A really not so bad performance by Lang Lang

[thierry13]

Having heard everything everybody says about Lang Lang being so bad and so unmusical, I can't really agree after hearing this really great performance of Islamey ... from his period just just before he began to be widely known and doing a bunch of crap ... in the time he was still a Curtis student I think ... anyways, I think his middle section was one of the most beautiful playing I've heard in this piece. What a nice glowing tone he had ! You have to give him credit that he CAN be musical and CAN do good things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86pDGEMvTTY&feature=related

[liszt-essence]

Lang lang is a great performer and a supreme pianist.

His greatest power lies in his ability to take away the strict formalities and conservative concepts regarding piano playing.

He is like a flee in the pels of the conservative piano community.

Anyone who hates him, has to look in the mirror and see why. If you look underneath al the show and glimmer and 'crap' you will see a liberated pianist, who is not afraid to venture beyond the standards and bring his own unique personality into the music.

He is shaking up the old rigid system, and that's why he is so populair and on the other hand so disliked.

I like him and I wish him all the best on his journey to give all those conservatist a rude wake up call and hopefully they will investigate their own negative views on Lang Lang.

[viking]

If you have failed to realize this, Lang Lang has become a puppet of the corporate world in an attempt to win over as many of the 1.3 Billion chinese consumers as possible.  His Agents, teacher, and record companies are only in it for the money.  True, he has shown moments of genious in a select few interpretations, mostly in his youth, but for the most part he has completely cheapened the art of music making.  The general public already has horrible ears, completely incapable of hearing anything subtle, as they have become accustomed to listening to bone-dry, square, music - mostly anything you hear on the radio.  The last thing we need is for some punk like long dong to completely make a mockery out of music.
Like seriously, what is this?

Complete trash.

[pianogeek_cz]

Ah, ye good old communist method of making 'music'. Socialist realism at its very modern best...

Meh wants to VOMIT.

My opinion of Lang Lang has dropped considerably after watching this performance... selling his ability to the bunch of, in the words of Achmet the dead terrorist, ugly-a$$ guys in pajamas... *thinks Tibet*

[thalbergmad]

what is this?

Complete trash.

Chinese pianist processing factory in Bejing.

[viking]

Chinese pianist processing factory in Bejing.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH

quite true.

[liszt-essence]

Like seriously, what is this?

Complete trash.

The general public already has horrible ears, completely incapable of hearing anything subtle

What is so wrong with the video of yellow river.. It's not my style nor is it my taste but to call this complete trash ?

As for the 'general public' remark; man I detest your arrogance.. who are you to judge people for being completely incapable of hearing anything subtle..

Lang lang is PASSIONATE about music making, just read some interviews, the last thing he would want is to cheapen music..

The only that makes me want to vomit is the arrogance of some classical trained pianists on this forum.

[viking]

You are not a musician.  If you knew anything about music, you would know that what Lang Lang calls a performance of the yellow river concerto isn't music.  It's 20 minutes of piano banging.  His problem, is that instead of giving new and creative interpretations, he tries to cram as many notes/second into his playing.  Just because you play fast and loud DOES NOT MEAN YOU PLAY WELL.  Usually, he is not even that accurate.  It is a complete scam, and I'm very sorry to hear that you have fallen into the trap.  Whatever, go ahead and support him, but it is dangerous to call him things that he is not.  Guess what, I could probably get away with a career of playing absolute junk music like the Liszt HR#2, etc... but I wouldn't feel good about myself.  IT IS NOT ABOUT THE PERFORMER, IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC.  Long Dong does not realize this... PERIOD.

[fiasco]

Hey Viking, what music dost thou deem worthy of study?

[rene_ceballos]

Lang Lang has *dozens* of superb performances. I have yet to see (and would love for youtube links to) better technically skilled pianists at his age.

"Lack of musicality" is a very common resource. You say that aimed to a folk who's superb in technique, in a foolish attempt to downgrade his image somehow and 'level' the world that way. No matter how hard you try this, it won't work.

In any case, he still has a few years to reach the top of his technical skills ahead, and *decades* to develop musicality. I have lousy performances by all my favorite pianists. Don't you?

[jakev2.0]

All I gotta say about that Lang Lang Islamey is that it's a better performance than Lisitsa's.

[retrouvailles]

Lang Lang has *dozens* of superb performances. I have yet to see (and would love for youtube links to) better technically skilled pianists at his age.

I know people younger than him (my age) that I would MUCH rather see on stage than him. His performances are technically good, but my god, his musicianship sucks, when it is existent.

[viking]

The biggest thing I have against him is that he IS capable of being musical, but fails to do so, whoring himself out to the commercial world in an attempt to impress the general public who have little to no knowledge of classical music. 

[amelialw]

well, if some of you call lang lang a lousy pianist, you definately haven't seen him perform his best, I have been to 3 performances of his, 2 were not that great, more entertainment than anything else but 1 was actually good.

