Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22: II. Allegro scherzando
Lang Lang
The second movement of Saint-Saëns's Op. 22 is a mercurial, almost mischievous contrast to the gravity that precedes it. Lang Lang attacks the Allegro scherzando with sparkling fingerwork and a dancer's sense of rhythmic elasticity — the piano skipping and darting around the orchestra with the lightness of a gavotte crossed with a scherzo. There is genuine wit in the interplay, the orchestra teasing the soloist and the soloist answering back with fleet octaves and playful trills. Lang Lang's technical brilliance is fully on display here, the passagework crystalline and effortless, yet always musically shaped rather than merely virtuosic. The movement has a Mendelssohn-like airiness, a ballroom energy that feels both precise and spontaneous, as if the music is being invented in the moment.
fast
2010s
airy, sparkling, ballroom-bright
French Romantic / late 19th century
Classical. Romantic piano concerto. playful, energetic. Enters immediately in mercurial high spirits and sustains witty, dancing momentum throughout, never pausing for reflection.. energy 8. fast. danceability 7. valence 9. production: piano and orchestra, crystalline passagework, fleet octaves, light orchestral texture. texture: airy, sparkling, ballroom-bright. acousticness 8. era: 2010s. French Romantic / late 19th century. An energizing listen for an active morning or as a technically dazzling concert highlight showcasing virtuosic lightness.