Imagine Lang Lang

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

..a very informative documentary concerning his early life and family ...

he must have missed his mother a great deal, the passage he described as thinking of her when he played at a competition was moving

the case was well made for his role model status in his own country, and his ability to attract large and younger audiences ...

[MrGongGong]

and I was expecting the rest of the sentence to be............

"naked in a bath of custard ?

actually when I met him I really liked him and he was open and enthusiastic

[Tony Halstead]

and I was expecting the rest of the sentence to be............

"naked in a bath of custard ?

actually when I met him I really liked him and he was open and enthusiastic

I enjoyed the programme very much and thought he came across as a warm-hearted and intelligent musician.
In the ( too short) examples of his playing, there was great sensitivity and hardly any of the 'Bang Bang' stuff that some of us ( me included) have accused him of in the past.

[MrGongGong]

I enjoyed the programme very much and thought he came across as a warm-hearted and intelligent musician.
In the ( too short) examples of his playing, there was great sensitivity and hardly any of the 'Bang Bang' stuff that some of us ( me included) have accused him of in the past.

Thanks for that
I'll try and watch later

[Mandryka]

He was just a name to me before I watched the programme. I'd agree, he came across well and seemed very well-balanced considering some of the appalling setbacks he had suffered earlier in his career.

[Mr Pee]

Nice to see Lang Lang receving some less hostile press in these parts. It's all too easy to dismiss him as a populist showman when I think he is much more than that. Although I didn't manage to catch this BBC programme, Sky Arts showed an extensive profile earlier this year, and would agree with the views expressed above.

[doversoul1]

I am rather curious. Why do you want to know about a performer’s family and early life? I have no opinions about Lang Lang as a musician but as for his family and early life, this is in China (I assume) or at least a Chinese family where ideas about family and father’s authority are very different from what we take for granted here. I’ve only heard a couple of episodes about his early life but they sounded very much the case of ‘lost in translation’.

And does it really matter whether a performer is a well-balanced, warm hearted, nice person? Beside, would Lang Lang have cooperated with the programme maker if he were to be shown otherwise? This is not to say he is not a nice person but I am rather surprised that those who are usually rather on the cynical side have all been so readily moved. I wonder if it had been the same if the programme had been about, say, Paul Lewis or Mark Padmore?

As for the role model, I know this is rather extreme but I can’t help being reminded of those thousands of young peasant boys in the 18th century Italy who were castrated in the hope of, the hope of their parents that is, to become the next Farinelli. Again you are talking about China, a vast country where opportunities for success are still rare, and ideas about children’s rights etc. are likely to be very different.

Sorry to be a wet blanket but it just seems rather odd to me…

[MrGongGong]

Sky Arts showed an extensive profile earlier this year,:

I don't think i've heard of that channel ?
maybe you could tell us some more about it ?


on second thought .......... please don't

[Pianorak]

. . . I am rather surprised that those who are usually rather on the cynical side have all been so readily moved. . . Sorry to be a wet blanket but it just seems rather odd to me…

If I'm right that you didn't watch the programme then it must seem rather odd to you. I caught up with the programme a couple of days ago and it certainly made me reconsider my attitude towards Lang Lang and his career.
Still available here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...g_Langs_Story/ Enjoy!