advertisement


There is no one quite like Yuja...

I thought it was a great performance of what a lot of more casual listeners might see as a rather boring piece of music. Of course Argerich is a great pianist, but so was Brendel, Ogden...... anyway tonight we have a young Korean playing the Elgar Cello so we can all say she wasn't as good as (who was that young blonde in the 60s?)
 
I thought it was a great performance of what a lot of more casual listeners might see as a rather boring piece of music. Of course Argerich is a great pianist, but so was Brendel, Ogden...... anyway tonight we have a young Korean playing the Elgar Cello so we can all say she wasn't as good as (who was that young blonde in the 60s?)
Britt Ekland?
 
It's good to compare the Wang and Argerich performances.

The opening declamatory section already sets out the major differences between the two interpretations - Wang has more power and Argerich's tempo is slower and more reflective; I'd argue that both are equally valid, with the former emphasising the romantic view of naive innocence crushed by reality, and the latter the melancholia or ennui that comes with experience. It's an interpretative choice that anyone playing this piece will need to address, and the key thing (imho) is how this plays out later, particularly in the solo piano section (around 6'30", or 7"). What I think I hear is Argerich repeating the approach she has taken in the opening section - slow tempi, very reflective, whereas Wang takes a different approach which is consistent with how she chose to approach the opening section. Again, I think both are equally valid, but I think Wang finds more light and shade in the connections between the different sections, and the movement in thought and time as the piece progresses - Argerich sticks to the approach she takes at the start, and there is less progression in this. The major difference that I can hear is in the quality of orchestra and conducting - Barenboim has the edge here, without doubt (the clarinet solo after the opening section makes that very clear!). Overall, I'd argue that any difference between the two pianists is one of interpretation, not of capability or 'greatness' (whatever that is).

I was listening to several performances of Brahms op.76 yesterday when I began to read this thread, and I'd certainly like to hear Yuja Wang's interpretation of those eight pieces.
 
It's good to compare the Wang and Argerich performances.

The opening declamatory section already sets out the major differences between the two interpretations - Wang has more power and Argerich's tempo is slower and more reflective; I'd argue that both are equally valid, with the former emphasising the romantic view of naive innocence crushed by reality, and the latter the melancholia or ennui that comes with experience. It's an interpretative choice that anyone playing this piece will need to address, and the key thing (imho) is how this plays out later, particularly in the solo piano section (around 6'30", or 7"). What I think I hear is Argerich repeating the approach she has taken in the opening section - slow tempi, very reflective, whereas Wang takes a different approach which is consistent with how she chose to approach the opening section. Again, I think both are equally valid, but I think Wang finds more light and shade in the connections between the different sections, and the movement in thought and time as the piece progresses - Argerich sticks to the approach she takes at the start, and there is less progression in this. The major difference that I can hear is in the quality of orchestra and conducting - Barenboim has the edge here, without doubt (the clarinet solo after the opening section makes that very clear!). Overall, I'd argue that any difference between the two pianists is one of interpretation, not of capability or 'greatness' (whatever that is).

I was listening to several performances of Brahms op.76 yesterday when I began to read this thread, and I'd certainly like to hear Yuja Wang's interpretation of those eight pieces.
Wang skates beautifully on the surface. Argerich is within the music. Depends what you prefer.
 
I respect your opinion, that that’s not what I think I’m hearing. I think Argerich makes a specific interpretive choice, and sticks to it throughout; Wang makes a different choice, and shows more movement from this as the piece progresses.
 
I respect your opinion, that that’s not what I think I’m hearing. I think Argerich makes a specific interpretive choice, and sticks to it throughout; Wang makes a different choice, and shows more movement from this as the piece progresses.
I respect yours too but Wang takes a obvious route whereas Argerich, soaked in years of rich experience, still tries to find something new.
 
Wow tough crowd in here! I've not listened to GT's link yet but saw her give a solo recital at the Concertgebouw a couple of years ago and she was absolutely phenomenal. She fell down the stairs in some daft 6 inch heels but her playing was absolutely spellbinding. Quite easily the greatest playing of an instrument I've ever heard live. She had an incredible ability to render music and play with the spaces between the notes. Her control of this was quite something to hear.

I really like Argerich too but I do prefer some of Wang's interpretations of some things like Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. But she's had the benefit of coming after, so it's not fair to compare really.
 
Wang is a remarkable virtuoso, unencumbered by the physical/ technical decline of age. I’ve heard her play Beethoven and Ravel concertos live and I made the point of watching a video of Pletnev’s Beethoven 4 straight after her concert. What he had that she didn’t was a remarkable capacity for reflection. It’s almost as though he is telling a story and considerations of pianism seem to disappear. Two pianists I actively avoided in the past were Lang Lang and Matsuev.
 
What he had that she didn’t was a remarkable capacity for reflection. It’s almost as though he is telling a story and considerations of pianism seem to disappear.

t2724.gif
 
I saw Yuja Wang perform Prokofiev's 2nd concerto with the Berlin Phil and Paavo Jarvi. If I was blind (or just shut my eyes) I would still think it one of the most superb performances of anything I've ever heard.
 
Yuja Wang is a phenomenal talent. She has delivered some of the best ever solo Prokofiev out there, and that includes the titans of old in this repertoire (eg, Richter, Ovchinnikov), and her Ligeti is top notch. Her Ravel is also supremely fine. She sounds less compelling in pre-20th Century works. Given what I've heard, I'd like to hear her in more post-war pieces.

Wang is a very smart woman, as well, as evidenced by some of her interviews and her delightful tendency to dress in very flashy clothes that get people talking about nothing important, and it looks like she enjoys some of the sexism it exposes. As she ages, expect her concert attire to mellow some.

Wang is just one of many extremely fine pianists out there now. We live in the golden age of pianism, with many artists capable of playing at or even beyond the level of many famous pianists from the past.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PsB
Been listening to a couple of recordings of the Busoni Piano Concerto over the past week. Hamelin with the BSO, and Ogden with the RPO.

I reckon that's a work that would be right up her street.
 
Just heard Wang perform both Ravel Concertos tonight with Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Phil. I sat about six feet from her in the front row, my head just above the height of the stage floor. Her dress was backless, strapless and had a slit all the way up from the floor to her waist. The performance was electrifying and I only found out afterwards (after he had run his hand down her bare back at the end of the concerto) that they are an item. During applause, she bows from the waist, lashing her head down at great speed as though she is head butting the piano stool.
 
Last edited:
How many encores? I counted more than 10 at her Barbican recital a couple of years back. More items than the programme!

With playing like that, nobody was leaving!

For what it's worth, I still think she's great. More musical than the majority of the young "super-pianists" imv.
 
I thought her Proms performance of Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini the other week was terrific. Much more authoritative than her Rach 3 a few years ago.
 
How many encores? I counted more than 10 at her Barbican recital a couple of years back. More items than the programme!

With playing like that, nobody was leaving!

For what it's worth, I still think she's great. More musical than the majority of the young "super-pianists" imv.
Alas, none. There was about a 10 min interval between the orchestra tuning, sitting down and the happy couple making their appearance. The audience started muttering then just picking up their conversations where they had left off. Something tells me it wasn’t performance nerves…
 
Alas, none. There was about a 10 min interval between the orchestra tuning, sitting down and the happy couple making their appearance. The audience started muttering then just picking up their conversations where they had left off. Something tells me it wasn’t performance nerves…
Shame.
 


advertisement


Back
Top