Lang Lang: Live in Vienna

Live In Vienna

Lang Lang / Sony Classical

It's become rather fashionable to sniff at the achievements of Lang Lang, but he is the most communicative pianist of his generation, with a huge following in the east, and for any open-minded listener there is seriously good piano playing in this fine recital from Vienna. He is intense and focused in the "Appassionata", sharp and lively in Beethoven's early C major sonata. His Albéniz is thrillingly colourful, his Prokofiev vivid and pungent. Then he relaxes into his Chopin encores; perhaps he is indulgent, but the technical command is peerless and the emotional warmth envelops us. He is surely the Horowitz of our generation.