Lang Lang (60 Minutes)

[tibidi]

Lang Lang is a programmed machine.   This is the fault of his teachers and parents.
They forgot to teach him to use his heart as well as his fingers.   
Warning!!!  Racist statement coming..............

Just like many many other Asian pianists I have viewed performing,  very technical, little or no emotion.   They are just playing notes.   


Sorry all you Asians on this forum.   I am just reporting what I have seen.   

That reminds me,  has anyone ever seen a good black classical pianist?   Now that is a rare breed.   

That is because people here don't know Yundi Li and Frederic Chiu  well enough. The music of these two Asians pianists are well known to be filled with more  emotion than most other pianists. Unfortunately, some music critics lied a lot about facts.  For a very emotional pianist like Yundi Li, some music critics deliberately said the opposite. Some even said that Yundi Li is as clinical as Pollini. How wrong! Yundi Li is the most emotional pianist I have known. These critics will normally praise Lang Lang  while suppressed Yundi Li.  Kissin is another such pianist always wrongly criticized by these music critics. I have read a lot of lies. Shame on these kind of music critics. You need to read more reviews to get a better idea about a pianist.

[tibidi]

Correction:

They praised Lang Lang while suppressing Yundi Li.

[Rockitman]

I have not had the pleasure of seeing or hearing Yundi Li. 
I do not mean to denigrate today's Asian artists.  I am only attesting to what I have seen and heard as a whole.   I do not mean to sound racist with the stereotypical statement I made.   I think it is great that the piano world is chock full of aspiring Asians.  Look at the names in the upcoming Van Cliburn competition.  Incredible.  It actually speaks highly for their cultural values and caring parenting.  Our "anglo-saxon" American community could learn something, parenting wise, from their examples. 
In the end, I do not care what ethnicity, color, or gender the pianist I am listening to is.  I only care about what comes out of the instrument. 

[tibidi]

I was only annoyed with some music critics.

Lang Lang is certainly playing like a machine, but he doesn't represent Asians.  Here is another Asian whom I think is very musical and quite an emotional pianist. She is the first prize winner of piano-e-competition last year

https://www.piano-e-competition.com/contestantbios04/jiechen.htm

[Motrax]

What you've said about Asian "pianists" applies only to children who play piano not for themselves but rather for their parents - and although Asian parents tend to be more strict in this regard, it is a trait possible in any human, Asian or Australian or American or anything in between. I'm at the University of Maryland - there is a large number of Asian students studying piano here, and I would say that as far as musicality is concerned, there is no different proportion among the Asian students than the other students in general (though in my very humble opinion, a large number of the pianists here play without a grain of musicality...)

And when you begin talking about piano on a professional level, I find very little that is characteristically unique to certain races. If anything, a characteristic of Asian pianists would be elegance in shaping phrases, and bringing out melodies very nicely. Yundi Li is of course a wonderful example of this, and (in my opinion) Lang Lang is an atrocious exception. Natalie Zhu is also a great up-and coming pianist. As far as African American pianists, the only one besides Watts who I've heard (and I speak only about mainly classical pianists) is Awadagin Pratt, and he's a wonderful pianist. Plays Bach beautifully (and also sits on a funny chair like Gould  ). The lack of black classical pianists stems from the culture in which many black people grow up, and not at all due to lack of talent or general temperment.

[thracozaag]

  What about halfies?

koij (STSD)

PS: Two other fantastic African American pianists (and good friends to boot)--Terence Wilson and Stewart Goodyear.

[tibidi]

Here is a vedio program done by Hong Kong people featuring some YOUNG Asain musicians. Yundi Li, Lang Lang are included here. Dialogue is mainly in Chinese but views about the musicians given by some westerners are in English. Again, they don't represent Asians - many other good young Asain musicians are not included here. Listen to the conductor's view about Yundi's music. He reckons Yundi's music is very emotional and this is what he likes about Yundi's music.

https://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/youngmusicians/20040207.html

https://www.rthk.org.hk/special/youngmusician/

[Skeptopotamus]

Lang Lang is a robot.  And that is the type of playing I hate the very most.  And what is with his facial expressions? It looks like he is having a seizure; he could be playing Moonlight Sonata 1st movement and it would look like he is in labor!

[tibidi]

Lang Lang is a robot.  And that is the type of playing I hate the very most.  And what is with his facial expressions? It looks like he is having a seizure; he could be playing Moonlight Sonata 1st movement and it would look like he is in labor!

Like a robot indeed.

At one Chinese website, you see a group of people pretending that they are fair towards Yundi and Lang Lang, haha! actually they are there to mislead people that Lang Lang is more superior than Yundi. I am not able to defend Yundi there because I have been blocked by the website.

[MTS_JSOT]

The lack of black classical pianists stems from the culture in which many black people grow up, and not at all due to lack of talent or general temperment.

Ahh, I don't agree with this too much really seeing how I'm African-American lol  , I have more African-American friends that are interested in classical music, than I do that aren't interested in much of anything relatively close to the arts. I'm not so sure if it's my fault that I have more friends like that, but I believe that music plays a huuuugggee part in black culture. 

[Motrax]

Well, I grew up in a predominantly white/Asian/Jewish neighborhood, so I guess I'm not the best to give such opinions. I don't mean to say music isn't a large part of African American culture, but I haven't seen a lot of them at classical concerts in the area (Washington DC/suburbs).

I do take back what I said - I worded it a little wrong. I meant to give things a more socio-economic perspective... and I also don't mean to offend, though I certainly tread on thin ice here.  I believe (and maybe I'm very wrong?) that relatively few African Americans are exposed to classical music, which is the main factor to the lack of African American classical musicians (whereas when you go to jazz or rap, the numbers pretty much flip).

Hope I''ve made myself a little more clear... 

[Siberian Husky]

im latino...and i love classical music from sonatas to gregorian chants from the renaissance...most my family teases me about it...implying im white washed and a wuss...ignorant humans