"Like I said before, Lang Lang's agent should be paying you all a fee. Go ahead and track all of the posts for the last year and see if his name" . . . . seems to appear on this website (and Piano world), on a regular basis. Once again, please look at the dates of the posts.Unfortunately (not a criticism), those honest folks who post a response to this orchestrated hype/posts are not keeping track of Lang Lang's covert marketing campaign, but I am!
Lang Lang has Technique.Lang Lang has Charm.Lang Lang has Confidence and Humility
It's like Andras Schiff's interpretations of Bach... it's cool and different, but it certainly is not what Bach intended... absolutely not.
Boredom, exaggeration, vulgarity - all common in popular entertainment and where LL is trying to cross-over perhaps bringing some pop kids into the classical realm.As far as exaggeration, what people do to Rach's G Minor Prelude is mostly pure abomination - but actually in LL's defense, there is a tube of him actually playing it at a reasonably slow tempo which the piece should have. But then, he gets bored and caricatures. But do watch Horowitz with his extreme swings in intensity and tempo even - but I get the distinct impression he is NOT bored, but is tapped into the Romantic rubato Creative and channels it masterfully. But without that artistic understanding, the result is lost and vulgar. Whether LL can actually do it, it's hard to say because I sense he's bored - but then, perhaps he's trying to create something different because I'm bored too!Is LL is too smart for his own good? ...or is that for our good?When I learn a piece and get it to the point where I render a single adequate (meeting my expectation) rendering, I start to lose interest and focus on stuff still in the learning phase. This is where being a musician really sucks if you are doing it for pay - you have to play it over and over again as best you can. How many times has The Navy Band played Stars and Stripes? It's not like Broadway, where everyone is hoping for that magical experience when someone blows it up and the whole thing derails in the chaos of creation.
As a music critic