Big names round the corner

At least it is not just sport people and political big names which made it to Rio for the World Cup, but also gigantic musico-cultural personalities. No one less than one of the Major Three Tenors Plácido Domingo and also piano genius Lang Lang, who will be performing together tonight at the HSBC Arena, Barra da Tijuca. What a privilege to think my house is situated a few kilometres away from their hotels! 

Unfortunately, we didn't make it in time to get tickets (I heard about their concert just last Wednesday during the rehearsal of the Coro da Câmara). I must say such a great concert was shamefully given the backseat in place of football fanaticism. 

My interest and admiration for Chinese superstar Lang Lang started some 5 years ago when I was an avid posteree on Piano Forum Italia (https://www.facebook.com/pianoforum.italia, I don't know if the forum still exists). A video I used to watch over and over was Lang Lang playing Chopin Etude with an orange...

And this is him "going mad" (or rather, feeling the music like a real pianist should):

Many people criticize him because of the show he puts on. Well, good for him, he's made one hell of a name for himself, is clearly a showman, and is passionate for music and the piano. Afterall, Franz Liszt himself was known for his flashy concert presentations, triggering interest in music lovers (women lovers too) all across Central Europe back in the mid-1800's.

Many have commented on Liszt's "manifestations" (going so far into describing him a "meretricious charlatan"). But in this letter to the editor (The Guardian), one Oxford local quotes George Eliot description of Liszt's performance in his defense:  

“Genius, benevolence, and tenderness beam from his whole countenance, and his manners were in perfect harmony with it. Then came the thing I had longed for – his playing… For the first time in my life I beheld real inspiration – for the first time I heard the true tones of the piano. He played one of his compositions, one of a series of religious fantasies. There was nothing strange or excessive about his manner. His manipulation of the instrument was quiet and easy, and his face was simply grand; the lips compressed and the head thrown backward. When the music expressed quiet rapture or devotion a smile flitted over his features; when it was triumphant the nostrils dilated. There was nothing petty or egotistic to mar the picture.”

As for me, I'd say anyone with an aquiline nose and long fingers like those should flaunt it! 

Well, coming back to Lang, in this interview to "O Globo" he admits that he loves exhibiting fiery pieces by Rachmaninoff because of the new energy he is able to incorporate in the piece, and similarly he has that special sensitivity for Chopin's pieces too. These all go to show his virtuosity at the piano. A true master indeed!

Interestingly the interviewer comments about Lang's jovial look. As was suggested in my recent post about Brazilian João Donato, musicians have a tact at keeping young. Puerile and innocent looks often come hand-in-hand with high-end musicians, who have learnt the skill of putting trivialities to the side and having the knowledge to embrace the beauty of music and life. Lang Lang goes on to admit that even in his mid-30's, his engrossment with anime cartoons inspire his hairstyle choices. Go figure!