The same goes for drexel (who bombarded me with PM's telling me that he was in charge of this thread)

Haha.. I almost missed that! So much for being a native speaker. Alexb, the word is "infusing", just a little tip from a non native speaker. Also if you really did mean "inflicting", you can only inflict something ON something else. I suspect though that this was more a Freudian slip than a malapropism in the current context.

This is untrue. I sent him (or her) one PM asking them nicely to please stop trolling "my thread" since their first substantial reply to this thread had nothing to do with Lang Lang and all the makings of an attempt to start a(nother) troll war:



This is the last time I will address this as the thread is supposed to be about Lang Lang appreciation and I would like to keep it that way.

Edit: I counted. 7 PM's were exchanged. 4 from you, put you on ignore after the 4th. Its convenient for you not to address this again in this thread of course, exactly as one other person here seems to have decided, :P hilarious stuff!

wr, i'm not confusing the two but i appreciate you making the distinction.

the two were inextricably intertwined in the argument of the day -- which master did one serve with their compositions & performances, theater & virtuosity or music as it had been codified up to that point. many felt liszt's compositions were in service to his technique, but sorely lacked the proper compositional rigor; wagner's in service to theater. again, no one questioned liszt's prodigious talent as a pianist, but his antics both on stage and on paper rubbed a good many cognoscenti the wrong way (to say the least). i'm simply postulating that liszt and lang lang's prodigious talent at the keyboard got/get them into the middle of these debates as to whether they are serving music or the music is serving them.

Regardless, I refuse to let yet another thread in Pianist Corner succumb to trolls. It's too bad some of the people posting here can't be as humble and classy and talented as Lang Lang. Here's another video of him playing Flight of the Bumblebee... ON AN IPAD! I know! It's unbelievable but you just have to watch the video. Is there anything Lang Lang CAN'T do??

But, you might be one of those people that actually don't hear it. In which case there's no point of me arguing with you. There's a lot of people like you - and whatever, not everybody is the same.

Regardless, I guess I have just trouble comparing the two because it feels like it is elevating LL in a way that I think is not deserved (and I am not an across-the-board LL hater, either).

On the question "is there anything LL CAN'T do?" Hahahahahahahahaha.... um, YES?!??! Play without banging the sh*t out of something?

Alex or whatever your name was, I agree that we need fresh young people, and most people on the stage nowadays are not the most interesting, they're not like the 20th century giants (of course not), but to say we need more people like LL? Come on. Seriously now. Don't watch him for once, but just LISTEN. There are tons, tons of people who have so much more to say, who aren't arrogant, and they offer INTERESTING interpretations and still stay true to the score. We don't need anyone else to be s******* on music.. that happens enough already.

But, you might be one of those people that actually don't hear it. In which case there's no point of me arguing with you. There's a lot of people like you - and whatever, not everybody is the same.

P.S. I'd like to see you play. It's a bold move to be calling everybody but LL boring and uninteresting. You obviously have not met many good musicians. Too bad for you.

Just bang bang huh? OK....

Pogo hears quite alright actually. Close your eyes and listen. Don't look at his face. Then take one of the "great" recordings and close your eyes and listen. If you still call LL a young genius for this recording, and if you still think that this is the best you've heard, then Pogo is definitely not the one who's hearing wrong.

Accusing a pianist of "banging" doesn't mean a pianist does this in every piece. Considering the dynamics and style of this work, this piece is not one that one permits much banging. (Banging is not a criticsm I have of LL, although I do have others).

That's really interesting and all, but I'm more curious about what you LIKE about Lang Lang, hence the title of this thread.

I appreciate that Lang Lang doesn't sing while playing pieces that are not songs.

......dare to voice his or her opinion.....

Some folks like to live on the edge, and I can appreciate that too!

I wonder why there are so many people who do not even have the background or credibility are dare to voice his or her opinion on LL. I’d rather spend my time practicing piano than keep typing useless criticisms. You guys gain nothing. Your piano playing will not get better.