LANG LANG, piano, Abravanel Hall, Oct. 9

Lang Lang is without question one of the biggest names in classical music today. And Tuesday he made a long overdue return visit to Utah. The last time he played the Beehive State was in 2002, as part of the University of Utah’s Virtuoso Series. At that time he was already well on his way to becoming a superstar. And today, of course, the 30-year-old pianist has reached that exalted status.

Too often when a performer is hyped as much as Lang Lang is, the question is whether or not he can live up to the p.r. blitz. Fortunately there is no doubt in Lang Lang’s case. As he showed Tuesday, he is certainly one of the most remarkably talented pianists to hit the scene in a long time. In his playing there is a wonderful blend of sheer technical prowess and sensitive musicality. He makes the piano sing and lets the music speak for itself – rare qualities indeed.

There were only two composers on his recital program Tuesday – Mozart and Chopin.

He began the evening with three sonatas by Mozart – No. 5 in G major, K. 283; No. 4 in E flat major, K. 282; and No. 8 in A minor, K. 310. These are all early works, and one could have wished that Lang Lang would have introduced a little more variety here by replacing one of these with a later sonata. However, the performances were all one could have hoped for.

The Chinese-born pianist infused his playing with a lightness of touch that captured the transparent textures of these pieces wonderfully. His phrasings were lean, clean and articulate, and he used the pedal wisely and sparingly. There were a lot of nuances in his choice of dynamics and tempos that one doesn’t always find with other pianists and which made these well known works refreshingly new. He didn’t overplay them, and he got a lot out of the music. There was an earnestness to his readings that was surprising, yet not unwarranted. Even so he still managed to emphasize the delicate lyricism of the music.

For the second half, Lang Lang chose to play the four ballades by Chopin. And everything that characterized his playing of the Mozart sonatas was present in his account of the ballades.

There was also a finely crafted romantic sensitivity to his interpretations that allowed him to bring out the gorgeous lyricism of the music. Chopin’s works are close to his heart and Lang Lang brought loving attention to details of expression. These were nuanced and at times highly subtle readings that captured the inner essence of the music. There have been many great interpreters of Chopin’s music over the years but few have been able to get so much out of the music. Hearing Lang Lang play these pieces was almost revelatory.

A nocturne and the Minute Waltz by Chopin were the two encores he played. And judging by the audience’s response no one would have minded had he played several more pieces.