Word: changed
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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What is shocking is that Chang herself knows it. The meaninglessness of her youth is not something the critics have foisted upon her, but rather a feeling that hangs about her like an air of resigned casualness--casualness that comes not from youth but from experience. That she is no a child means her age is no longer an excuse for less-than-perfect playing. At 16, Chang is a mature, even jaded performer...
...Chang's playing, too, is anything but youthful. She plays aggressively, with a throaty sound, and caps off her notes with a fast, urgent vibrato. She is unafraid of digging into challenging runs or over-playing. Chang's tone, like Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's, has the mean reds...
...with a capital R and dramatic, alternating quickly between slow, cinematic melodies and passionate bombastic chords. Critics have often suggested that the eruptive Strauss sonata is more appropriate for a large-scale symphony orchestra than for violin and piano, yet the piece could not have been more perfect for Chang...
...Chang played quickly and never lingered on particularly expressive passages, but she never skimmed over a note in any of the piece's numerous virtuosic passages. Technically, Chang's playing was flawless. Chang proved herself completely flexible in the Strauss piece, jumping with remarkable clarity from her growling low register to her blossoming upper one. The last movement of the sonata was particularly memorable. Chang pushed the last movement's triumphant theme forward almost stubbornly. With expert poise, Chang bluffed the audience with the faux ending--some audience members prepared to clap. Unlike most faux endings, this one was truly...
...Chang's interpretation of Mozart's Sonata in C Major, K. 296, was not so graceful. Her bright, biting tone cast an unforgiving light on the piece which, like most of Mozart's work, requires a light touch. Mozart sonatas are meant to be played with an almost off-hand ease: the bubbling passages and sweet melodies cannot be trudged through. The ringing intensity of Chang's playing was not at all suited to the delicate and almost childlike sonata. Chang's high notes blossomed in this piece as in all the others, but the low notes were swallowed...