Word: changefulness
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...requiring its hardware partners to put its Web browser, Internet Explorer, on the computers they make. The question is, Should the government do anything about it? It ought to break Microsoft into two or three companies and then get out of the way and let them compete. CHIEH CHANG Hillsborough, Calif...
...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...
Unfortunately, the Mozart was the first piece on Friday night's program and thus negatively colored the rest of the recital. The Strauss came second and somewhat restored the audience's faith. On the other hand, programming the Strauss after the Mozart clearly indicated Chang's underlying problem: she plays the same way all the time. The triumph of the Strauss was diminished by the overwhelming notion that the piece was chosen not for its inherent musical qualities but because it coincidentally contained musical elements at which Chang excels. Had the Strauss been programmed first, the overall feel...
That aside, however, the second half of the program was truly brilliant. Chang's treatment of Prokofiev's Sonata No. 2 in D Major was both seductive and whimsical, and she performed Sarasate's warhorse Concert Fantasies on Carmen with finesse and precision...
...high point of the recital, though, was Chang's stunning rendition of Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp minor. Chopin never wrote violin music; the Nocturne that Chang performed Friday night is a transcription of the original piano part. The Nocturne is unfalteringly sublime--in this adaptation, the violin part is elegant and the accompaniment somber and unintrusive. For this piece, Chang abandoned her usual fiery bravado for heartbreaking tenderness. Individual notes melted and the music rang with the unearthly sonority of a human voice. Its only fault was that it was tragically short, leaving one wishing that Chang...