Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story
by Lang Lang, David Ritz
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Book Summary Information
Author: David Ritz, Lang LangEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-15
ISBN: 0385524560
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Book Reviews of Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story
Book Review: A Bit Megamanical, and sometimes false facts - But still worth reading
Summary: 2 Stars
Although in my view Lang Lang is highly overrated as a pianist, Lang Lang does a great service popularizing piano, and I like his personality a lot. But I've heard some of his master classes and seen him perform in person and DVDs, and am not greatly impressed. He has a lot of potential, and talent (if Lang Lang stopped his charlatnism on the piano -- which every top professional like Josef Hoffman and Sergei Rachmaninoff abhorred -- he would certainly focus more on the keyboard and bring greater performances). Here is one example of incorrect "false facts" in Lang Lang's book. Lang Lang tells the story of how the Goldberg Variations were created by Bach because "Goldberg" had trouble sleeping. This is a false account, and will certainly be repeated by others because people assume that Lang Lang knows what he's talking about.
Here's the correct story from "The Book of Musical Anecdotes" by Norman Lechert: "Count Kaiserling, formerly Russian Ambassador at the Court of the Elector of Saxony...brought with him Goldberg (organist and composer) to have him instructed by Bach in music. The Count was often sickly, and then had sleepless nights. At these times, Goldberg, who lived in the house with him, had to pass the night in an adjoining room to play something to him when he could not sleep. The Count once said to Bach that he should like to have some clavier pieces for his Goldberg, which should be of such a soft and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights. Bach thoguht he could best fulfill this wish by variations, which, on account of the constant sameness of the fundamental harmony, he had hitherto considered as an ungrateful task. Bu as at this time all his works were models of art, these variations alsom became such under his hand. This is, indeed, the only model of the kind that he has left us. The Count thereafter called them nothing but his variations. He was never weary of hearing them; and for a long time, when the sleepless nights came, he used to say, `Dear Goldberg, do play me one of my variations.' Bach was, perhaps, never so well regarded for any work as for this: the Count made him a present of a golden goblet, filled with a hundred Loouis d'ors."
In master classes, one can tell Lang Lang is more interested in showing off before audiences, instead of communicating with the young children he allegedly wishes to teach. And when he teaches, the content of Lang Lang's so-called teaching is often mediocre. In his demonstrations, he is sloppy, again more focused on showing off than teaching.
In short, one wonders why such a young and limited pianist has become so famous, and dares to consider himself "number one" pianist in the world. To be sure, every generation has had such a pianist. Padereski was scorned by the top pianists, yet Paderewski filled the piano halls, and became prime minister. Lang Lang is today's equivalent of Paderewski and Blind Tom -- a musical attraction pushed onto American and international audiences because of his showmanship and the backing of the Chinese government, which wishes to propel itself into the minds of the world as a highly cultural nation.
Yet despite of these reservations, Lang Lang fulfills an important task: popularizing piano. In this respect, I have great admiration for Lang Lang. Like Mohammed Ali -- who also proclaimed himself to be "the greatest" (but lost 5 times, and is now punch-drunk) -- Lang Lang fulfills a vital role in popularizing piano. In this sole respect, he really is the greatest advocate for piano today.
I would love people to come out with a DVD of Arcadi Volodos, the great Russiang young pianist. Volodos needs to lose 70 pounds so he can avoid sounding fat at the piano; he's simply the real great young virtuoso that Lang Lang is advertised as.
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