Yuja plays Mendelssohn/Rachmaninoff Midsummer Night's Dream

[SD Tav]

Sterling playing by Yuja for sure. Matches Sergei's own performance. It sounds like Yuja starts faster, but Sergei ends 3 seconds earlier. I'd like to hear Yuja play the other transcriptions.

[jon-nyc]

Have you ever heard Ruth Laredo‘s version? It’s stunningly crisp.

[SD Tav]

@jon-nyc I just listened to Laredo's rendition. It is 'crisp' as you say. Very good!

[Klaus]

Impressive playing, of course, but the music itself strikes me as a superficial showpiece without much musical content.

[Axtremus]

@klaus said in Yuja plays Mendelssohn/Rachmaninoff Midsummer Night's Dream:

Impressive playing, of course, but the music itself strikes me as a superficial showpiece without much musical content.

+1, this is not typical of either Mendelssohn or Rachmaninoff.

[jon-nyc]

It is a scherzo, remember.

Also I think her version isn’t quite clear enough to make sense out of if you don’t know the piece.

Listen to the Vienna Phil play the original:

Link to video

[jon-nyc]

Now Ruth Laredo:

Link to video

[George K]

@jon-nyc agreed. Laredo's version seems "crisper," cleaner, perhaps.

But, I don't get the sense of musicality that Wang conveys. With Wang, I always feel that we're "going somewhere." Not so much with Laredo.

Laredo plays all the notes, but does she play all the music?

[Klaus]

@george-k said in Yuja plays Mendelssohn/Rachmaninoff Midsummer Night's Dream:

plays all the notes, but does she play all the music?

Wow, that’s deep

[Klaus]

@jon-nyc said in Yuja plays Mendelssohn/Rachmaninoff Midsummer Night's Dream:

It is a scherzo, remember.

You mean, like the Chopin scherzi are scherzi?