“For more than a year, the pianist Lang Lang has been largely out of commission with an injured left arm,” writes Michael Cooper in Thursday’s (7/5) New York Times. “He is one of classical music’s biggest and most bankable stars…. His return to the stage on Friday—to headline the season opener at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home in the Berkshires—is being closely watched not only by his fans, but also by the music industry. ‘Everyone needs Lang Lang to come back,’ … said Mark Volpe, the Boston Symphony’s managing director. ‘I don’t just mean playing the piano…. He has a personality, he’s got a presence.’… In April 2017, Mr. Lang announced that he had an inflammation in his left arm [after] what he described as ‘a stupid practice of Ravel’s left-hand concerto…. I was already tiring, and I pushed to practice’ … Mr. Lang was originally scheduled to play Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto, with its bravura Romantic gestures, to open Tanglewood’s season. But he decided instead on Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, which requires crisp, clear articulation along with style and elegance.… More galas (and more Mozart) are scheduled for the fall.”
Posted July 5, 2018
