My classical streak continued with this very special evening. This time, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra teamed up with the Chinese piano superstar for a night of Ravel, Saint-Saëns and Mussorgsky.
I could only wish that my Mum, who had arranged the tickets for the event, didn’t come down sick on the day and could have shared this experience with me. This was the only serious blemish on what was yet another spectacular outing at the Hamer Hall.
Our balcony seats were just to the right of the stage, offering the closest and most intimate view of the orchestra I ever remember having. From a more distant position in the stalls or balcony, it’s usually all about the music, but on this occasion I also enjoyed observing the musicians playing or waiting patiently for their turn. Violins moving together in a perfect unison is quite a sight, and who doesn’t love the guy at the back smashing his cymbals together during the epic finish?
First up was Ravel’s lively, Spanish-influenced Alborada del gracioso; according to the program, it was composed by Ravel, a Frenchman, less from personal experience of Spain and more with an idealised, romantic image of Spain in mind. Afterwards, the hum of conversation returned to the hall as the orchestra members came and went, and a grand piano was wheeled onstage, an adjustment that normally would happen during an interval. Lang Lang’s adoring fans welcomed him onstage effusively, before he sat down to perform Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 together with the MSO.
Though I don’t by any means pretend to be a classical music connoisseur, I still felt privileged to be in the same space with a pianist of Lang Lang’s calibre. The angle of the piano mostly hid his hands from my view, but it definitely didn’t hide his technical brilliance. He’s also quite a showman, with bold, expressive gestures that probably annoy some classical music purists but clearly connect with his audience. After the concerto, the applause wouldn’t cease and Lang Lang was back at the piano twice, once to perform a naggingly familiar, reflective piano piece, and again for a more lighthearted, almost comical tune recalling music halls or Offenbach’s Can Can that got a giggle from the crowd.
I know a bit of Mussorgsky but I’m not at all familiar with Pictures at an Exhibition, originally piano music later rearranged into an orchestration. Luckily, this vivid and dramatic suite, inspired by ten paintings from an art exhibition, is a lot of fun to listen to even for a total newbie. I especially liked the somewhat sinister piece inspired by Baba Yaga, the wicked witch of Russian folklore, and an impossibly heroic finale that brought the evening to a rousing climax.
yggdrasille.com 