Lang Lang: Saint-Saëns
by Bill Heck
Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, Piano
Concerto No. 2; Ravel: Pavane pour une infante defunte; Debussy: Petite
Suite 71; Fauré: In paradisium; Delibes: Delibes: Lakmé: Flower
Duet; Saint-Saëns: Toccata after the Fifth Concerto (from Six Études
pour piano op. 111); Fauré: Pavane op. 50; Farrenc: Étude No. 10;
Sohy: Song without Words; Tailleferre:
Valse lente; Bonis: The Little One Falls Asleep; Boulanger: Of
a Bright Garden; Saint-Saëns: The Swan. Lang Lang, Gina Alice (pianos); Gewandhaus Orchestra; Andris Nelsons, conductor. DG 5058
Based on an admittedly very small sample, it seems that DG
is interested in producing events as much as producing recordings. I suppose that’s their
business, and but my curmudgeonly side is, shall we say, a little jaded.There’s no doubt that Lang Lang is a musical superstar, and I suppose that it’s
natural for DG to be trading on that fame. Thus, you can find video sections
from the Carnival of the Animals on YouTube and, at least on streaming
sources, hear a version of the Carnival with the movements interspersed
with accompanying verses originally written by Ogden Nash; here they are read by
Jimmy Fallon. And the “exciting audio-visual project” (DG’s words) extends to a
concert film of the Piano Concerto made live in concert at Leipzig’s
Gewandhaus and a performance film of the
Carnival to be shown on TV internationally and on DG’s video streaming
service, STAGE+. Meanwhile, for true collectors, this set is available in
multiple versions: LP, signed “crystal” (clear plastic) LP, signed CD set,
plain old CD set, and downloads in several resolutions, plus streaming on DG’s
own service. Whew!The promotion continues in the booklet that accompanies the
CD: the cover is dominated by a photo of Lang Lang, eyes closed as he blissfully
sniffs a flower. The next page shows a hand shot, then we see a repetition of
the flower photo, then a close-up of Lang Lang’s head resting on a keyboard, then
of him and his wife and co-artist, Gina Alice, embracing, and… Well, you get
the idea. The text of the booklet does have some information about the works
along with sometimes gushing explanations of why Lang Lang chose the particular
works included.
But the premise of the album is odd. The notes tell us that
this is a voyage of discovery, but the Saint-Saëns Second Concerto, which we
are told is something of a neglected masterpiece, is perhaps the composer’s most
frequently recorded, while the Carnival surely is Saint-Saëns’s most
popular work. The idea of discovery seems more plausible when referring to the miniature
solo pieces, of which more anon.So what about the music found here: are these performances to be recommended? Well,
it seems to me a mixed bag. To begin with, there is the recording itself. The
sonic presentation greatly emphasizes the pianos, which are up front and, even
accounting for the fact that there are two of them, appear unnaturally wide.
Meanwhile, the orchestra is a good way farther back on the stage. The resulting
imbalance makes both the Carnival and the Concerto into works for
piano with orchestral accompaniment rather than real partnerships.
 |
| Camille Saint-Saëns |
And then there’s the playing. There are plenty of passages
in which Lang Lang’s complete mastery of his instrument comes through, with
precision of touch and lovely tone. But the interpretations mostly left me
thinking of Lang Lang rather than of carnivals, animals, Saint-Saëns, or
the exchange between soloists and orchestra. For example, the Carnival is
supposed to be a bit of musical fun; indeed, Saint-Saëns would not allow it to
be published during his lifetime for fear that it’s perceived frivolity would
damage his reputation. But, to cite two examples, the lion depicted in the
first movement doesn’t seem very ferocious, and the fourth movement’s elephant,
which should be humorously harrumphing, just ambles along in a nondescript way.
