Lang Lang: Live in Vienna Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Lang Lang: Live in Vienna Blu-ray Movie Review

The times, they are a-changin'.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 6, 2010

Classical music as a genre and those who perform it as a career are not usually thought of as harbingers of the new and innovative. Long the refuge of established repertoire and long frozen tradition, the world of classical music often has, rightly or wrongly, the slightly musty smell of a museum about it. And so what are fans of classical music to make of Lang Lang, a Chinese born piano prodigy who not only Tweets, updates his Facebook wall regularly, and now has entered the 3D Blu-ray fray (at least partially) with his first Sony release Lang Lang Live in Vienna? The torch has obviously been passed to a new generation of classical artist, and if the music is still the same, the individual interpreting it is most definitely a new sort of presence, one who embraces the latest technology and wants that technology to work for the greater dissemination of the music itself. Lang Lang moved to the United States when he was 15, and is a product of the vaunted Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where he was mentored by Gary Graffman. Possessing a febrile technique which can make his hands virtually a blur at times—even in hi-def—Lang Lang is also a modernist in the best sense, a kid at heart who is obviously excited to be recording for Sony and to be touring to some of the most awe inspiring venues in the world, including in this instance Vienna’s incredible Musikverein, a gold-laden concert hall where the artist is literally surrounded by the audience. It’s instructive to note that Lang Lang chose a completely different venue for the 3D portion of this Blu-ray (included as an extra), the hipper than hip Berghain Club in Berlin. The times, they are a-changin’.

Lang Lang, despite being Chinese born, has become more than fluent in English, he’s positively eloquent, and so I would like to include some of his own quotes (culled from this disc’s excellent insert booklet) about the pieces he plays. The Musikverein concert lasts around two hours and showcases Lang Lang’s incredible technique, obviously, but perhaps more impressively his interpretative range. Lang Lang moves from Beethoven to Prokofiev to Albéniz to Chopin with ease, rarely letting the seams of these huge stylistic variances show. Lang Lang starts the concert off with Beethoven’s relatively early Sonata No. 3, Op. 2. Lang Lang discusses this piece in some detail in the liner notes. “I wanted to have a very solid, classic first half and, as I’ve not recorded any Beethoven sonatas before, I thought this would be a good way to start a relationship with Sony. . .Beethoven had already found himself: just look at the second movement Adagio. It’s absolutely Beethoven and in many ways it’s incredibly mature.” Though Lang Lang goes on to discuss Beethoven breaking from the Haydn-esque mold (though this piece is dedicated to Haydn), there is a flurry of scalar passages, especially in the opening movement, that is highly redolent of Mozart.

We jump from an early Sonata to one of the crowning glories of Beethoven’s piano output, the Piano Sonata No. 23, Op. 57, known familiarly as the “Appassionata.” This is a piece which demands both a classical restraint as well as sudden bursts of Romantic fury. “Like every other pianist, I grew up with the piece,” states Lang Lang. “What I like about the piece is the mystery behind the notes. It’s like an enormous volcano beneath the surface, a dark environment, hidden and needing to be explored. There’s a lot of anger there, too, and revolution.” Lang Lang also discusses the technique required to bring the Appassionata fully to life, a “low to the keyboard” approach that almost seems bound by some inextricable force of gravity from which the music struggles, successfully, to escape. Lang Lang’s interpretation is fully formed, and the Andante is especially brilliantly structured, foreshadowing the Fifth Symphony in both motives and emotional content.

It’s a testament to Lang Lang’s indisputable virtuosity that he ventures next into quasi-Impressionistic territory with a beautifully colorful account of Book I of Isaac Albéniz’ Iberia. Lang Lang is obviously not immune to the fact that he is playing in the handprints as it were of such impeccable interpreters of Albéniz as Alicia de Larrocha. “You can’t compare her to anyone else, she’s just unique,” the young pianist admits. “Everything she does makes perfect sense. I once had the privilege to see her playing Granados’ Goyescas. I’ll never forget the way she played the ‘Girl and the Nightinglae.’ She had the most beautiful touch, truly inspiring.” Lang Lang is in fact a little more deliberate than de Larrocha in his approach to Albéniz, as if he is whipping together colors from a huge kaleidoscopic pinwheel. But that athletic approach works perfectly for the music, especially with regard to its percussive elements.

