(Salzburg, Austria) This evening's superstar chamber concert in front of a sold out Grosses Festspielhaus crowd (over 2,200 people including several rows of audience seated on either end of the stage) featured cellist Mischa Maisky, violinist Vadim Repin, and Salzburg favourite, Lang Lang at the Steinway.
Their programme began with Rakhmaninov's Trio élégiaque no. 1 in G minor, a piece they've recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. Though it's a student work of Rakhmaninov's, the composer's fingerprints on this relatively brief, one movement piece are already audibly present.
Very audibly present in this live mix was Lang Lang who was overly prominent, often covering the playing of Repin and Maisky.
Following that, Lang's performance of Chopin's Études op. 25 came off as twelve studies in self-indulgence, with the ratio being 5% Chopin to 95% Lang.
After the interval, it was Mendelssohn's Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor. Here, Lang turned Mendelssohn into a hyper-Romantic with sudden swells of sound that came in waves. Good thing the piece was anchored by Maisky's musicianship and burnished tone because Repin's intonation, string crossings, and execution of a few notes was suspect.
Their encore was the Andante from Schubert's Piano Trio op. 99.
All three made themselves available for autographs in the lobby after the concert with about 100 or so fans making the most of the opportunity.
Photo by Leonard Turnevicius: Vadim Repin, Lang Lang, and Mischa Maisky at the Grosses Festspielhaus.
Comments