I had been looking forward to seeing Yuja Wang perform at the Southbank's Queen Elizabeth Hall, seen by many as some kind of messiah of the pianoforte - 
'Simply the most important pianist to appear in recent years, period' (The Detroit News).
The experience took me back to 1984 when I went to the Manchester Apollo as a spotty teenager to watch the loudest band in the world - Manowar. Well last night I didn't quite need to put my head under my seat now and again for some aural relief, but I can definitely say that I must now have heard the loudest pianist in the world - Yuja Wang. Nobody hits those keys harder. It is akin to being repeatedly smashed over the skull with a baseball bat. The performance was all crashing dynamics and razor-sharp rhythms, as she hurtled up and down the keyboard at warp speed, in a hazy blur. But the quiet bits were just that - quiet. Where was the lyricism, emotion, and connection? Where in fact was the music? After a very short time I didn't even find the technical pyrotechnics superficially impressive. It's showy, but ultimately soulless, which is a sad way to treat the likes of the immortal Rachmaninov and Scriabin. The sold-out audience seemed to enjoy it as they managed to get her back out for an encore, but I really couldn't muster anything more than polite applause.
The only moment that raised a smile for me was the interval costume change, from one slightly lurid dress into another!! It wasn't quite like Madonna but was certainly a first for me ...
Forgive me if I make a somewhat crass hi-fi analogy, but if the concert had been sponsored by a hi-fi brand, it would have been Naim. I'm more of an Ashkenazy and Quad kind of guy. I'll get my pipe and slippers ...
Sonore Rendu - Cambridge Audio Edge W - Sonus Faber Venere 2.5
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Originally Posted by julesd68
