A Beethoven Frame of Mind

Tonight, Lang Lang will play Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto with the New York Philharmonic, guest-conducted by Riccardo Muti. Lang Lang, as you know, is the young pianistic phenom from China. He will turn 25 next week. And he has been in a Beethoven frame of mind lately.

Deutsche Grammophon has released his first Beethoven album, which contains two concertos — not the "Emperor," which is No. 5, but No. 1, in C major, and No. 4, in G major. Performing with him is the Orchestre de Paris, conducted by its music director, Christoph Eschenbach.

According to the jacket copy, Mr. Eschenbach is Lang Lang's "mentor and ideal collaborator." According to Mr. Eschenbach, Lang Lang "was born to play Beethoven." That's quite a statement.

We will explore the C-major concerto first. Mr. Eschenbach and the orchestra start out, and they are crisp, alert, and robust. Then, when Lang Lang comes in, he is as you might expect him to be: interesting, assured — super-assured — and imaginative.

Of course, Lang Lang is sometimes too imaginative, too cutesy, for his own good.

Allow me to list some problems in the first movement: Passagework is often too bravura. Notes are clipped, and bad, harsh accents abound. Lang Lang can really sock it to you. He does some strange things with detachment versus legato. And there are little hesitations and little slowings down, unhelpful to the music.

Still, I find it hard to begrudge the way Lang Lang plays this movement. You would not give it to a student as a model. But it has a peculiar appeal. Lang Lang, as you know, has loads of talent, and one of his chief qualities is playfulness — and the C-major concerto can stand a lot of playfulness, having plenty itself.

Slow movements are always dangerous for Lang Lang, because he has so much freedom to interpret (or thinks he does). And, indeed, this concerto's Largo could use more straightforwardness, less subjectivity. It can afford to be less "interesting," in a way. Nevertheless, Lang Lang contributes some elegance, and he applies the right insouciance to certain passages.

And Mr. Eschenbach is admirable throughout. More broadly, he is admirable throughout the album, both concertos.

After the Largo comes the Rondo — a fleet, wondrous thing. And Lang Lang gives it some Argerichian verve and catlikeness. But he is also guilty of some heaviness, and some banging. He seems to want to say, "This is Beethoven!" (Not Haydn or Mozart.) And we have some more bizarre, out-of-nowhere accents. That, too, is Argerichian.

I might mention, as a kind of footnote, that Lang Lang joins the orchestra for the Rondo's — and the concerto's — final chords (though they are not written for him). That is not an unprecedented move, but it is definitely a showoffy one.

As you can see, I have my doubts about Lang Lang's playing of the C-major concerto. Overall, however, his impetuosity and musicality — his talent and joie de vivre — win the day.

And the G-major concerto? The piano begins by itself, and Lang Lang, mercifully, plays these measures with reason. He does not bend them out of shape. But his playing in the first movement at large is troublesome.

He is very, very free, and we get bangy accents, and pounding passagework. Also, there are sudden crescendos and the like, as the pianist overpersonalizes the music. He seems to be going for spontaneity and drama. But the concerto already contains spontaneity and drama, Beethoven having written them in (his own bad self).

I might ask: Is Lang Lang's playing in this movement exciting or vulgar? I find it some of each. Other listeners may lean toward exciting, or lean toward vulgar.

It must be said, the cadenza is quite wonderful — a joyous adventure. But it is less wonderful to play the entire movement like the cadenza.

In the slow movement — actually, not so slow: Andante con moto — liberties can be fatal. And, indeed, Lang Lang indulges in them, especially where rhythm is concerned. This is unfortunate. And the absence of a singing tone is harmful: Some important notes are dead as soon as they are struck.

Maybe worst about this movement is that Lang Lang plays the final measures — some of the most poignant and achingly beautiful measures that Beethoven ever wrote — wrongheadedly. He warps tempo and socks the vital F sharp.

The Rondo? Lang Lang should eat it up, with his playfulness and impetuosity — and he generally does. Again, we have strange, unwanted accents, and we could use a little less testosterone and more charm. But the young man is enjoyable.

A quick bottom line: There is a lot of good playing on this album. But more discipline and less "personality" — the pianist's — would be lovely.

As for the "Emperor," tonight, we shall simply have to see, or hear. It's a big, sturdy concerto, and it can withstand a great deal.