I had noticed strange ads over the past week describing a benefit for the American Cancer SOciety that includes a carnegie Hall "debut" for lola Astanova, chaired by DOnald Trump and Julie Andrews.
The NYT has a more complete and fascinating story. Your comments welcome. I included the link (the picture is interesting)

Link

The path to a career in classical music often passes through Carnegie Hall. The stop is usually an appearance with a major orchestra or a debut recital, often financed by patrons, institutions or the artist. Sometimes Carnegie itself presents the performer

On Thursday evening the Uzbekistan-born pianist Lola Astanova will make her Carnegie debut in a benefit for the American Cancer Society. But Ms. Astanova — 26, little known in the classical world, and given to provocative poses and scanty outfits — will do it her own way, with an eye-popping brew of publicity, image making and celebrity stroking.

A benefit performance is not a rarity of course. But Ms. Astanova, her publicists say, will be borrowing $850,000 in jewelry for the event from Tiffany & Company, a concert sponsor. And she will be playing one of Vladimir Horowitz’s Steinway pianos.

Julie Andrews is billed as a “special guest artist host.” And the gala chairman is Donald Trump, whose association with Chopin and Rachmaninoff brings a new sort of classiness to the man whose products are often called world class.

Mr. Trump will present an award to Ms. Andrews and will himself receive a lifetime achievement award from the Cancer Society. In a telephone interview he brushed aside the notion that classical music would add luster to his image but made the point that the art form could only benefit from Thursday’s event.

“I did it out of respect for Julie and out of great respect for the American Cancer Society,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s all about people watching and people talking. You may not have called if these various things were not taking place.”

The program includes works by Rachmaninoff, Chopin and Scriabin, and is billed as a tribute to Horowitz, whom Ms. Astanova has called her piano hero. Steinway agreed to lend the Horowitz Steinway, which had been in his town house for decades and now travels around to Steinway showrooms for marketing purposes.

The concert was put together partly by Palm Beach, Fla., supporters of the American Cancer Society, a recipient of Mr. Trump’s charity. The other force behind it is Misha Levintas, Ms. Astanova’s manager who is listed as executive producer.

Mr. Levintas jump-started Ms. Astanova’s career by persuading Neiman Marcus to offer a performance by her with the Kirov Orchestra and the conductor Valery Gergiev as a $1.6 million fantasy gift in its 2007 Christmas catalog. (The purchaser would also get to keep the piano.) Nobody bought the gift, but “it did what it was supposed to do,” Mr. Levintas said. “It gave Lola tremendous exposure in wealthy circles,” and generated widespread publicity. That led to a series of lucrative private concerts. Then Ms. Astanova played Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2 with the Palm Beach Symphony last year.

Cancer Society donors who were planning the Carnegie concert and tribute to Horowitz attended the concert and had a light-bulb moment.

“We found an artist who is Russian and kind of plays in the old style,” said Patrick Park, a regular on the Palm Beach social calendar who is an active charity fund-raiser. Ms. Astanova was engaged.

Mr. Levintas declined to provide financial details, although he said that Ms. Astanova is donating most of her fee. Renting Carnegie and paying personnel for an evening performance costs at least $21,000. Mr. Levintas acknowledged that Ms. Astanova’s striking physical appearance might have had something to do with her career trajectory, though that’s not unusual in the landscape of classical soloists.

“What makes Lola unique in my opinion,” he said, “is the fact that she is a very young, very good-looking and very modern girl in many respects, but at the same time she performs with the depth and style of the old masters.”

In an interview one morning this week at a restaurant on the Upper West Side, where she lives, Ms. Astanova (pronounced ah-STAN-oh-vah in Russian but altered to ah-sta-NOH-vah for her American audience), said it helped to be young. “I like to think I have a pleasant personality,” she said. “If it weren’t for my musical abilities, it wouldn’t matter in the end.

She also emphasized her love of fashion. “It’s a way to express yourself artistically,” she said. At the restaurant she described her outfit: Jimmy Choo stiletto-heeled boots, Chanel sunglasses and handbag, H&M pants and an American Apparel sweater. “It’s mixing high end with accessible levels,” she said.

During the conversation Ms. Astanova gave the impression of being a shy person who had learned to handle interviews fairly well but without artifice. She spoke engagingly but maintained a certain reserve. She said she was tired and not a morning person, having stayed up until 2 a.m. doing a radio show.

Ms. Astanova grew up in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Her father was a mechanical engineer, her mother a piano teacher. They spoke Russian at home. She studied locally and traveled regularly to Moscow to take lessons from Lev Naumov, a prominent teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. At 17 she settled in Houston, where her brother lived. She spent two years studying for a master’s degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. She later became a United States citizen.