Just think about it in this way too, although some of his performances are too entertaining, they actually help people to enjoy listening to classical music.

Now i'm not defending him, i'm just stating that as a fact.

[amelialw]

sadly, most young people nowadays want to be entertained, they don't look for the musicality, they just like dazzling/show-off pieces

[jlh]

What is so wrong with the video of yellow river.. It's not my style nor is it my taste but to call this complete trash ?

It must've been the moving lights at the beginning...

[rene_ceballos]

There's nothing wrong in trying to impress general public who has no deep knowledge of classical music.

Pianists, and performers of any instrument have done that forever. Many of the "legends" we worship today did exactly that in their young years. Some of those didn't have no internet, many not even TV or radio or recordings. But you can read historic comments of they doing some bizarre circus-like acts when playing virtuosic pieces, such as HR2. It attracts people, it makes for a living and after several years, it makes a legend. Just think what you heard first of Cziffra.

At the end of the day, I think that's actually healthy for us all: the more people that gets attracted by the circus, the more people that will get interested for piano playing, the merrier. It's not that modern world gives us too many job opportunities as is, or that this is improving.


The part I find funniest is that many people seem to attack Lang Lang's musicality based on the exaggerated facial expressions and body movements onstage. "It attacks the performer icon, it is away from the stick-in-*** paradigm, so it must be non-musical, can't be good. He's a clown".

I don't particularly enjoy those exaggerated movements, personally. I wouldn't follow that as a model. I don't think they give the performance anything.

But yet, I *love* the fact that he can break stupid rules and still present an outstanding performance. I don't think he'd be any better if he'd stay still.

And also, I believe that if an audience isn't capable of focusing on the music, it's probably of the 'entertain-only' type anyways.

[jlh]

For those who are interested, Lang Lang got nominated for a Grammy for Best instrumental Soloist this year for his Beethoven conterto's album.

https://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90782/90875/6317565.html

Apparently he might be playing Rhapsody in Blue at the Grammy Awards ceremony (according to this article). 

I'm going to the ceremony myself in February, so perhaps I might be able to hear him live... 

Should be good (the Grammy party, not Lang Lang.) lol!

[rachfan]

Where Lang Lang seems so much into showmanship, might it be that he's actually the successor to Liberace?   

[instromp]

Where Lang Lang seems so much into showmanship, might it be that he's actually the successor to Liberace?   

or reincarnate,hehe 

[rallestar]

Lang lang is a great performer and a supreme pianist.

His greatest power lies in his ability to take away the strict formalities and conservative concepts regarding piano playing.

He is like a flee in the pels of the conservative piano community.

If he's "a flee in the pels of the conservative piano community", I'm quite happy to be a conservative.

[indutrial]

Ah, ye good old communist method of making 'music'. Socialist realism at its very modern best...

Meh wants to VOMIT.

Agreed. This Yellow River Concerto is hackneyed trash with an overabundance of seasoning yet no flavor.

[rachfan]

The concerto is like cowboys with hats but no herd of steer.

[indutrial]

The concerto is like cowboys with hats but no herd of steer.

Replaced by a herd of pianos that don't need to be there

[queenrock]

Hey, i'm no master of piano myself but i think that most of you guys are surely forgetting the most important purpose of music: to entertain, not to impress the elite few.

[pianogeek_cz]

Wrong. Entertainment is just one of the aspects of music-making, not the substantial part of music. The most inherent purpose of music is communication. For that process to take place, you need something to communicate. Which, apart from megalomanship and empty boasting, the Yellow Sewer concerto severely lacks.

[queenrock]

Fair enough i suppose that might be true, i think i should do some research to find out more about the purpose of music however i'm sure entertainment is definately one of the main purposes of music, at least in this day and age anyway.

[thierry13]

Fair enough i suppose that might be true, i think i should do some research to find out more about the purpose of music however i'm sure entertainment is definately one of the main purposes of music, at least in this day and age anyway.

If you do music only to entertain others, at your place I would stop doing it. Music IS for the elite few who actually CAN understand it. Entertainment music is hardly music, it's like pop or things like that : it's only about organising sounds in the way music theory works at the very base, most people who listen to "entertainment" music only listen to lyrics most of the times anyway, if they want a sad piece they use minor chords and if they want happy pieces they use major chords. Then, if it doesn't even have music, they listen to the beat or w/e else ... it's just not music making, or at least not the idea I now have about music.

[pianogeek_cz]

Or, more precisely put, music is in principle for everyone, but only the elite few who actually put in the work to think about it and listen properly can grasp the real thing, the substance.

[gerryjay]

 i have nothing against the guy but his suit on the yellow river footage says everything. he is absolutely kitsch. from his repertory choices to his wardrobe. i don't like this very much but who cares? people seems to love him.
 
 btw this particular white suit he borrowed from richard clayderman



 

[point of grace]

Chinese pianist processing factory in Bejing.

lol
i dont like him...

(vooooooooomiits)