When he in June of 2012, its 30. Birthday, celebrated in Berlin, with a gig in the O2 World at Ostkreuz, which was of course broadcast live on television, as announced long Long, want to in the future, not so often occur. 150 concerts per year are just too much. But how is it with the good intentions: really, it didn’t work out. Appearance was still on appearance, Lang Lang’s stroke rate remained extremely high until he then, in March of 2017, a tendon inflammation and had to, with the pianist getting a divorce-Equivalent to tennis elbow.

He was once again under the pressure of time, had to urgently rehearsing Ravel’s “Concerto for the left Hand”, had a runny nose, of course, was occurred the night before as a soloist. That’s why he cramped up during Practice: “Instead of my body on the piano chair from moving, I remained like nailed in front of the middle of the keyboard sit,” he said in a recent Interview. “A fatal mistake.”

Two German specialists have taken care of him during the 15-month forced break, in which he was allowed the painful left Hand doesn’t move. Yes, he should be careful not to gesticulate when Talking, explained to him the Doctors. There’s a Long Length in the international classical music business, but actually indispensable, he has shown a couple of Times, at the season opening of Carnegie Hall in New York in the fall of 2017, for example, together with one of the students who took the left-Hand Part, so that the Star only had to use the right.

In July, 2017 the Signal: everything came from the medical side and then back in order. His Comeback is not celebrated Lang Lang at Tanglewood Festival, however, as originally planned, with Tchaikovsky’s gewittrigem 1. Piano Concerto, but with pianistic light foods, Beethoven’s 2nd The piano concert. And he took again a Album. He was his record company is guilty of Deutsche Grammophon, which had him promoted in 2003 under the Treaty and international. Okay, in 2010, he was switched to Sony, allegedly for three million euros, in February of 2017, but he returned for an unknown sum, and was not four weeks later. All the wheels stand still, when his sick Arm wants it. A real Gau: the worst possible loss of Sales.

The Album after the downtime: music for a reasonably talented Amateur musicians

Why, it took but seven months until the release of the CD today, Friday, why Deutsche Grammophon has launched the Album for the Christmas season of 2017, remains a mystery. As well as the question of whether the most famous classical artist on the planet really recover. Because instead of the virtuoso repertoire, he has played so far, presented Lang Lang in the “Piano Book” is now 29 pieces, which can also cope with any reasonably talented Amateur musicians.

He wanted to build on his own student days, says the Pianist in the Booklet. Because this music – Beethoven’s “For Elise”, Mozart’s “Sonata facile” or Schumann’s “Wilder Reiter” – have shaped his Childhood. However, only a very short period of time. As we know, the Chinese has already won as a five-year-old in his hometown of Shenyang piano competition.

The Storytelling to listen to, but good. Personable, grounded. We all have to start small. Big the train station, the record company was–once-Album. Before the days of the press has been patterned, the high-gloss magazines on it. In the current “FAZ Magazin” and you meet Lang Lang in the heading Mode: In Paris, the Hotel Les Bains the Pianist is posing in Haute Couture Streetwear from Louis Vuitton and Dries van Noten. The “Gala” on the other hand, with the official PR photos, on which the artist is wearing Golden Sneakers to the white suit.

but the artistic output of this Renaissance? Politely said: strange. 106 minutes, the double album, and if this neo-classic by Max Richter between Beethoven and Mendelssohn-scene, Francis Poulenc, standing next to Hu-Wei Huang, film music as well as popular sounds from Korea and Sweden, the first as a contemporary Version of the collection album, beautiful melodies will appear, as publishers took before the invention of the radio and phonograph for home use. Long long, however, a Crossover is more in-step: Chopin’s “Raindrop prelude” sounds to him like Yann Tiersens “Amélie”-waltz. Sweet-sticky-namely, exaggerated pregnant with meaning, in the United Kingdom the pedal fog shrouded.

Interesting a comparison of the long-Long Interpretation of Debussy’s “Clair de lune” with his pianist colleague, Seong-Jin Cho. As the Koreans at the recent Asia tour by Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker for the Chinese was allowed to step in, which gave his career the decisive Kick. Also, Seong-Jin Cho is on the Deutsche Grammophon label contract, his debut album he has dedicated to Debussy. Sensitive Cho makes the “Clair de lune” for atmosphere, the moon light silver shimmer, breathes with the music that plays cleverly with light and shadow effects, in short, he makes palpable how the composer dares here on new Terrain, get out of the bourgeois Salon, in the freedom of the individual Impression.

His father fought with him once on dexterity: Only the fastest coming to the finish

Lang Lang needs for “Clair de lune” nearly 25 percent more time. Because he’s slowing down, it is the pathetic gesture’s sake, because he is maudlin, emotionally thick applying, to the last, pretentious hung lightly dabbed Arpeggio. The Pierrot with the moon Crescent appears before the inner eye, the tear on his cheek is a Swarowsky crystal.

From the “Gala” asked which of the compositions lying to him, especially on the heart, called the Pianist Tekla Badarzewska-Baranowskas “prayer of a maiden” – because it is the signature tune of the suppliers of fruit and Vegetables was in the China of his youth. The Biedermeier miniature but is also the prototype of the sentimental Rührstücks, of purists reviled as a Higher-daughters-Kitsch.

As a particularly fine spiritual work of Deuter, the 36-Year-old was never known. His father has him trained once with the pitiless Rigor of a Russian figure skating coach on finger dexterity, the piano appeared to him always as a sporting competition, Only the fastest to the finish line. Who had now hoped, however, Lang Lang, the break could have used this to Refine his taste and sense of style, he immerses himself in recordings of the great artist, with wise teachers about the scores, flexes, disappointed. Stylistically, the “Piano Book” is a document of progressive naivety.

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Especially yesterday’s Bach’s C major prelude from the “Well tempered clavier”. No awareness of the insights of historical performance practice is ailing plays Long with lots of extra Pedal, brushing it on a romanticized rhetoric of the last century, how she dares nowadays, nobody actually more to offer. Ironically, the Thomas Cantor want to turn to Lang Lang in the future. The most complex composition, the “Goldberg variations”, he will bring next on the CD and in the spring of 2020 and then also in the world live here. Günther Batel notes in the concert the leader of the “masterpieces of piano music”, the 30-part cycle: “The Nachvollzog of the work requires players, as listeners, a spiritual work as in any other work of the piano literature.”