Jon Kimura Parker was her main teacher at Rice, but the two parted ways toward the end, and she finished her studies with Robert Roux. Both remember her as innately talented. Mr. Parker called her “an obvious true performer right from the beginning” but one without much interest in being taught or moving outside her core repertory.

“She already felt she had a personality and knew what she wanted to do,” Mr. Parker said. That awareness included the importance of promotion. Mr. Levintas, a Russian-born businessman who met her through mutual friends, was on the scene helping her career even at Rice, he said. Ms. Astanova’s required degree recital “began turning into a media event,” causing some friction with the other students, Mr. Parker said. “It wasn’t a good fit for what was happening at school.”

Ms. Astanova has built a YouTube following with her performances, some of which have tens of thousands of views. Her rendition of the Rihanna song “Don’t Stop the Music” has had nearly 1.5 million views. In one video on her YouTube channel Ms. Astanova is seen in profile, her back arched, gazing slightly upward in the middle distance as she plays Rachmaninoff. Her shirt rides up in back, letting a little flesh peek out. In another, she wears a leather minidress and throws her head back in seeming ecstasy at the end.

In the interview Ms. Astanova said she saw herself as a rebel, rejecting the competition circuit as stifling and intent on following her own path. But she said she looked forward to playing in other important halls with major conductors in what would be considered a more traditional classical music career.

“The way people perceive me,” she said, “is only going to help that.

I think I just threw up a little bit..........

just a little?!

It's for a good cause. I hope she plays well.

Yeah, no kidding.

What Donald Trump "products" are considered "world-class"? His bed sheets? The image I've received here of the man is certainly not one of high-class, although his "products" - whatever they are - may be. "Youre' fired!"

As for Ms. Astanova, I guess we'll have to wait for the reviews but I'm not particularly impressed with her marketing. Horowitz' piano and $850,000.00 in jewellery for the event? Why?

I'm really feeling old when I see her publicity photo.

Regards,

You should see his gold immersed apartment buildings: the epitome of sophistication!

As for her picture, I thought it was supposed to make you feel young!

I found her teachers' comments to be exquisite.
I have to say that I still have a few rebel bones in my body and I usually favor out-of-the-box thinkers. But I am not sure what she is rebelling against. Her methods of achieving success are tried and true. Nothing new really.
Carnegie Hall has an interesting video on their website.

I think that most of us here on piano world find this sort of thing distateful. Now, I haven't heard her play, and can't at the moment get to youtube (The hospital that I am working at, blocks youtube)so I can't comment on her abilities. But this is someone who clearly knows how to promote herself (or has the right people promoting her) and she is going to reach a very wide audience who perhaps knows nothing about classical music. I don't really see that as a bad thing.

I was about to tell you to not waste your time hearing her play, but after reading your last sentence I feel compelled to say - please hear her play!

OK...so I'm going to guess that she is, ahem, "not so good". I probably won't get to youtube to listen till sometime tomorrow. Now I'm intrigued. Look, there are a lot of people out there that think that Andrea Bocelli is an opera singer. They buy his records, they attend his concerts. They enjoy him. Who is he hurting? The people who listen to him can't hear the difference anyway. You couldn't nail me to the chair to listen to him, but he makes buckets of money, and people have an enjoyable time.

The worst part about it for me is that she's playing on Horowitz's piano. She definitely doesn't have the skill or depth to justify that. It makes me sick that a great artist's fantastic instrument will be used in such a way--connected with Donald Trump and extravagent displays of wealth.

In my mind she's pretty much an average college pianist with some mildly decent transcriptions and, most importantly, more marketing know-how than most students.

i even prefer lisitsa to that hag

Who is he hurting? More talented singers who don't get the chance to be exposed in such a way. Not that it's his fault, of course - good for him.

Pogorelich:
sorry that I'm getting off topic, but you are 100% right and I though of that as I clicked "submit". I remember, a number of years ago, reading a dreadful review of Bocelli in a full production of Werther and thinking "there is some amazing, unknown singer somewhere who lost a job". But, just to play devil's advocate, maybe there was someone in the audience who would have never gone to the opera if it wasn't for Bocelli's name, and subsequently became an educated listener. So, I guess it goes both ways.

Envy, one of the seven deadly sins.

It's for a good cause. And all you haters should know by now:

If it makes you feel any better, Horowitz's piano (which is actually just one of five pianos he used over the last 35 years of his career) has been tampered with and altered so much it has very little resemblance to the instrument he played.

