Lang Lang

[DavidA]

But then, what will set me apart as apart as connoisseur of classical music if I like the same thing (person) that a larger section of the general public does?

Many a true word spoken in jest! 

[DavidA]

Pianists are only cool if they're really obscure. It's like, an unwritten law or something.

It's not actually the pianists who are cool but rather the admirers who want to be cool by liking a pianist no-one has heard of.

[DavidA]

Interesting that ina programme by the BBC on LL, critic Bryce Morrison said that to succeed as a classical pianist it takes a lot of talent, an great deal of application and a huge amount of luck. LL ticks all three boxes. I would also add that he has a huge amount of charisma and personal charm which sees him leap-frog other pianists of equal talent. But that's life, isn't it!

[Holden]

The criteria for this thread were basically set by the choices in the poll and posts are where we qualify what we voted for. The basic question is what do we think of LL as a pianist/musician and we have answered that according to our preferences. There are a number of posters here (I'm not including myself) who have much experience with classical piano music and pianists. They know who they like and why and the converse is also true. DavidA obviously likes LL and good on him. A number of us don't and like David we are also entitled to that opinion. I can remember a thread many years ago on Glenn Gould that was far more polarising than this thread appears to be and provided discussion stays within civil bounds it is good to have this debate on Lang Lang.

[AdamFromWashington]

I haven't heard much of Lang Lang, but what I have heard hasn't impressed me that much. For example, I really can't stand the way he plays Rachmaninoff. I think it's the way he never lets the orchestra take over, and recede when he should. For example, when Richter plays Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto, Richter's arpeggios sound "under" or "interwoven" with the first main melody, with only the more "melodically important" notes coming through, and the bass notes a deep anchoring rumble. When Lang Lang plays this you can hear all of his notes OVER the orchestra. They don't blend at all, and his deep bass chords sound like hammer blows, not a piano. In other words, I hear Lang Lang playing, not just music. Still, he has great technical abilities, and I certainly have nothing against him personally. The way he plays just doesn't suite me, I guess, and that's okay. He's still a great pianist, with great technical ability, and I love that he brings lots of people to concert halls. Maybe as he gets older he'll "mature." I feel guilty saying that, as good as he is, and as awful as I am on the piano, but comparing him to other virtuoso pianists I would still say it's a valid, if very subjective, conclusion.

[Holden]

I haven't heard much of Lang Lang, but what I have heard hasn't impressed me that much. For example, I really can't stand the way he plays Rachmaninoff. I think it's the way he never lets the orchestra take over, and recede when he should. For example, when Richter plays Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto, Richter's arpeggios sound "under" or "interwoven" with the first main melody, with only the more "melodically important" notes coming through, and the bass notes a deep anchoring rumble. When Lang Lang plays this you can hear all of his notes OVER the orchestra. They don't blend at all, and his deep bass chords sound like hammer blows, not a piano. In other words, I hear Lang Lang playing, not just music. Still, he has great technical abilities, and I certainly have nothing against him personally. The way he plays just doesn't suite me, I guess, and that's okay. He's still a great pianist, with great technical ability, and I love that he brings lots of people to concert halls. Maybe as he gets older he'll "mature." I feel guilty saying that, as good as he is, and as awful as I am on the piano, but comparing him to other virtuoso pianists I would still say it's a valid, if very subjective, conclusion.

Which is probably the reason that he is known as 'Bang Bang'

[DavidA]

The criteria for this thread were basically set by the choices in the poll and posts are where we qualify what we voted for. The basic question is what do we think of LL as a pianist/musician and we have answered that according to our preferences. There are a number of posters here (I'm not including myself) who have much experience with classical piano music and pianists. They know who they like and why and the converse is also true. DavidA obviously likes LL and good on him. A number of us don't and like David we are also entitled to that opinion. I can remember a thread many years ago on Glenn Gould that was far more polarising than this thread appears to be and provided discussion stays within civil bounds it is good to have this debate on Lang Lang.

Please note I am not in the LL fan club. I don't have any of his recordings. I do think, though, that he is a talented pianist with something to say. I also think behind the showmanship there is a heart for reaching people with classical music - people who would not normally listen to it. I know it's heresy to those who want a tight-lipped exclusive club but I rather enjoyed seeing him play Liszt  at the Round House with lights and dry ice!

