Lang Lang

Sandro, I'm glad you have a good sense of humor. We should get along fine, (except you still talk a bit too fancy for me. )
I hope you post your picture with your bio.

 

Had to go back a lot to find this thread.

I went to Lang Lang’s concert in Chicago yesterday. It was everything I expected – wonderful music, plenty of facial expressions and wild arm and body gestures. Pretty much just as you see in the YouTube videos. However, that some people can’t get over his flamboyant stage presence and just listen to his playing is a mystery to me, as his tone was everything from the softest pianissimo and delicate, dainty runs to powerful, knock-your-socks-off fortissimo. He played great! Yes, he often did what I call ‘float into outer-space”, which is when he leans back and looks upward, or he just closes his eyes and plays. And sometimes he hit the keys hard and then shot both arms out to the side like he was an airplane (that was kind of funny). Other times, he reached up to the highest keys and then dropped his arms down and looked like he was going to fall off the bench. But even with all that, you can certainly tell that he puts his whole heart and soul into the music and thoroughly enjoys playing.

First on the program was Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A Major, D 959. It was pretty long, lasting around 45 minutes. I didn’t hear any wrong notes, but I don’t know the music, either. Then intermission. After that came Bartok’s Piano Sonata Sz. 80. Wow – that was something! Talk about unbelievably powerful playing! I thought the piano was going to disintegrate. He used music on this, but not on the other pieces. Next were selected Debussy preludes; three from each book. The first one was La fille aux cheveux de lin, which many of us here have played and recorded. His rendition was beautiful and very much standard to what I’m accustomed to. The final piece was Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53. I have mixed feelings about it. I think he just went a little overboard. That left-hand octave part – wow – incredible how he played it so fast! And ‘Joe Public’ probably didn’t hear them, but I heard several slips, like five or six. I wasn’t surprised, since he was playing so wildly. Still, if he could contain himself a bit, there would be fewer, if any mistakes. Perhaps because he is still so young that he does this, and maturity will settle him down. Of course the audience loved it and applauded forever, it seemed. So after that explosive piece, he came out for an encore and played Chopin’s Etude Op. 10, no. 3 in E-major. Again, beautiful playing – the outer parts soft and magical, the middle hard part strong and confident.

And that was it. Only one encore. Not sure why, as every other concert I’ve been to, the performer played three or four numbers. I did see a bandage on his finger in the second half of the concert that wasn’t there on the first half. Or maybe it was because he was to sign CD’s afterwards and the ‘managers’ wanted him to get to it. Who knows…

Anyway, I’m glad I went. As to his clothes - he wore a black suit with a mandarin collar and black shirt underneath, buttoned up and no tie.

 

No. I was with my husband and my parents, and they all wanted to go out for dinner.

Did you get his autograph?

 

Chris M – You have to get over this facial expression and gestures thing, as it’s getting old and boring. But since you are still very young, it’s no surprise that you would have such a puerile opinion of Lang Lang’s playing.

If you would do as you yourself suggest - turn off the monitor and just listen to some of his pieces, you would hear that he can play as well as all the rest of the professionals when he wants to. On that stupid Youtube video that you posted, I recognized some of the clips from the shirt he was wearing and know that the piece he was playing at that time was Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 27, no. 2. If you bother to actually listen to it, you can hear how surreal, how incredibly sublime he plays it. I think it is a perfect rendition in every way. And as bclever mentioned about his performance of the Debussy pieces yesterday – his playing was beautiful and could not have been better performed by anyone.

I admit that I don’t like what Lang Lang does with his face all the time, either, but you cannot say that he is a bad player. That is a derisive statement and people who say things like this sound like they are jealous and sorry that they can’t play as well. Yes, he has some unflattering performances and unfortunately for him, he lives in this Youtube age where everything he does can be documented and viewed by everyone. But he will grow up and probably tire of his ‘showboating’. No doubt he will also continue to develop his talent.

I think he deserves more respect, and you need to open your mind and get off the LL-bashing bandwagon. It's unbecoming.

 

I saw Pollini play in concert less than a year ago. He played several Debussy preludes too, and yes – he played them well. But so did Lang Lang yesterday. Pollini also played a couple Chopin nocturnes, one being the 27/2 (the one I mentioned in my last post). In the concert, he played so well, I nearly cried. But Lang Lang’s version of it on youtube does the same thing to me. It’s perfect. And although I consider Pollini to be outstanding, I’m not totally crazy about his latest CD of all the Chopin nocturnes. He plays most of them much too fast (he didn’t play them that fast in concert). That’s why I say you should try to open your mind. Performers can play repertoire much differently in different situations and you shouldn’t judge Lang Lang only by what you see on the internet.

 

Sorry, David. I'm a bit late with a response. :lol:

I just finished reading this book and I'm glad I did. The early years of Lang Lang's story is especially amazing. His upbringing was the most difficult one can imagine, and his father was unbelievable tough on him. The book is well-written and I thought very interesting. I think those who hold negative opinions of Lang Lang may feel a bit differently about him after they read this book. Maybe it will not change their mind about his playing, but it will certainly shed some light on why he plays the way he does. Plus, we learn about his having a sort of tendonitis flair-up, and also his kindness and generosity in wanting to teach young people to appreciate classical music.

So, I think you'll enjoy the book - unless you've already read it?