Lang Lang is indeed a very talented pianist, and he has, without a doubt, many wonderful performances. I heard his Op. 25 Chopin Etudes on Youtube in an audio recording and was impressed. However, if I hear him, I LOVE him, if I watch him, I hate him.
I actually had the pleasure of hearing him live back in April 2010 playing Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and it was amazing! The hall was packed!!!! It was a standing ovation. As an encore, he played Chopin's "Aeolian Harp" Etude, the Op. 25 No. 1.
However, technology has taken performing down a very long road, and Lang Lang is very influenced by this. This is why he has chosen to become a circus animal instead of an artist. He is giving up the integrity of music for money! Today's classical piano performance industry has evolved into a more pop-culture style, meaning people care about looks more than about music, including flying fingers, and how people dress. I mean, these things always mattered, but even more so now.
Today's players are heavily influenced by Lang Lang, and many of them no longer care about the great values of the past. I have seen so many generations between Horowitz and us, and I do not like the direction things are going. If Lang Lang is the direction things are going, we are really in trouble.