[Holden]

Good point David.

[bhodges]

I also think behind the showmanship there is a heart for reaching people with classical music - people who would not normally listen to it. I know it's heresy to those who want a tight-lipped exclusive club but I rather enjoyed seeing him play Liszt  at the Round House with lights and dry ice!

Agree with this (and others who have expressed similar sentiments). And I'd be 100% fine with a little dry ice and lights now and then - Simon Rattle, are you listening? 

--Bruce

[DavidA]

Agree with this (and others who have expressed similar sentiments). And I'd be 100% fine with a little dry ice and lights now and then - Simon Rattle, are you listening? 

--Bruce

I think there are certain musicians who can get away with this sort of thing. Lang Lang is one of them. They seem to have the charisma and the talent to do it. Like the young Chinese pianist Yuja Wang coming to play Rachmaninov three in a miniskirt at Hollywood bowl. This is not for everyone of course - just those who can carry things like this off.

[DavidA]

Just to add a quote to the above:

The veteran artist manager Edna Landau, who advises young musicians, said: "This generation is a much more visual generation. Every artist has a responsibility to look as good as they can. It's not different than if you are going for a job interview. You're trying to win over fans and get more engagements, so one should look great."

[Daverz]

I find the stink of pop-style promotion about him to be a turn off.  Not that I'm much of a pianophile anyway.

[DavidA]

I find the stink of pop-style promotion about him to be a turn off.  Not that I'm much of a pianophile anyway.

But there's a whole lot of people who like it and they are the ones Lang Lang is trying to reach out to with his playing. I really do believe he is trying to communicate his love of music to other people as well as building a career for himself. I know the BBC showed him playing at some pop festival where no other classical musician had ever gone. He played classical piano music and not crossover stuff and people sat and listened. So I say good luck to him. I think Liszt would have done the same.

[Henk]

I'm curious because I'm listening to his new Chopin album, which is my first Lang Lang CD ever. Mostly I'm curious if there's anybody else who has taken so long to hear Lang Lang playing something.

I have his PC Chopin recording. Nice recording, although I tend to not listening to these works.

[ElliotViola]

'Lang Lang Shred'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysHZ9g0UA98


Best video of Lang Lang ever, cried with laughter...

[Brian]

This remark by Tianwa Yang in a new interview might be relevant:

'To put it simply: in China I learned mostly how to master the violin; in the West I learned how to understand music. As a kid I learned how to deal with the technique, how to make it all sound brilliant and effective; when I came to Europe, I relearned everything. I realised it's not just about playing, but about "telling" the music, if I can put it that way. And I've never looked back.'

[Daverz]

This remark by Tianwa Yang in a new interview might be relevant:

'To put it simply: in China I learned mostly how to master the violin; in the West I learned how to understand music. As a kid I learned how to deal with the technique, how to make it all sound brilliant and effective; when I came to Europe, I relearned everything. I realised it's not just about playing, but about "telling" the music, if I can put it that way. And I've never looked back.'

Yeah, she's the real deal, though I've only heard a few of her Sarasate discs.

[Daverz]

But there's a whole lot of people who like it and they are the ones Lang Lang is trying to reach out to with his playing. I really do believe he is trying to communicate his love of music to other people as well as building a career for himself. I know the BBC showed him playing at some pop festival where no other classical musician had ever gone. He played classical piano music and not crossover stuff and people sat and listened. So I say good luck to him. I think Liszt would have done the same.

We'll see.  My skepticism has no effect on Mr. Lang Lang's sales, I'm sure.

[Brian]

Tianwa Yang is the real deal, and you should hear her Piazzolla too, but I think her comments have implications for Lang Lang too. It's my understanding that he's more recently taken up studies in Europe, as she did, and he too is starting to mature and see musical works as stories to be told rather than challenges to be mastered. Perhaps he is undergoing the same maturation process she did - only, instead of growing into a true 'musician' as a teenager, like Ms. Yang, Lang Lang is finally earning his job title in his thirties.

[Todd]

In the 'eh' category.  His LvB PC 1 & 4 disc with Eschenbach was not very good, but I've heard some concert relays that show promise - or the opposite.  On the one hand was a dreadful Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody 2, but on the other, I've heard some better than expected Chopin and Mozart.  He clearly has chops, but will he mature into an artist I seek out?  I don't know.