at least. It was my teacher who introduced me to Lang Lang and I ...

Martha Argerich Plays Chopin: The Legendary 1965 Recording

Frederic Chopin

EMI Classics, 1999

Staggering virtuosity
These Chopin recordings of Martha Argerich from 1965 are an example of staggering virtuosity of the highest order. She is one of the few pianists I've heard that could rival Michelangeli for technical ability(though both could be erractic at times, with the Italian ...

Chopin, Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2007

Piano Concertos Refreshed
Standard repertory, but exceptional performances characterize this release. The pianist obviously has something to say, and says it in a way that is most refreshing. No lover of fine pianism can afford to pass this by.

Memory

Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2006

The True and Rightful Bidder for the Mantle of Horowitz
The choice for this disc clearly stems from Schumann's Scenes from Childhood. The repertoire here may appear naive; the playing and the interpretation never so. The Mozart C Major Sonata was the work which, according to Lang Lang, reminded him of his once waning ...

Chopin: Scherzi/Impromptus

Frederic Chopin, Yundi Li

Deutsche Grammophon, 2005

Agree with many music critics
Fully agree with many music critics that Scherzi/Impromtus played by Yundi Li is full of original interpretations and passion which Lang Lang is always lacking of. 'Soulless' is how some music critics described music played by Lang Lang. To me, Lang Lang is merely ...

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No 2; Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major

Prokofiev, Ravel, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2007

Fools rush in....
...to review performances of piano concertos by "young sensations"! Wow, piano aficionados are almost as passionate in praise and denunciation as film critics. Read the previous reviews of this performance if you care to understand my anxiety about venturing an opinion ...

Vienna Recital

Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2006

Mark my words....
...this man is going to ultimately take his place in the pantheon of the very greatest piano artists -- Rubenstein, Richter and their few peers. He already has distinguished himself among concert reviewers as the antidote to the shallow showmanship of, for example, ...