The music of
Camille Saint-Saëns and the other French composers featured here is a bit off the usual track for superstar pianist
Lang Lang, and the album is oddly titled; only half the music on the double album is by
Saint-Saëns. As it happens,
Lang Lang is a pretty strong
Saint-Saëns player, with clean articulation and an understanding of the composer's Gallic wit. The main feature is
The Carnival of the Animals, and part of the album's goal appears to be to allow
Lang Lang the opportunity to perform with his wife, pianist
Gina Alice. This works out well; the two pianos are well-integrated, even if they tend to stand out too much from the orchestra. There are draws, too, on the second part of the program, performed solo by
Lang Lang, except in the
Petite Suite for piano four hands of
Debussy (which does receive a very sharp performance).
Lang Lang includes a string of pieces by recently rediscovered female French composers, and there is plenty more where these came from; all these composers need is strong star advocacy to find a permanent place in the repertory and, in the likes of
Lili Boulanger's "D'un jardin claire,"
Lang Lang shows what is possible. Much of the rest of the second volume consists of arrangements of standard tunes like
Delibes' "Flower Duet" by
Emile Naoumoff, and it is delivered with
Lang Lang's characteristic easy flair. Except in the works by women composers, little new ground is broken here, but the album should certainly satisfy
Lang Lang fans; it landed on classical best-seller lists in early 2024. ~ James Manheim
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