Album

Chinese pianist Lang Lang has his detractors, but among the younger generation of players he's the closest thing going to a genuine superstar. Maybe it's the cherubic face, the rangy charm, or the oddly instinctive understanding that some Chinese have of American style (Ang Lee is another example). The man's hair alone is hard to forget. Or maybe purely musical factors are dominant. It may be true that Lang Lang deals in extremes of light and shade, but when he effectively sets up that contrast it will deliver a punch every time. At any rate, he has outlasted his prodigy phase and is still attracting plenty of new listeners who may be interested in a best-of collection. Deutsche Grammophon has delivered a reasonable one here, taking into consideration the limitations of the format. The label did well to include several live tracks, for the indefinable Lang Lang magic definitely comes through in these. Sample the recording of "Träumerei," from Schumann's Kinderszenen, Op. 15, and you may be already hooked by the broadly extended but irresistible final cadence. The program as a whole gives a fair representation of Lang Lang's basically Romantic repertory and dazzling technical facility. There are four concerto movements but no complete concertos, which is probably a good move since it is in large-scale architecture that Lang Lang is at his worst, and in single brilliant movements that he makes people remember him. The package contains a brief biography of Lang Lang, in English only, along with largely wasted space showing the covers of the pianist's individual albums. On balance, an album that accomplishes what it sets out to do.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
Franz Liszt Composer Liebestraum, 3 notturnos, S.541...Liebestraum, 3 notturnos, S.541 (arr. orchestra) Work Paris Orchestra Orchestra, Lang Lang Piano, Christoph Eschenbach Conductor
1	3.O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst	4:49			$0.99
Franz Liszt Composer 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies, S.244, R.106 Work Paris Orchestra Orchestra, Lang Lang Piano, Christoph Eschenbach Conductor
2	No.3 in Bb	6:43			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 12 Etudes, Op.10 Work Paris Orchestra Orchestra, Lang Lang Piano, Christoph Eschenbach Conductor
3	No.3: Lento ma non troppo in E ('Tristesse')	4:45			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in C, Op.15 Work Paris Orchestra Orchestra, Lang Lang Piano, Christoph Eschenbach Conductor
4	3.Rondo: Allegro scherzando	9:13			$1.49
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Piano Sonata No.10 in C, K.330 Work Lang Lang Piano
5	2.Andante cantabile	7:29			$1.49
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Piano Concerto No.2 in F-, Op.21 Work Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Lang Lang Piano, Zubin Mehta Conductor
6	2.Larghetto	9:42			$1.49
Erik Satie Composer 6 Gnossiennes Work Lang Lang Piano
7	1.Lent	3:20			$0.99
Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov Composer Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Op.43 Work Valery Gergiev Conductor, Lang Lang Piano, Kirov Orchestra, St.Petersburg Orchestra
8	20.Var.18: Andante cantabile	5:45			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 2 Nocturnes, Op.27 Work Lang Lang Piano
9	No.2 in Db	6:10			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in Bb-, Op.23 Work Lang Lang Piano, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim Conductor
10	3.Allegro con fuoco	7:10			$1.49
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Kinderszenen, Op.15 Work Lang Lang Piano
11	7.Traumerei (Dreaming)	3:20			$0.99
Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov Composer 10 Preludes, Op.23 Work Lang Lang Piano
12	No.5 in G-	4:25			$0.99