The Swan (number thirteen) is the one movement that Saint-Saëns did
allow to be published in his lifetime, and it is a lovely miniature. If you hear it on this
album, you certainly will be impressed – but if you hear it on, say, our own
JJP’s recommended performance (Previn/Pittsburgh), you will be swept away by
the sheer beauty, with the voice of the cello soaring above the perfectly
balanced piano, not the other way around. The performance of the Concerto is in much the same vein: extraordinary in
spots but facing stiff competition. (JJP recommends those by Jean Philip
Collard on Warner, Stephen Hough on Hyperion, and Chamayou on Erato). In
totality, this one leaves me feeling that the current production is just another version – and again, independently of interpretation, there’s the issue of the imbalance between soloist and orchestra.Earlier, I mentioned the other short solo pieces on the
album. Most were not composed by Saint-Saëns, but I won’t quibble about
their relation to the title: these are, at least for me, the most
interesting pieces here. While the first few are by familiar composers,
including Debussy and Fauré, with the remainder we hear little-known works by little-known female composers. These, not the far better known earlier pieces, are the ones more appropriately described as the advertised “discoveries”. While each
of these works has been recorded elsewhere, having them on an album that is
sure to receive major publicity and high availability is a good thing. Lang
Lang’s playing here is expressive; some may find it over the top, but that’s a
matter of taste. My only real complaint here goes back to that booklet: each of
these works receives a single sentence. Surely an album of discovery should
devote a little more space to the works most plausibly thought of as needing to
be unearthed.Where does all this leave us? For “us,” readers of this
review, who likely have some familiarity with classical music and who are
looking primarily for recordings that they will enjoy on musical and sonic terms,
my instinct is to say move along, nothing to see here. But if the superstar
project approach generates excitement, or even a modicum of interest, among the
wider public and brings others into the classical music fold, can that be all
bad? We'll see how it goes.
John J. Puccio, Founder and Contributor
Understand, I'm just an everyday guy reacting to something I love. And I've been doing it for a very long time, my appreciation for classical music starting with the musical excerpts on the Big Jon and Sparkie radio show in the early Fifties and the purchase of my first recording, The 101 Strings Play the Classics, around 1956. In the late Sixties I began teaching high school English and Film Studies as well as becoming interested in hi-fi, my audio ambitions graduating me from a pair of AR-3 speakers to the Fulton J's recommended by The Stereophile's J. Gordon Holt. In the early Seventies, I began writing for a number of audio magazines, including Audio Excellence, Audio Forum, The Boston Audio Society Speaker, The American Record Guide, and from 1976 until 2008, The $ensible Sound, for which I served as Classical Music Editor.
Today, I'm retired from teaching and use a pair of bi-amped VMPS RM40s loudspeakers for my listening. In addition to writing for the Classical Candor blog, I served as the Movie Review Editor for the Web site Movie Metropolis (formerly DVDTown) from 1997-2013. Music and movies. Life couldn't be better.
Karl Nehring, Editor and Contributor
For nearly 30 years I was the editor of The $ensible Sound magazine and a regular contributor to both its equipment and recordings review pages. I would not presume to present myself as some sort of expert on music, but I have a deep love for and appreciation of many types of music, "classical" especially, and have listened to thousands of recordings over the years, many of which still line the walls of my listening room (and occasionally spill onto the furniture and floor, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering wife). I have always taken the approach as a reviewer that what I am trying to do is simply to point out to readers that I have come across a recording that I have found of interest, a recording that I think they might appreciate my having pointed out to them. I suppose that sounds a bit simple-minded, but I know I appreciate reading reviews by others that do the same for me — point out recordings that they think I might enjoy.
For readers who might be wondering about what kind of system I am using to do my listening, I should probably point out that I do a LOT of music listening and employ a variety of means to do so in a variety of environments, as I would imagine many music lovers also do. Starting at the more grandiose end of the scale, the system in which I do my most serious listening comprises Marantz CD 6007 and Onkyo CD 7030 CD players, NAD C 658 streaming preamp/DAC, Legacy Audio PowerBloc2 amplifier, and a pair of Legacy Audio Focus SE loudspeakers. I occasionally do some listening through pair of Sennheiser 560S headphones. I miss the excellent ELS Studio sound system in our 2016 Acura RDX (now my wife's daily driver) on which I had ripped more than a hundred favorite CDs to the hard drive, so now when driving my 2024 Honda CRV Sport L Hybrid, I stream music from my phone through its adequate but hardly outstanding factory system. For more casual listening at home when I am not in my listening room, I often stream music through a Roku Streambar Pro system (soundbar plus four surround speakers and a 10" sealed subwoofer) that has surprisingly nice sound for such a diminutive physical presence and reasonable price. Finally, at the least grandiose end of the scale, I have an Ultimate Ears Wonderboom II Bluetooth speaker and a pair of Google Pro Earbuds for those occasions where I am somewhere by myself without a sound system but in desperate need of a musical fix. I just can’t imagine life without music and I am humbly grateful for the technologies that enable us to enjoy it in so many wonderful ways.
