The Magic Of Lang Lang

Lang Lang is the world s most successful pianist, the hottest artist on
the classical music planet (The New York Times). He has an extraordinary
ability to connect with audiences on a deeply personal level, transcending
the classical music world and achieving a level of popularity rarely realized
by concert musicians. His talent and personality make him an ideal
ambassador for classical music and a role model for young people.
Nominated for a GRAMMY®Award for his Billboard chart-topping
recording of Beethoven s Piano Concertos 1 and 4, Lang Lang s visibility
will be at an all-time high, thanks to a live television appearance during
the 50th GRAMMY® Awards on February 10, and an unprecedented
performance on NBC s Skating & Gymnastics Spectacular, airing on
NBC February 9. For the millions of viewers who will be exposed to
Lang Lang, The Magic of Lang Lang is the recording to have, an ideal
souvenir of Lang Lang s signature tunes, beautiful classical works and
traditional Chinese folk melodies.
Remaining firmly fixed on radar screens throughout the year, Lang Lang is
the musical ambassador for China and the Olympics. In May he will embark
on a worldwide Olympic tour performing in 10 cities that have hosted
the Olympics. In August he will co-host the Olympic games on NBC,
transmitting onto hundreds of millions of television screens around the globe. Product Description

Save YOUR money...

"For a limited time, get $2 off when you buy either of Lang Lang's two books and any one eligible CD or DVD."

Save more and do not buy this garbage bin! Lang Lang may have fingers but they seem to operate alone. The only moment he was believable was in track 3, a chinese cute melody. The rest is not even as good as Richard Clayderman on a bad day and even the orchestras involved are towing the cheesy line: Rachmaninov is pretty as for pubescent teenagers while Chopin last sonata reveals... well, nothing except some uneasiness in the virtuosic passages!

Marketing does work, obviously: that's the magic of LL! August 22, 2008

Where's the Punch Line...

...as in what's supposed to be funny about calling this guy the world's most successful pianist? But then, if I got in line for the punch, maybe he'd sound better.

I went to my local CD shop in Berkeley to hear Lang Lang after discovering that two of my most respected reviewer/correspondents on amazon both loathed him furiously. Now I understand why. I should have suspected something when the clerk, an old friend, looked at me as if I were crazy when I asked him to play The Magic of Lang Lang on the store system. Glad I didn't order anything up front. Lang Lang has no great technique, no fast fingers, no subtle touch. And he has interpretational gifts only a pampered child at a private school recital could admire.

How appropriate to find him joined for one last melodramatic encore by Andrea Bocelli, whose groaning makes Tony Bennett sound like Pavarotti.

Get ready, fans! Think of something more scathing than calling me a moron, or I won't bother to answer. I don't like Dinnerstein much, either, but at least she can play sixteenth notes cleanly.

A long time later - Second Thoughts...
...not about his piano technique, which isn't first rate, but about his role in marketing music to a younger audience. I read an interview of Lang Lang on NPR yesterday, during which he talked precisely about trying to recruit younger listeners to classical music in the West. According to him, most classical music lovers in China ARE young, but most of his audiences in America and Europe are a sea of gray heads. Well, as a peformer, I have to say he's right. And if he really does appeal through some charisma to younger listeners, I'll love him for it. It's not unlike the case of the Harry Potter books; they're not all that good, but if they attract children away from game boys toward books, they are very welcome. May 29, 2008

Beautiful Music

This is a beautiful CD. Sometimes the sound is too low, but it is so relaxing! I listen to it every day and have put it on my computer at work to help me get peacefully through the day. So glad I bought it. When Lang Lang's hand touch the keyboard, it is like when Perlman touches his bow to the violin.... it's magic! April 13, 2008

An unusal compilation for classical fans, but an excellent one for starters.

Oh, yea, I do not consider DG's move to recompile this "Magic" album anything artistically brilliant, but on second thoughts, it is not a bad idea, afterall.
How many classical artists these days are able to capture the 'general' audience as did Horowitz in his heydays? None in the piano sector apart from Lang Lang, am afraid, and not much in other fields, saving perhaps Anna Netrebko in the operatic world.
For this very reason, DG is doing the absolutely right thing in excerpting Lang Lang's previous works, adding Andrea Bocelli's new song with Lang Lang from AB's new album, and compile this 'hybrid' album for the benefit of the new listeners.
The tracks offer a diverse choice from composers of different eras, ranging from classical to contemproary. They offer a good atarter for those who may not find classical music too difficult to digest after all, thus gaining a larger fan base for this fast dying out genre of music.
Good job, DG, and bravo, Lang Lang! March 12, 2008

Not really in the western classical tradition

In my opinion Lang Lang isn't really playing Western classical music. For example his interpretation of Chopin's Nocture 8 might be pleasant to those who aren't intimately familiar with Chopin, but to an experienced ear it sounds rather bizarre. It doesn't feel like a coherent whole but rather a series of isolated effects with no understanding of the structure or flow of the piece. Somehow Chopin comes across sounding like New Age music. Perhaps it's a cultural thing---maybe he's playing excellent Chinese music from a Chinese perspective. I wouldn't know; I grew up in the West.

March 5, 2008

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