I am getting VERY tired of people judging pianists because how they look or what they wear. Especially with Yuja Wang. You can't even go to a video of Yuja Wang on youtube without negative comments about what she wears. I just wonder, why the f*ck does anyone care what she wears? Why does it even matter? It is not like she wears those short dresses for attention. She wears them because that is what she is comfortable wearing. And to those who say that her. dresses detract from her playing, why can't you just close your eyes and listen? I personally think this is one of the biggest problems with the classical music community, and it needs to change.What are your thoughts on this?
no, Ronde, sex never sells
She is stunning... and a brilliant pianist!If you guys want a good laugh, watch the opening of this encore... look at the facial expression of the man and his wife at the 15 second mark... priceless!!!
Curiously I was just reading yet another article on her, once again with the underlying attitude of puritanical disapproval mixed with creepy sexualisation.. I'll get the link.
Here goes: https://slippedisc.com/2017/12/now-yuja-wang-comes-out-in-her-undies/Embarassing tabloid-style "journalism".
Almost like the 1000000 other reviews on her.
Yes, and this is pathetic. What do these reviewers do when it comes to a CD? Comment on the inlay photo?
…those ridiculous shoes that must make pedalling a real chore and, in some cases, even a possible danger…
She wears them because that is what she is comfortable wearing.
I disagree with this. The pedals on one of my pianos are particularly high and it's always been a strain to play them, particularly in bare feet. If I'm doing a long session I'll usually put my heel on a book and it is much more comfortable. Our feet are made for pointing downwards. It's how we run. I really don't think those heels affect the pedaling as much as people assume and in my experience having your heel above the pedal actually makes it easier.
…just imagine trying to use all three in shoes such as she wears!
Actually I think she does wear them to make a statement so for attention. She did even say something along this line in an interview.Some of her dresses bother me in the same way I am bothered by a pianist sweating all over the place when they play. I don't want to see. Naked female flesh is not attractive to me. It does not make them worse players but I would only listen not watch. And I might not pay a lot of money to go to a live concert if I know I would have to avoid looking at the pianist.As for the heels, it can make palying a little easier when one has small feet. I would never wear heels aymore when walking, but I do have some on my pedalling shoes.
Our feet are made for pointing downwards. It's how we run.
Apart from the well known fact that wearing such things lays up problems in the future, it's as much the sheer spindly nature of them that must make pedalling more problematic, especially to anyone who uses all three pedals (some pianists never touch the sostenuto one, I know, but...)
I don't know about that! Mine aren't…
Sorry, I meant sprinting, not normal running. I should have been more specific.
OK but, even so, I don't get this natural "pointing downwards" bit…
Perhaps I phrased it badly. Watch any good sprinter in slow motion and you'll notice their heels never touch the ground. Meaning they run on their toes, i.e. their feet are pointing downwards.Here's another way to think of it. Compare standing on your toes vs. trying to lift another person with your feet alone.There is a reason our ankles flex in one direction and not the other but if you aren't convinced take look at this image then tell me if you think the feet are more capable of pointing up or down.
The point here, however, is not what some people might be capable of doing but whether it is necessary to place obstacles in the way of doing it; by the same token, one might as well consider the possibility of playing the piano while wearing gloves. Isn't the object of the piano playing exercise to make life as easy - or rather as least difficult - as possible? And on what grounds might a sprinter - who, incidentally, never wears shoes with heels, especially spindly ones, while sprinting - be cited as an example of how a pianist would use the pedals on the piano? The distance between a piano pedal when depressed and the same when not depressed is relatively small, so the movements required to depress and release a piano pedal are similarly small. In any case, the sprinter and the pianist are not trying to achieve the same thing!Best,Alistair
I feel like we're talking past each other here. You seem to be saying that working the pedals in heels is intrinsically more difficult and therefore people shouldn't do it. My point is that I don't think that is necessarily true because a lot of female pianists do it and it doesn't seem to affect their ability to pedal in the slightest (plus outin confirmed in an earlier post that heels can actually make pedaling easier for people with smaller feet). The only reason I brought up sprinting and the movement of the feet and ankles is because you said you didn't understand what I meant when I said that our feet are made for pointing downward. It has nothing to doing with pedaling, but it does explain why trying to work very tall pedals can be a strain and perhaps why those with smaller feet might find pedaling in heels a little easier (because smaller feet would require a more acute angle to get the front of the feet on the pedal while keeping the heel on the ground).Please keep in mind that I'm not trying to say that we should all start wearing heels when we play piano, I'm just not prepared to assume that it is more difficult because I've never actually done it myself. However, I have played with my heel resting on a couple of books and I do find that less of a strain when doing a lot of pedaling in a long session.
