Chinese superstar pianist Lang Lang joins the National Symphony Orchestra in this weekend’s concerts at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, beginning this evening. He was originally scheduled to give the premiere of a new piano concerto by American composer Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962). However, as announced by the NSO in late March, the composer and the pianist issued a joint statement, saying that “differences in interpretive viewpoints and styles have led us both to feel…

Be a good son or daughter and call your mother today. Then you can start thinking about what concerts to hear this week. Maybe you can ask your mom to come with you. THE BIG GUNS: >> Joining the National Symphony Orchestra this week is Chinese pianist Lang Lang. He and composer Jennifer Higdon have parted ways about her new piano concerto, which he was supposed to premiere this week. Instead, Lang Lang will play…

This past weekend’s concerts from the National Symphony Orchestra provided the second opportunity in the last month or so to hear Yundi Li play Liszt’s first piano concerto. The first time was with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at George Mason (reviewed last month), and the coincidence demands a comparison. On both occasions, Li has played the work with impressive accuracy and grace, with renditions remarkably similar to his recent recording. There were a few negligible…

When Peter Gelb took over as the new general director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, he promised several initiatives to bring opera to broader audiences. The leading American opera company opened its season last September, and New Yorkers were able to watch the celebrity-studded performance of Madama Butterfly on large screens in the plaza of Lincoln Center and the chaos of Times Square. The Met even brought a brief scene from its production of…