William (Bill) Heck, Webmaster and Contributor
Among my early childhood memories are those of listening to my mother playing records (some even 78 rpm ones!) of both classical music and jazz tunes. I suppose that her love of music was transmitted genetically, and my interest was sustained by years of playing in rock bands – until I realized that this was no way to make a living. The interest in classical music was rekindled in grad school when the university FM station serving as background music for studying happened to play the Brahms First Symphony. As the work came to an end, it struck me forcibly that this was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, and from that point on, I never looked back. This revelation was to the detriment of my studies, as I subsequently spent way too much time simply listening, but music has remained a significant part of my life. These days, although I still can tell a trumpet from a bassoon and a quarter note from a treble clef, I have to admit that I remain a nonexpert. But I do love music in general and classical music in particular, and I enjoy sharing both information and opinions about it.
The audiophile bug bit about the same time that I returned to classical music. I’ve gone through plenty of equipment, brands from Audio Research to Yamaha, and the best of it has opened new audio insights. Along the way, I reviewed components, and occasionally recordings, for The $ensible Sound magazine. Most recently I’ve moved to my “ultimate system” consisting of a BlueSound Node streamer, an ancient Toshiba multi-format disk player serving as a CD transport, Legacy Wavelet II DAC/preamp/crossover, dual Legacy PowerBloc2 amps, and Legacy Signature SE speakers (biamped), all connected with decently made, no-frills cables. With the arrival of CD and higher resolution streaming, that is now the source for most of my listening.
Ryan Ross, Contributor
I started listening to and studying classical music in earnest nearly three decades ago. This interest grew naturally out of my training as a pianist. I am now a musicologist by profession, specializing in British and other symphonic music of the 19th and 20th centuries. My scholarly work has been published in major music journals, as well as in other outlets. Current research focuses include twentieth-century symphonic historiography, and the music of Jean Sibelius, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Malcolm Arnold.
I am honored to contribute writings to Classical Candor. In an age where the classical recording industry is being subjected to such profound pressures and changes, it is more important than ever for those of us steeped in this cultural tradition to continue to foster its love and exposure. I hope that my readers can find value, no matter how modest, in what I offer here.
Bryan Geyer, Technical Analyst
I initially embraced classical music in 1954 when I mistuned my car radio and heard the Heifetz recording of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. That inspired me to board the new "hi-fi" DIY bandwagon. In 1957 I joined one of the pioneer semiconductor makers and spent the next 32 years marketing transistors and microcircuits to military contractors. Home audio DIY projects remained a personal passion until 1989 when we created our own new photography equipment company. I later (2012) revived my interest in two channel audio when we "downsized" our life and determined that mini-monitors + paired subwoofers were a great way to mate fine music with the space constraints of condo living.
Visitors that view my technical papers on this site may wonder why they appear here, rather than on a site that features audio equipment reviews. My reason is that I tried the latter, and prefer to publish for people who actually want to listen to music; not to equipment. My focus is in describing what's technically beneficial to assure that the sound of the system will accurately replicate the source input signal (i. e. exhibit high accuracy) without inordinate cost and complexity. Conversely, most of the audiophiles of today strive to achieve sound that's euphonic, i.e. be personally satisfying. In essence, audiophiles seek sound that's consistent with their desire; the music is simply a test signal.
Mission Statement
It is the goal of Classical Candor to promote the enjoyment of classical music. Other forms of music come and go--minuets, waltzes, ragtime, blues, jazz, bebop, country-western, rock-'n'-roll, heavy metal, rap, and the rest--but classical music has been around for hundreds of years and will continue to be around for hundreds more. It's no accident that every major city in the world has one or more symphony orchestras.
When I was young, I heard it said that only intellectuals could appreciate classical music, that it required dedicated concentration to appreciate. Nonsense. I'm no intellectual, and I've always loved classical music. Anyone who's ever seen and enjoyed Disney's Fantasia or a Looney Tunes cartoon playing Rossini's William Tell Overture or Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 can attest to the power and joy of classical music, and that's just about everybody.
So, if Classical Candor can expand one's awareness of classical music and bring more joy to one's life, more power to it. It's done its job. --John J. Puccio
Contact Information
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