I think what is annoying is that she does not seem to present the music. Every interview or article I read it seems to go on and on about her saying how sexy she is, and that she likes pop music. I know it is for marketing. Though a bit hard to promote classical music if Rhianna is so great.

Carnegie Hall= Tops!

Carnegie Hall + Julie Andrews= Lovely!

Carnegie Hall + Julie Andrews + The American Cancer Society= Wonderful; meaningful potential!

Carnegie Hall + Julie Andrews + The American Cancer Society + Lola Astanova = Excuse me?!

Carnegie Hall + Julie Andrews + The American Cancer Society + Lola Astanova + Donal Trump = "Mr. Vonnegut....Mr. Kurt Vonnegut?!"

I've always heard this, but I've played it, and it doesn't seem that different than most other Steinways. (Or maybe I played one of the others? The one I played was on tour with Cliburn's and the Rhapsody in Blue piano.)

And the Cliburn piano is at our local Steinway dealer's showroom right now. I've played on it a bit and it's very nice!

I'm not a great fan of her playing. She can play, but I don't think to the caliber of really great pianists. She does have some nifty renditions of pop music, though. I enjoy to have fun every once in a while with pop music, so I see no harm in that.

I think the way she markets herself is kind of aelriguhaergiluhaergilh though...

It has been my experience that people who listen to crossover music only listen to those same artists. They don't ever actually become 'classical music' fans.

She has the talents of a not particularly extraordinary music student, nothing more. I'm not surprised she 'rejected the competition circuit'.

I swear I thought the exact same thing and especially when I read that she'll be playing one of Vladdie's pianos.

If you read the article you can no longer tell me that it's not all about marketing these days. Quite simply, it is. If you look good or a make-up artist can do a little something with your face and you can play a little then you've got a decent chance of being picked up. Astanova, is good looking and she knows it. She's not afraid to show off a little skin to get ahead in the game and she's smart enough to show said skin to the right people. Sex sells and mediocrity rides shotgun.

I don't see what the problem is. She is a damn fine pianist and is damn sexy, and I actually find her playing of certain virtuoso pieces to rival those of many standard artists. Really, what is so bad about these three recordings?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwVp7S59fO0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ynRFQRIE4c&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saKxWEH1nd0

She is unquestionably a very capable pianist. Rather her style and what she really brings to the music artistically are in contention. But if her approach suits you then there is no problem.

I don't know..... I suppose I am intrigued at the refreshing quality of a personality such as hers in the classical music world (and simultaneously having such incredible sensitivity and virtuosity to go along with it).

Below is Astanova's answer to the question of "which classical pianist do you admire the most?". This interview was done a few years ago:

“admire” is a very special word for me. Talent and skills alone do not impress me at this point as I’ve been fortunate to be among talented and capable musicians all my life. What does impress me, however, are the people behind the talents – their human qualities, their aspirations and their integrity. I know those don’t sound like musical terms, but they are no less important in music than in life. And from that standpoint, so far I’ve seen more disappointments than inspirations in the classical field.

In a way, I agree with her. Musicians (pianists especially) - by and large - tend to be somewhat small minded people. We spend all of our energy and time thinking about competitions and careers. About teaching positions. About making sure we practice six hours every single day and freaking out when we don't. About the relatively small amount of music we play and the limited venues in which to play it.

It comes as quite breath of fresh air when such a - as you say "capable" pianist as her comes along, somebody who has taken an unorthodox route to a career (using youtube instead of competitions), who has done things differently, and has captured the attention of major national individuals and organizations.

Yes, I think Trump is tacky, and her fashion obsession is of questionable merit. But I think that for the sake of music and culture at large, she is a lot more interesting (and this event is a lot more sincere) and will draw a lot more attention to classical piano than your run-of-the mill conservatory pianist who is playing this recital as a result of winning a competition that was rigged anyway.

"She said she looked forward to playing in other important halls with major conductors in what would be considered a more traditional classical music career.

“The way people perceive me,” she said, “is only going to help that."

Why does the thought of her taking over "important halls with major conductors" by way of mascara and miniskirts, make me feel slightly panicky? (Edit: nothing wrong with mascara and miniskirts but I see them becoming a prerequisite for success-- ugh...)

To restore a sense of well-being... Here's a different beautiful, promising young pianist, also from Tashkent-- Astanova's home town. There's some narration at the first, and it's a bit out of sync, but still lovely to watch.

This is why I have a "not to be taken seriously" list.

If she comes anywhere near me I will make sure she never visits again. Count on that. Notice a recurring theme with her? It's all about HER, how she's perceived, etc. Guess what Lola...IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT THE MUSIC!!!!!!!!!