Lang Lang in Sydney

Lang Lang at the Sydney Opera House last night
(Photo by Christie Brewster from SSO Facebook page)

I saw virtuoso pianist Lang Lang play Tchaikovsky, Bach and Chopin last night and I have been trying to find a suitable noun to describe him ever since.  He is virtuosic of course and he is young and he is charming, but still there is so much more to him. I have decided the word is 'tender'. He plays the piano with such tenderness, even when he is playing Chopin's fiery Scherzi.

I was sitting in a box opposite the piano so although I couldn't see his hands on the keyboard I had a good view of his extraordinarily expressive face as he played. He smiles a lot, finding all sorts of amusement in the music. His body moves and jumps as it reflects the stories he is telling with his hands.

I was entranced to see his hands when he lifted one or other off the keyboard occasionally because they hovered like expressive, relaxed, floating flowers describing the melody in the air.  His audience couldn't help be captivated.

He is a remarkable ambassador for classical music, one of those rare pianists who can fill the opera house concert hall twice over (he is playing mostly Grieg next Saturday).  He is very keen for the next generation to learn the beauties of classical music and has developed an app to encourage them. How many other classical musicians have developed an app to help youngsters learn (or any app at all actually)? That says so much about him.