One was brought up in the age of television. One was not. Both are extremely talented, but their performances could not be more different.
For one thing (and this is no small matter), one played quite a bit faster than the other when performing the composition we will hear today. Who knows? Perhaps temperament affects tempo in ways the composer never imagined.
The one who grew up in the age of television incorporates a great deal of flair and showmanship into his playing, tossing his head and arms and torso about so that even an untutored member of the audience will clearly understand how impassioned he is. The other one plays equally passionately (if not as rapidly) but the passion emerges from his fingertips at the place they touch the keyboard.
One seems to have watched a lot of Liberace. One clearly has not.
Here they are, each playing the same composition:
Vladimir Horowitz plays Chopin’s Polonnaise Op. No. 53 in A-flat Major (7:25)
Lang Lang plays Chopin’s Polonnaise Op. No. 53 in A-flat Major (6:20)
Both performances are spectacular, just in different ways.
Vladimir Horowitz was married to Wanda Toscanini, daughter of famed conductor Arturo Toscanini. Lang Lang accompanied singer Katherine McPhee at the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C., on May 24, 2009.
You can read more about Lang Lang (1982- ) here, and you can read more about Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989) here.
It was written about Horowitz that “for all the aural excitement of his playing, Horowitz rarely raised his hands higher than the piano’s fallboard. His body was immobile, and his face seldom reflected anything other than intense concentration.”
That could never have been written about Lang Lang. It has been written about Lang Lang that he “successfully straddles two worlds – classical prodigy and rock-like superstar.”
You are free to prefer either performance, because -- as we all should know -- in matters of taste, there can be no disputes.
