I've never been a fan of Lang Lang, but even if he's not my cup of tea he's not a charlatan either. He is who he is and he plays the way he plays and if he can attract people who might otherwise not listen it's all good. Sure some of those people might come only for him or some other show stopper type, but some of those people he attracts to the music might also be intrigued enough to listen to and learn about more of the music. My first classical recording was an album on which Al Hirt played the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. That was a recording that left purists requiring medical attention. The thing is, that's where I started. It's not where I stopped. My listening preferences have become somewhat more sophisticated since then, but I'll always have a certain fondness for that Al Hirt/Arthur Fiedler collaboration. So give Lang Lang credit. Whether he is to your taste or not he is a real musician and he's filling seats that desperately need filling and he's exposing some people to music they might not otherwise listen to. And he's still young. He wouldn't be the first brash and abrasive young musician to become more serious and thoughtful in his maturity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E2Rfh8XoDw
5
The classical repertoire is going to need all the flashiness and over the top performances, it can draw! Looking at the crowds at classical offerings of late, you are not going to find many under sixties in sight! Lang would be a draw for the younger generation, along with maintaining the war horses, and perhaps performers can acquire some tattoos!...And the big unfortunate turnoff for the younger crowd, is that classical music requires a sustained attention span, which is tough in a culture that moves from one screen to the other, at times, in the blink of an eye.
4
I was pretty confused at first: is the conductor the guy banging his fingers on the big shiny thing? The two women with the scratchy fiddly things? Or the guy with the white stick thing? Luckily, the caption cleared it up!
1
Glad that Lang Lang has found a bit of subtlety. But I still won't buy a ticket to hear him play. This review was really well-written and explains all I need to know about Lang Lang. He is melodramatic because he wants/needs a certain kind of attention. It's a shame.
My nephew, a professional classical pianist, refers to this performer as "Bang Bang", apparently his moniker with other musicians. I heard Lang Lang play a sober and serviceable account of Beethoven's 3rd concerto, under Barenboim in Berlin, so I suspect that the audience and the conductor's stature have an influence. Nelsons is no Harnoncourt and Tanglewood is no Konzerthaus.
Mr. Barone surely knows that "fans" that rush the stage have a feeble grasp of musical quality; the show's the thing, the show and the selfie and the social media post of the breathless emoticon review. And, you know, ... Mozart ... you have to sell that wig guy's music to the girls ready to rush the stage. For those who can't hear, a "full foot" of performance sign language helps to paint the drama.
1
As a classical pianist, I have now read for the first time in my 66 years that a Critic had to close his eyes in order to stomach a particular pianist's performance. Hey, count your lucky stars because if he could get away with it, Lang Lang would walk out there with nothing on but a Speedo.
And, while Mr. Little talks about the girls rushing the stage, it is only fair and truthful to mention the boys who were also doing the same.
Regarding his injury, he has permanently injured is left ulnar nerve, and he will never be able to play the "Warhorse" repertoire again. As proof, when he played the Tchaikovsky on PBS' New Years Eve Concert, he paused at one point and violently shook he left hand, wincing in pain. He mashes chords with this hand, and it has finally caught up with him.
LL's genuine artistry and flamboyancy is not in question here. It's whether or not his injury has affected his sound, which can only be determined by one's own hearing and not by any critic review.
I am glad LL has come back to the stage to what appears to have been a very successful performance, but the task of diagnosing his progress after a pianistic injury (especially in a highly sophisticated work as Mozart K.491) is better left to the professionals.
2
Oh, if I were a little younger I would rush the stage as well. I enjoyed this review, so do not fret Mr. Barone.
"That's star power, honey."
3
How exciting to have Lang Lang back. I just want to hear him soon.
1
Look, if Lang Lang can make the girls rush the stage for Mozart, there’s hope for “classical” music. If his extraverted theatricality doesn’t always comport with the light subtlety of Amadeus’ music, it’s ok. In an open air space, where the sounds become diffuse, and focus is hard to bring to the stage, the performer is obliged to heighten the visual effects as well as dig in to the notes a bit more than he would at Carnegie Hall.
21