On Sept. 9, Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas inaugurated San Francisco Symphony’s 98th season at Davies Symphony Hall—and his own 15th anniversary at the podium—with works by Liszt, Ravel, Rodgers, and Prokofiev’s monumental Third Piano Concerto with keyboard legend Lang Lang.
The Public Goes Ga-Ga for Lang Lang
Maestro Tilson Thomas opened the symphony’s program with a series of three waltzes, each boldly different from the rest in style and character.Mephisto Waltz No. 1 by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt is a fleshed-out symphonic version of his better-known work for the piano. The title is apparently derived from the character of Mephistopheles, who is an incarnation of the devil in the legend of Faust.
Far from the title’s reference to the underworld, the waltz expresses man’s rather innocent longing for youth and vitality in a perpetual struggle with moral issues. This the orchestra communicated in a thrilling performance with bursts of supersonic tempos and stunning technical brilliance.
Then came “La valse”—simply, “The Waltz”—by French composer Maurice Ravel. The work was originally conceived for dance, but was made into a stand-alone concert piece after a dispute between composer and choreographer.
Being exceptionally gifted at orchestration, Ravel creates sensual tonal textures that, while being uniquely his own, are also an unmistakable musical salute to the great master of the Viennese waltz, Johann Strauss.
If Liszt’s waltz speaks of valiant youth and vigor, Ravel’s speaks of princes, fairy-tale castles, and chivalry.
The third and final waltz on the program—taken from the Broadway musical “Carousel” by American composer Richard Rodgers—speaks simply of tender affection.
One might find the harmonies of the opening bars by Rodgers surprisingly sophisticated for a Broadway production. A brief detour into polytonality hinted at the composer’s interest in the emerging musical trends of his time on both sides of the pond, which made this piece a particularly intriguing specimen for the waltz sample three-pack.
The evening’s principal attraction, however, followed intermission, with Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto played by one of the most popular performers of our time, Lang Lang.
Despite being billed primarily as a “Chinese” sensation, Lang was a student of Graffman at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, and could be equally considered a product of American training. At 27, he has played the great concert halls of the world many times over, and already demonstrates the rare sensitivity and skill of a veteran of the stage.
After years of polarized reviews, Lang Lang’s flawless execution has now aged into soulful art, right before our eyes.
It was not the technical demands of Prokofiev’s concerto, but rather its unexpected romanticism that revealed the breadth of Lang’s interpretive canvas.
After endless applause and four returns to the stage, Lang Lang finally relented to an encore—Chopin’s Etude in A-flat, Op. 25, known as the “Aeolian Harp.”
If you think you’ve heard this piece before, think again!
To breathe new life into the single most commonly played Chopin Etude for over 160 years—now that takes more than anything taught in music school—American or Chinese.
So, who deserves credit for producing the world phenomenon that is Lang Lang? China and the U.S. may well have to fight this one out, too, along with the trade deficit and carbon emissions.
Eman Isadiar writes about music in the San Francisco area.
