As Lang Lang walked from the stage at the Royal Albert Hall in November, a little girl emerged from the audience to embrace him. It was a disarming moment that seemed to symbolise the impact of the 31-year-old Chinese pianist. He has rock star appeal.
And then, for Lang Lang, the end was the beginning. Following three Mozart piano sonatas and four Chopin Ballades, he played six encores. After the third or fourth, he asked us, ‘Shall we keep going or shall we go home?’ A Cuban dance, a Chinese piece…When he finally finished with an explosion of Scriabin, thousands rose to their feet in recognition of his virtuosity.
I joined them, despite having been disappointed by his Mozart. Artur Schnabel’s playing of the A Minor sonata is hard to emulate, and Vladimir Horowitz’s performance of Chopin’s notoriously difficult Ballade 1 is mesmerising on YouTube.
Still, there is no doubt Lang Lang can play.
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