A Lang Lang Solo Recital at Carnegie Hall There are only a few artists so popular that Carnegie Hall will place chairs onstage to accommodate the large audiences they invariably attract, as the pianist Lang Lang did on Tuesday evening for his solo recital there. Lang Lang performing Bach, Schubert, Chopin and Liszt at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday. With his charismatic stage presence, passionate playing and astounding technique, it was easy to see why he has garnered a large following. And the reasons he has alienated just as many listeners were also readily apparent. When I mentioned the concert to musician friends beforehand, I heard a common refrain: "I'm busy, and he's not my favorite pianist." Mr. Lang, who turns 30 in June, has long impressed with his dazzling technical chops, making a splash in Romantic repertory like the Tchaikovsky and Liszt concertos, which can withstand his flamboyant tendencies better than earlier works. But he has recently also been keen to prove that he is more than a virtuoso showman; he offered Bach's Partita No. 1 and Schubert's Sonata in B flat (D. 960) for the first half of his Carnegie recital. After the beautifully controlled opening measures of the Schubert, it seemed that perhaps Mr. Lang was indeed about to reveal a more mature, sophisticated side of his musicianship. There were certainly gorgeous moments throughout the sonata, but they were quickly tarnished by his over-the-top flourishes. Mr. Lang has long demonstrated a penchant for hamming it up, and he often did so here, a particularly egregious approach in this repertory. It sounded as if he were stating his ideas in capital letters, then adding boldface and underscores for extra effect. His tendency to milk phrases with exaggerated expressivity imbued the Schubert with a Sinatra-like swooning quality. The Andante lost momentum amid all the flourishes; the Scherzo sounded almost camp. The Sarabande of the Bach also fared particularly poorly, with all the fussy mannerisms. What the undoubtedly gifted Mr. Lang lacked on this occasion, as he has on others, is the judgment to channel his musical instincts with more subtlety. So the dynamic contrasts in the Bach, for example, seemed jarring and unnatural. After intermission Mr. Lang performed Chopin's 12 Études (Op. 25), one of the pianist's calling cards. While he certainly took plenty of liberties, he sounded more in his element here. There were lovely, poetic moments throughout and plenty of virtuosic dazzle, as with the octaves of No. The encores included Liszt's "Romance" in E minor and a sparkling rendition of his "Campanella."