SOUNDTRACK: LANG LANG-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #11 (April 17, 2020).
Lang Lang is a superstar pianist whom I have never heard of. But I agree with the blurb that it’s neat to see a fantastic pianist playing at home. He seems relaxed and loose. And the camera angle allows us to see his fingers (and his whole swaying body) pretty clearly.
Here’s something unique: a chance to eavesdrop on the superstar pianist Lang Lang at home.
The 37-year-old pianist, who typically plays sold-out shows to thousands, says he’s taking his recent solitary time to learn new repertoire at home in Shanghai, China. And home is where he thinks we should all be.
He opens with Chopin’s calming “Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor.” I loved watching him slowly and deliberately play that last note. It seems like he holds his finger above it for minutes, but it fits in perfectly.
Lang Lang’s latest passion is Bach – specifically the Goldberg Variations, a 75-minute-long cycle of immense complexity grounded in the composer’s durable beauty. Lang Lang offers the “18th and 19th variations,” pieces that in turn represent the strength of logic and the joy of the dance. It’s music, Lang Lang says, that “always brings me to play in another level of artistic thinking.”
These pieces are just magical. Even if I don;t know them well, I can tell pretty immediately that they are Bach. Lang Lang’s fluidity is wonderful, as is the way his whole body seems to be absorbing the music as he plays.
[READ: April 11, 2020]: Carnet de Voyage
From March 5 thru May 14, 2004 Craig Thompson was on an international book tour celebrating the success of his (fantastic) book Blankets.
This journal was his visual diary (no cameras were used, only his memory) of his trip. His editors thought it would be interesting for him to document his trip (and it is).
He flies into Paris then a 2 hour plane trip to Lyon. He draws pictures of where he has been and the people he has met (and some of their fascinating stories). There’s some wonderful sketches of rooftops from hotel windows.
He does interviews for radio and magazines. He laughs that one of the photos shoots was in the streets of Paris, where he is all dressed up. But really he’s a county bumpkin from Wisconsin. The drawing of himself as a glamorous guy and his bumpkin alter ego together is pretty hilarious.
On March 15 he left for Marrakesh, Morocco and this exotic location rally sets the stage for most of his artwork and what is sort of the only “plot” in the book.
He had also just broken up with his girlfriend which weighs on his mind quite a lot on the tour. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 