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Lang Lang at Carnegie, October 2015

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Lang Lang at Carnegie Hall 2015

Lang Lang

I saw Lang Lang 3 days ago at Carnegie Hall on Friday October 23rd, 2015. It was a memorable evening, so I wanted to share the experience here.

The concert was scheduled for 8:30 pm, but Lang Lang did not come on stage until 10 minutes later. When he walked out, I was struck by how thin he was. Not unhealthy, just fit and stylish.

His shoes were pointed and shiny, maybe patent leather. His pants were the style of today’s young men, narrow-legged, slim around the ankles.  They reminded me of what we used to call “drainpipes” in the 1960’s. My school banned them because they reflected the evils of rock-and-roll.

Tchaikovsky “The Seasons”

Lang Lang’s performance was superlative from the beginning. Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, which was new to me, was rendered beautifully. The Russian dances that pop up during this piece (e.g. February) were a little muddy, but that’s the composer’s fault. As to June, I recognized and loved it instantly. Under Lang Lang’s hands it was a cross between Chopin and Brahms. You can find it at around 18:30 in this video.  [wpdevart_youtube]7ABGZhFsXYI[/wpdevart_youtube]

Johann Sebastian Bach Italian Concerto, BWV 971

I am not going to comment on this delectable piece.  Lang Lang played it beautifully, there is not much else to say.

Chopin Scherzo’s

The Chopin Scherzo’s came after the Intermission and were the highlight of the evening. Lang Lang’s playing can only be described as bravura. This man can attack the piano and get away with it, because he is technically impeccable. I have never enjoyed Scherzo #2 as much as I did at this recital. The following video of him playing this Scherzo is comparable to what he did for us , but at Carnegie his performance was sharper and cleaner, going beyond anyone I have seen play live.

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Encore: Ponce “Intermezzo”

Lang Lang’s first encore, the Ponce Intermezzo, was adorable. I have to add this to my repertoire!  If you don’t know it, try this YouTube rendition by Glenda Courtois. [wpdevart_youtube]ChEglRpytgc[/wpdevart_youtube]

Lang Lang the Showman

What else do I remember? Lang Lang’s signature sharp head movements, his face turned up and towards the audience, his skinny legs splayed wide, those elvish pointy shoes. He pedalled soft and sostenuto at the same time during the Tchaikovsky. In the Chopin scherzo’s, he was speed-pedaling as if am spinnrade.

I just had to love Lang Lang’s unique (as far as I know) way of whipping his right hand back and down from the keyboard, as if he were kneepcapping a man standing behind him. And good grief, how he hammered out those big Chopin scherzo’s! Lang Lang is a slight man, so I understand how the larger  Franz Liszt would break a piano while performing.

Lang Lang loves his audience. He embraced us collectively with warm gestures before sitting down at the piano. When he took his bows at the end of each segment, and at the end of each Chopin scherzo, he put one leg (with its pointy shoe) forward and bowed deep from the waist. His hand went over his heart again and again. He raised his arms to us at the left, the center, and the right. I felt such rapport with this masterful pianist, because he knew what he was uniquely able to give us, and he knew that we loved every minute.

 

Tempo Rubato

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Red light with green filterDrivers slip into the Exit Only lane to get past traffic at a red light. When the light changes, they do not exit. Instead they cut in ahead of the rest of the traffic. The time they save is stolen time – tempo rubato.

Those who cut ahead of us on the highway, at the store, at the bus stop, may be your neighbor, my child, anyone. They get to their destination faster, by delaying those whom they pass. I doubt that they consider themselves thieves, but they steal.

In music, rubato takes various forms. You can hold back for just a moment. You can speed and slow over several bars. In Armenian composer Khachaturian’s piano concerto, a conductor can use rubato to make the entire work heave like a vessel in heavy seas.

At the piano, rubato can be like traffic on a multi-lane highway. One hand maintains the tempo while the other speeds and slows, but never breaks entirely free from the flow. Time is not stolen, it is borrowed and returned.

One time I was running late driving to my piano lesson. Never mind that my tutor might also be behind schedule: I did not want miss a moment. I like to get to music school early to inhale the ambience and ogle the Steinways. And it is oddly soothing after a draining day at work, to exchange a nod and a smile with parents waiting for their kids, those same parents who are there at the same time every week, waiting for the same kids.

When I got to Rubato Red traffic light, the Exit Only lane was open. Like those rats who cut me off every day, I took it. When the light turned green I unleashed 450 ft/lbs of gut-wrenching BMW diesel torque and reclaimed 20 seconds of my life, proceeding stretto to class.

On Being an Adult Beginner Pianist

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Ken Turner, Carnegie Weill Hall, May 2015

Ken Turner at Carnegie Weill, May 2015

I started piano lessons when I was over 60 years old. Being an older adult beginner pianist has been a delirious adventure of discovery, joy, frustration, glory, aches and pains.

It is hard to balance such time-intensive activities as learning an instrument and writing. Until now I have given the piano priority, because of my age. My tutor has been playing for over 20 years. Her fingers flit across the keys with deft precision and economy that I do not have 20 years to attain.

Creative Expression

Both writing and pianism are forms of creative expression. Playing the piano may not appear creative, since we perform music that was (usually) written by someone else. But when you perform for others, every nuance of dynamics, pace, pedal, facial expression and bodily motion is part of the unique experience that you create for your audience.

You Can Do This Too

I read a post from a guy in his 30’s asking if he was too old to learn the piano. He had had “a few years” of lessons at school, but fretted that too much time had passed. I am in my 60’s and have a modest Bach, Beethoven and Chopin repertoire after just 15 months. If your heart is in the right place you can do this too, no matter how old you are and how little you know when you start. The rewards are life-changing.