Call it hubris, call it the indiscretion of youth, but the pianist's concert the following summer at Ravinia was a disaster, so full of taffy-pull tempos and outrageous interpretative distortions as to constitute vandalism. It took several seasons but slowly, surely, Lang's playing improved. The turning point, for me, was his bracing account of Bartok's Second Piano Concerto with the CSO early in 2005. Not only did he show new musical maturity, but he went easier on the swooning facial expressions and other distracting platform choreography.
More here.
I've never liked Lang Lang's spectacle driven piano playing. So maybe there's hope. But I'm not holding my breath.
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