Well, I hope that we're not "talking past each other"! I did indeed say that pedalling in high heels - especially spindly ones that inevitably reduce control - is "intrinsically more difficult"; I did not, however, say that "therefore people shouldn't do it", for that's up to each individual pianist to decide.You write of "trying to work very tall pedals [that] can be a strain". Whilst of course I understand that in principle, I imagine that it's very rare for a piano in a concert hall to exhibit such a characteristic and that the distance between the floor and the pedals is small, manageable by almost all pianists irrespective of the size of their feet and pretty much standard; in any event, when have you ever encountereed a male pianist wearing high heels in order to negotiate pedals that are a substantially greater distance from the floor than usual? It's pretty clear that Yuja's decision about concert platform footwear has nothing to do with an inability on her part to negotiate the pedals!You lastly write of having "played with my heel resting on a couple of books and I do find that less of a strain when doing a lot of pedaling in a long session"; from this, I can only imagine that you've practised on such occasions on a piano whose pedal mechanism is somehow set way too far off the floor and would therefore be a problem for anyone, not just you; moreover, a couple of books is a far more stable support (if needed) that a couple of stiletto heels!Best,Alistair
It should be noted that if a person wears heels almost all the time, the tendons become shortened, and then the motions for pedal actually become difficult from what is in fact a crippling effect. Just a thought.
Yes, well it's obvious she wears them because of how they look, not to help her performance. If that's all you're saying then I think we can agree.
Well, it isn't quite; it's not merely that they do not help her performance, they'll hinder it; as I mentioned earlier, imagine trying to negotiate two or all three pedals and changes between each pair of pedals while wearing such shoes which can only ever make matters more difficult! (OK, maybe she's one of those pianists who ignores the sostenuto pedal, but...).
I remain concerned about the high set pedals on an instrument on which you have practised, because they, too, are likely to made pedalling more difficult, not to say uncomfortable. I don't know what is the measurement between the floor and the tops of the pedals in that instrument but, on my Steinway Model C, it's almost 4.5cm, which is probably well less than half the length of some of those heels! - and I doubt that the standard for this pedal lyre setting has changed much, if at all, between the year of my piano's manufacture (1896) and today.
Have you ever tried it or are you just imagining what it would be like? I've never tried myself it but I do know how well people adapt to things like this. You say it hinders her performance but how do you know? Maybe it would hinder your performance because you aren't used to it but that's a different matter altogether. Keypeg's point about shortening tendons aside, I don't see any evidence, or hear any real argument against wearing heels at the piano. She plays brilliantly in heels, as you yourself have said, but if you can show me her playing consistently better in flats then I will happily concede my point. Otherwise I feel like you're just guessing that they hinder her performance.
A little over 6cm is the height of the pedals on the piano I mentioned, so not that much higher. I start to feel the strain after about 1˝ hours. The best position is to have my heel flush with the pedal when it is up.
I definitely think Hinty should try a short dress and stiletto heels! And please post a video...
Funnily enough, I cannot agree - and I'm not a pianist anyway! I trust that this is not disappointing news.Even then, for women, the skimpiest of apparel does not help with piano playing and those stupidly dangerous heels can only hinder it.Best,Alistair
It gets people to show up their concerts though.I advertised my senior recital with a shirtless pic of me in a blazer and it worked lol
But of course you cheated and the poor audience was disappointed
I wasn not seeking to compare her performance with and without stilettos… but am attempting to apply logic…
I presume she wouldn't wear them if it was deleterious to her pedalling.
Well, clearly it's a more important issue for you than it is for me so I give up. If her heels are hindering her performance as you have determined then all I can say is that it doesn't show. And it certainly hasn't hurt her career.
Kevin Bowyer (the organist, should people not know and if they don't mind my mentioning this on a piano forum) is down to play Sorabji's Organ Symphony No. 2 at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie on 20 May 2018. OK, so1) no one will see him perform it even though they have tickets for the event2) he's only moderately well known in Germany3) Sorabji's not at all well known in Germany4) the piece plays for more than 8 hours + two intervals totalling at least an hour and a quarter5) the entire work is shot through with some of the most challenging writing ever for the instrument and6) organ music is in any case a specialist area)and, therefore, one would not expect a large audience, even if Kevin was the world's most adept keyboard showman.The fact is that the hall holds 2,100 but this event has been sold out six months before it's due to take place. Why have that number of people purchased tickets to show up at this event? It sure ain't because what those who've done so are expecting to see him wear when he does it!Best,Alistair
It isn't that important to me, not least because (a) it's none of my business and (b) most of my experience of her playing is, as I've said, listening only and not watching. It just seems daft to me to impose upon oneself such physical restrictions, especially if, by so doing, she lays herself up problems for the future.Best,Alistair
Topic: Yuja Wangs dresses... 