Your guide to classical music online

Xiayin Wang’s Depressing “American Piano Concertos”

David Hurwitz

Artistic Quality:

Sound Quality:

This is a terrible disc. It is impossible on evidence here to say that Xiayin Wang has any noticeable affinity for this music. Her tone is thin, and she tends to pick at the notes rather than accenting them. The finale of the Barber concerto, for example, suffers from a mechanical sense of rhythm and a flat dynamic range at too slow a tempo. It is one of the least exciting on disc. You can hear the same issue at the start of the Copland concerto’s second movement. The composer’s own recording (with Bernstein) shows how it ought to be done: spiky, etched in steel, but with depth to the tone.

The Gershwin is worse still. What on earth is going on with Peter Oundjian and the RSNO? They sound completely bored, to the point where the percussionist mistimes the very first cymbal crash in the piece (and it’s only five notes in–well, six here). As for Wang, she drifts through her opening solo as if on Percocet. I give her full credit for her swift attack on the finale, but as with the other works, the performance is so lacking in sheer heft that monotony quickly ensues.

Wang appears to be staking out her personal territory in American repertoire–she has a disc of Earl Wild piano music to her credit as well–but with reference recordings of all of this music readily available by the likes of Wild himself (Gershwin), John Browning and Szell (Barber), and the aforementioned Copland/Bernstein, there is simply no excuse for a disc that sounds like a low-voltage reading rehearsal. Even the engineering lacks the typical fullness and clarity we are used to from Chandos in this venue. Wang’s previous recordings have been generally well received here, but this one’s a dud.


Recording Details:

Album Title: AMERICAN PIANO CONCERTOS
Reference Recording: See review

  • Record Label: Chandos - 5128
  • Medium: SACD

Search Music Reviews

Search Sponsor

  • Insider Reviews only
  • Click here for Search Tips

Visit Our Merchandise Store

Visit Store
  • Ideally Cast Met Revival of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
    Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; March 19, 2024—The Met has revived Bartlett Sher’s 1967 production of Gounod’s R&J hot on the heels of its
  • An Ozawa Story, November, 1969
    Much has justifiably been written regarding Seiji Ozawa’s extraordinary abilities and achievements as a conductor, and similarly about his generosity, graciousness, and sense of humor
  • Arvo Pärt’s Passio At St. John The Divine
    Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, NY; January 26, 2024—When one thinks of musical settings of Christ’s Passion, one normally thinks of the