The concert closes its main section with a stunning performance of Prokofiev’s fiendishly difficult Piano Sonata No. 7, Op. 83. From the opening triplet motive to the closing waning percussive moments that expire like a wounded soldier meeting his demise, Lang Lang is completely in control in a piece that demands utmost concentration and an astounding variety of approaches, from near violent percussive attacks to more placid lyrical passages. What is more than slightly amazing about Lang Lang throughout this piece is his calm and fortitude, the languid eye at the center of a pianistic storm. “I try to create this warlike mood and warlike spirit,” Lang Lang explains. “It’s more explosive but like the Appassionata it’s a very deep work. Prokofiev wrote about seeing many dead bodies on the street and I think you can hear the pain and horror in the development section of the first movement.”

After Lang Lang takes his initial bows and receives the customary bouquets from a couple of women in the audience (whom he kisses), he’s back for the encore segment, a nice tribute to the 200th birthday of Chopin. Lang Lang takes us on a virtuosic journey through three wonderfully expressive pieces, Étude Op. 25, No. 1, Polonaise No. 6, Op. 53 “Heroic,” and Grande Valse Brilliante No. 2, Op. 34 No. 1. Lang Lang is at his quicksilver best here, easily handling the huge voicings of Chopin and the intricate chromaticism Chopin extracts from sometimes relatively traditional harmonies. “For me, Chopin is a total genius,” states Lang Lang in the perhaps obvious department. “You listen to his music and here was someone who could really turn the piano from a percussive instrument into an operatic instrument.” Lang Lang also discussed Chopin’s innovative fingering choices, something anyone who’s attempted to conquer a Chopin piece can tell you keeps your hands busy in crossing over and under. It goes without saying Lang Lang has little trouble performing these acrobatic feats.

Lang Lang: Live in Vienna Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The main concert section of Lang Lang Live in Vienna is delivered via an AVC codec in 1080i/50i and a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The 3D supplement is again encoded via AVC put is in 1080p and 1.78:1. I should state up front I don't yet have 3D capability in my home theater (Santa Claus, are you reading this?), and so can only comment on the main concert as well as the 2D "fold down" (for wont of a better word) that happens automatically on the 3D content if you're not equipped to handle 3D. (One of the best things about the new Blu-ray 3D technology is that the discs display just fine in 2D). In both cases, the image quality is precise and sharp, with excellently saturated color and similarly excellent contrast. I did notice some minor haloing on the 3D overhead shots of the keyboard, surrounding the black shadows between the white keys, but I'm wondering if that's perhaps some sort of artifact stemming from the 3D to 2D conversion. I'd welcome any Blu-ray.com readers' comments who have seen this segment in 3D. Fine detail throughout both segments is excellent, and the multi-camera coverage of both the main concert as well as the 3D supplemental excerpts is nothing less than superb. We get Lang Lang's hands from a variety of vantage points, as well as some great overhead shots which allow those familiar with a keyboard to "follow along" with Lang Lang's incredible playing.

For comparison's sake, the first 10 screencaps are from the 1080i Vienna presentation (some have been deinterlaced to improve quality), and the next 9 are from the 1080p 3D excerpts.

Lang Lang: Live in Vienna Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The soundmixes here, both lossless DTS-HD Master Audio affairs (in 5.1 and 2.0), are pitch perfect. With just a solo instrument, the listener shouldn't expect a "wow" discrete channelization listening experience, but with that said, the 5.1 mix is about as perfect a recreation of being up next to Lang Lang playing, in a beautiful acoustic ambient hall setting, as you can get vicariously from a disc. The piano sounds brilliant and thrilling, with impeccable nuance and detail, so that everything from the vicious percussive moments of the Prokofiev to the lovely, water color like impressionism of Iberia comes through with incredible clarity and precision. What's also quite remarkable about these tracks is their often astonishing dynamic range. Lang Lang coaxes everything from the quietest whisper to the loudest explosion out of his Steinway, and both DTS tracks recreate that sonic variety wonderfully well.

Lang Lang: Live in Vienna Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Though it's not really billed on the Blu-ray itself as a supplement, I'll deal with the disc's 3D extras as one. The Vienna concert features a photo gallery, otherwise there's a supplemental 3D section filmed at the Berghain Club in Berlin which features these excerpts from various pieces:

• Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata"
  Allegro Assai (1080p; 11:27)
• Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
  Precipitato (1080p; 3:38)
• Albéniz: Iberia, Book I
  Évocation (1080p; 7:23)
• Chopin: Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat Major, Op. 53 "Heroic" (1080p; 7:59)
• Making Of (1080p; 11:53), an interesting featurette showing how the 3D footage was filmed.

Lang Lang: Live in Vienna Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lang Lang is one of the vanguard artists of his generation, and this sterling concert shows him off brilliantly. With a near perfect video presentation and a perfect audio one, this certainly augurs well for Lang Lang's new partnership with Sony. Highly recommended.