Well I couldn't figure out whether to put this in the classical music thread, or the concert video thread. So, since I love to garner attention to myself anyway, I figured what the hell, I'll start a new thread.
First, forgive the language in this review. I'm putting down my thoughts honestly after watching this, and my internal dialog can be a bit ... salty ... at times. Especially when I have strong opinions on and/or reactions to something I'm seeing.
I started watching this video and the first thing I thought was, "who the fuck does this guy think he is? Some sort of fucking rock star?" The video starts in a way exactly like many of my rock concert videos, with a view of the venue from outside with lines of adoring fans, and then the artist walking through the back stage area on his way to the performance. Honestly, I fast-forwarded through all of that crap. He comes out onto a stage that's full of bright colored lights and video screens and a massively overblown fog machine. WTF?
Through the middle of this fog, he opened with "La Campanella." This the prototypical - even stereotypical - virtuosic piano piece. I've played it - but ha! not like Lang Lang can play it, shit. My second thought, thus, was "wow this guy can play." He went through it seemingly effortlessly and it was a more than credible performance. I enjoyed it very much.
His second piece, "Un Sospiro," is one I've played for years and am intimately familiar with. It's not quite as virtuosic as some of Liszt's other stuff, which is why I can play the damn thing. But my second thought on this concert was, "wow, this guy can play with some real sensitivity." I liked this performance a lot, and he did some very interesting things with it that weren't just showmanship, but real, thoughtful music.
So now I'm thinking (my third thought), maybe this guy isn't all glitz: maybe he's trying to make a serious artistic statement about classical music and its place in the 21st century. Who says classical can't be played in a pop/rock-like setting? If he can use a show like this to reach people who normally think classical music is the domain of black-tie-wearing stuffed shirts, good for him.
As Lang Lang worked his way into even more virtuosic music, my fourth thought is, "well if any classical composer deserves to have his music played in a rock-star setting, it's Franz Liszt." I myself have used the phrase, Liszt was the rock star of his time. This puts the truth to that. I think 'ole Franz would be cheering his ass off to see his music played in such a setting!
The highlight of the concert for me was, without a doubt, Lang Lang's rendition of Hungarian Rhapsody #15. I'm not all that familiar with this piece, but he rips through it. And more than that, he's got a big 'ole shit-eating grin on his face while he plays it! Damn if I could play like that, I'd sure as hell enjoy myself doing so.
I brought my daughters in to watch this particular piece, and my eldest's first comment was "wow those lights are cool." Telling. But - and this made my whole day - her second comment was, without any prompting from me, "he's having fun!" YES! How many classical concerts have you seen where the musician(s) is(are) smiling? Why does classical music have to be so serious? Sure it's got passion and intellect, but at some level it has to be fun otherwise there's no point.
Anyway, I'm not BFF with Lang Lang so I can only speak to my own interpretation of what he's trying to accomplish, and that is to put classical piano on an equal footing with rock/pop, and to try to reach some people who would otherwise dismiss it as ancient and irrelevant. Good for him!
And I don't mean to say that he's necessarily the best pianist I've ever heard. Yeah he's good - really good - but I could name a few others I think are better even for this highly virtuosic stuff. And yeah Lang Lang's body language while he plays is more exaggerated than many/most classical pianists, but really in comparison to what I see in the many rock/blues concerts I have on video, he's not all that extreme.
I applaud Lang Lang for this concert, and truly hope that he can reach new audiences with his unique style.
FYI, the PQ and especially the SQ on this concert are... adequate. I've heard way better piano recordings, although of course this is a live recording, and in that sense it's more than decent. But anyway, if any of you are even remotely interested in exploring classical piano music a bit - which I highly encourage
- and you don't want to look like a total geek in front of your friends and family, this is the concert to get.
First, forgive the language in this review. I'm putting down my thoughts honestly after watching this, and my internal dialog can be a bit ... salty ... at times. Especially when I have strong opinions on and/or reactions to something I'm seeing.
I started watching this video and the first thing I thought was, "who the fuck does this guy think he is? Some sort of fucking rock star?" The video starts in a way exactly like many of my rock concert videos, with a view of the venue from outside with lines of adoring fans, and then the artist walking through the back stage area on his way to the performance. Honestly, I fast-forwarded through all of that crap. He comes out onto a stage that's full of bright colored lights and video screens and a massively overblown fog machine. WTF?
Through the middle of this fog, he opened with "La Campanella." This the prototypical - even stereotypical - virtuosic piano piece. I've played it - but ha! not like Lang Lang can play it, shit. My second thought, thus, was "wow this guy can play." He went through it seemingly effortlessly and it was a more than credible performance. I enjoyed it very much.
His second piece, "Un Sospiro," is one I've played for years and am intimately familiar with. It's not quite as virtuosic as some of Liszt's other stuff, which is why I can play the damn thing. But my second thought on this concert was, "wow, this guy can play with some real sensitivity." I liked this performance a lot, and he did some very interesting things with it that weren't just showmanship, but real, thoughtful music.
So now I'm thinking (my third thought), maybe this guy isn't all glitz: maybe he's trying to make a serious artistic statement about classical music and its place in the 21st century. Who says classical can't be played in a pop/rock-like setting? If he can use a show like this to reach people who normally think classical music is the domain of black-tie-wearing stuffed shirts, good for him.
As Lang Lang worked his way into even more virtuosic music, my fourth thought is, "well if any classical composer deserves to have his music played in a rock-star setting, it's Franz Liszt." I myself have used the phrase, Liszt was the rock star of his time. This puts the truth to that. I think 'ole Franz would be cheering his ass off to see his music played in such a setting!
The highlight of the concert for me was, without a doubt, Lang Lang's rendition of Hungarian Rhapsody #15. I'm not all that familiar with this piece, but he rips through it. And more than that, he's got a big 'ole shit-eating grin on his face while he plays it! Damn if I could play like that, I'd sure as hell enjoy myself doing so.
I brought my daughters in to watch this particular piece, and my eldest's first comment was "wow those lights are cool." Telling. But - and this made my whole day - her second comment was, without any prompting from me, "he's having fun!" YES! How many classical concerts have you seen where the musician(s) is(are) smiling? Why does classical music have to be so serious? Sure it's got passion and intellect, but at some level it has to be fun otherwise there's no point.
Anyway, I'm not BFF with Lang Lang so I can only speak to my own interpretation of what he's trying to accomplish, and that is to put classical piano on an equal footing with rock/pop, and to try to reach some people who would otherwise dismiss it as ancient and irrelevant. Good for him!
And I don't mean to say that he's necessarily the best pianist I've ever heard. Yeah he's good - really good - but I could name a few others I think are better even for this highly virtuosic stuff. And yeah Lang Lang's body language while he plays is more exaggerated than many/most classical pianists, but really in comparison to what I see in the many rock/blues concerts I have on video, he's not all that extreme.
I applaud Lang Lang for this concert, and truly hope that he can reach new audiences with his unique style.
FYI, the PQ and especially the SQ on this concert are... adequate. I've heard way better piano recordings, although of course this is a live recording, and in that sense it's more than decent. But anyway, if any of you are even remotely interested in exploring classical piano music a bit - which I highly encourage
- and you don't want to look like a total geek in front of your friends and family, this is the concert to get.