Temperamental pianist makes rare appearance with father
There has been lots of chatter about pianist Lang Lang's prima donna behaviour last week during an Olympic-themed promotional event for carmaker Audi.
However, lost among the juicy tales was the fact that he performed the encore with his manager-father Lang Guoren, a renowned erhu instrumentalist in his own right. Apparently, it's the first time father and son (both pictured) have played in public here. And they chose the right tune for the non-classical audience. The crowd-pleasing ditty Horse Racing was played at breakneck speed, allowing lots of virtuosic showboating.
'We used to play together a lot more, but my dad has developed a bit of an ego these days, so he won't play with me now,' Lang Lang said. It wasn't clear whether he was being ironic or serious.
The pianist exposed his own prima donna side during a few other moments of the show. Those with a keen ear who thought the piano might not be perfectly tuned might have had their suspicion confirmed when Lang Lang checked his microphone and said cryptically: 'At least this works.' Then when the applause and adulation weren't as loud as he might have liked, he hinted: 'Isn't it a little bit too quiet?'
Finally, after the condensed concert and while Lang Lang was doing press interviews, the event organisers foolishly decided a post-show DJ party with loud club music was what Audi owners would enjoy. The temperamental pianist was peeved. 'This is supposed to be a classical music event. How can they have this stupid music here? Tell them to turn it off. It's giving me a headache.'
Oh, he also walked off during an interview when a Post colleague asked him about the lip-synching controversy at the Olympic opening ceremony.
