Rave Reviews with Princeton Symphony
Princeton Symphony Orchestra Brings Down the House with Spellbinding Pianist
Town Topics - Princeton’s Weekly Newspaper since 1946
Written by Nancy Plum- Published on November 12, 2025
Princeton Symphony Orchestra left a Richardson Auditorium audience awestruck this past weekend with concerts featuring one of the most phenomenal pianists to come through the area recently. Conducted by Music Director Rossen Milanov, the Orchestra and pianist Maxim Lando revealed the depth and grandeur of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s symphonic writing, as well as the grace and humor of Gioachino Rossini and Felix Mendelssohn.
In 2025, American pianist Lando won an international award for “Excellence and Innovation.” These two words do not even begin to describe his extraordinary abilities, as heard in Saturday night’s presentation of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major. Tchaikovsky was never one to sit idle; even when compositional assignments were scarce, he was, as he wrote to a family member, “absolutely incapable of living long without work.” Piano Concerto No. 2 was born of one of these periods, when the composer was in residence at a country estate in Ukraine.
Opening with a martial theme, the “Allegro brillante” was joyous and majestic. Playing close to the keyboard, Lando was always in tandem with the Orchestra, and his solo passages seamlessly emerged from the texture. A very physical player, Lando often seemed to dramatically lift himself off the bench. A theme announced by principal horn Steven Harmon was answered by clarinetist Archer against a lyrical keyboard accompaniment. The first movement provided opportunities for a duet between piano and flute, with piano melodies sweetly echoed by flutist Kim. Milanov consistently maintained an effortless flow with the strings against Lando’s nonstop solo playing.
A cadenza placed unconventionally in the middle of the movement was played sensitively by Lando, with cascading right-hand scales and silences which teased the audience. It became apparent not long into the Concerto why one pianist simplified the work after its premiere — the music incessantly shifted from ferocious to gentle, all the while demanding virtuosic technique. Lando continually mesmerized the Richardson audience with his complete absorption into the music and hypnotizing technique, and the audience was brought to its feet following the conclusion of the piece. Lando further showed his innovative skills with an encore of his “own little take” transcription of Rossini’s “Overture” to The Barber of Seville, creating a dazzling orchestral reduction, with a touch of Bugs Bunny, from his own two hands and the keyboard.
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