Chinese pianist hits all right notes in concert

    The buzz before Saturday's Colorado Springs Philharmonic concert was that Yuja Wang has the potential to be one of the world's best pianists.
  

  The buzz was a gross understatement: Wang is already one of the world's best pianists, with a sound that's big without sounding forced, combined with a delicacy that's impossible to describe.

    It's not just that the 20-yearold Chinese pianist plays piano at what the extreme limits of what is humanly possible - as she proved in her encore, Arcadi Volodos' transcription of Mozart's familiar "Rondo a la Turca." Sure, you can find this kitchen-sink amalgamation of technical stunts in the dictionary under "bad taste" - but she played it with such verve, panache and ease as to silence nagging critical doubts. It's as though she has no idea what a wrong note is.

    But it was her performance of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 that proved that she's also an assured and original interpreter. Above all, she's a master of transitions, as in the one from between the first movement's second and closing themes: Most pianists treat this as an abrupt break, but Wang began with a quiet intensity that matched the preceding lyricism, and then built naturally to the more dramatic finish.

    And you'll never hear Chopin's lacy filigree played more delicately. If her interpretation downplayed drama in favor of intimacy and charm, that's not a bad approach for this youthful, fresh work.

    Conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith had their work cut out for them, but perhaps put on guard by the recent concert with violinist Miriam Fried, they followed Wang's elastic tempo changes with seeming ease.

    Wang was well set up. The concert began with a ravishing performance of Wagner's Good Friday music from "Parsifal" - some of the tenderest and least overbearing music Wagner wrote.

    The orchestra was even better in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, which ended the program. It supplied the passion and drama absent from Wagner's and Chopin's more lyrical works.

    From the first movement's nervous anxiety, to the second movement's solitary melancholy, to the finale's hysterical intensity, this was one of the season's finest performances. The sound was warm and balanced, combining passion and precision. Smith's command of the pace is typically excellent, but he outdid himself here, especially in the buildup to the first movement's shattering climax.

    It's also a symphony that shows off soloists, especially in the woodwind section: bassoonist Clark Wilson, clarinetist Julianna Scott, and oboist Guy Dutra-Silveira.

IF YOU GO

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra with pianist Yuja Wang

When: 2:30 p.m. today

Where: Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

Tickets: $15-$52 Information: 520-7469