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Dino Mahoney

Lang Lang

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 2

(Deutsche Grammophon)

Fanatical followers of pin-up Chinese pianist Lang Lang hail him as a keyboard messiah. Detractors think he's all show.

Deutsche Grammophon has cleverly brought together Lang Lang,  Russian dynamo Valery Gergiev   and the Orchestra of the  Mariinsky Theatre in a live recording of two of Rachmaninov's best-loved works:  his Piano Concerto No2 and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

This is certainly Lang Lang's best recording to date, more arresting than his recording of Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto with Yuri Temirkanov  and the St Petersburg Philharmonic, and more accomplished than his Mendelssohn  and Tchaikovsky piano concertos with Daniel Barenboim.

But to fully enjoy this  CD you have to allow Lang Lang his foibles. His reputation as a quirky interpreter of piano classics immediately shows, with the famous opening chords of the piano concerto played very slowly. Lang Lang's playing is fresh and romantic, as he puts  his stamp  on the work.

The  rebel does it his way. The accompanying booklet is full of glossy images of the  23-year-old on  a beach. Both works on this CD will thrill  his fans, but  infuriate his detractors.



Lang Lang