The Comfort Zone... Lang Lang plays Bartok & The Cleveland Orchestra goes back to Bruckner

Lang Lang (Photo: Detlef Schneider)

I've waited for a while now to see Lang Lang in person and I have to say that I was blown away by his technical artistry. Striding onto the stage with his signature pouf of hair and black silk jacket, he looked every inch the rock-star and the orchestra seemed to be feeding off of the energy he brought,
 The  Bartók Second Piano Concerto could be considered the most difficult piece ever written for the instrument but for the audience demographic at Severance Hall, Liszt or Chopin would have been a better option. The arching form of the work kept it driving forward, fast-slow-fast-slow-fast, with excellent support from Maestro Welser-Möst, and a very strong exchange with the timpani, played magnificently, as usual, by Paul Yancich. Outstanding support came from the brass and woodwind sections too, while the muted strings played right under the level, just as they were supposed to. It's rare to see music on the piano, but I would suspect that it was there in the capacity of moral support! From 5th row seats, I found myself glued to watching Lang's hands as they flew across the keyboard, managing the wide chords with ease and although a few wrong notes would have been forgiven with the difficulty of the piece, none were forthcoming. The audience was very appreciative and rose to their feet, but there were a lot of perplexed expressions and questions during intermission. Had a more lyrical piece been chosen, the audience might have been more comfortable affording wild applause just because they would have felt they "knew" where it was going. I disagree; I would have followed such magnificent playing anywhere!

Bruckner+ Welser-Möst+ the Cleveland Orchestra= a great evening, and this was no exception. The Maestro has never stinted on the Bruckner; he feels an affinity with the composer, so the orchestra is making its way through the symphonic works. The 4th Symphony in E-flat major is one of the most popular, but there are several revisions and the piece played was the latest, 1888 version. How much the revisions differ is up for debate, but there is no denying that this was a pretty piece, sensitively interpreted and excellently played. The Orchestra's ease with Brucker really shows- the horns were featured and were perfection (this is a great example of why all of the members playing on the same type of instrument pays off) while the strings were able to cover the various moods required of them with ease.
Legend has it that after a successful rehearsal, Bruckner tossed a coin to the conductor and told him to buy himself a beer; this performance by the Cleveland Orchestra merited a toast from the delighted audience.

The audience at Severance was quiet for the most part during the Bartók, with only a few coughs and rattlings to be heard and no more than a handful of empty seats. That number increased quite a bit after intermission though leaving me to wonder if those that fled wanted to be able to say that they saw Lang Lang or if they were weary of the tide of Bruckner.
A side note to a particular gentleman in the first violin section: You may know the music and hate the pauses when you're not playing, but chomping away on gum is not classy and is distracting for the audience.