Lang Lang runs Olympic relay
NewsThe Chinese pianist was one of the torchbearers for about three minuites ahead of the Paris Olympics yesterday.
He wore a jersey marked 33, signifying that these are the 33rd modern Olympic Games.
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Even more inexplicable than Placido Domingo holding Spain’s Euro Cup (in the prior post), isn’t Domingo arguably more Mexican than Spaniard?, is Lang Lang holding the Olympics flame, Lang Lang is in no way no how French, and if I had to think of musicians who were fit and athletic, I would never think of either one of them.
Domingo was born in Spain and brought up by Spanish and I think Basque parents. They left Spain for Mexico due to the Spanish Civil war, I think.
Dual nationality should be banned, you never know where the loyalty lies, if Mexico had won the Copa America, you can bet your butt Domingo would be holding up that trophy as well.
Lang Lang lives a big part of the year in Paris and he’s very frequently guest of talk shows of the French national TV. This is not a surprise but I never heared him speak in french.
He may not speak it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to speak Chinese? It is doubtless equally hard for the Chinese to learn a foreign language. His English is more than acceptable.
When I lived in Hong Kong, a trade delegation came over from Quebec, then in one of the throes of its ever-expanding attempt to make French the ONLY language acceptable in that province (a venture only marginally blocked by federal law). The HK trade rep told the Quebeckers that they could forget doing business in French, saying the Hong Kongers had had enough trouble learning English and that was all they were prepared to do.
I can believe it. I occasionally turned on the news on a Cantonese channel, and if there was news from China — as there always was — it was subtitled, as Hong Kongers did not speak Mandarin.
If the French ant Lang Lang in their torch parade, let ’em. He has fans.
Better if he runs away from the piano.
Cry me a river. Four out of the top 5 US orchestras and Carnegie Hall invited him for season openings in the fall season.
Nice to see Lang Lang doing the things he’s good at. Ie everything publicity, and everything around the piano, except actually playing it.
…just a ridiculous statement.
SlippedDisc commenters never disappoint.
The post could be the weather forecast, and someone would complain about the sun being so uppity.
The sun is the cause of global warming.
Let them both enjoy the moment…
Such vicious, nasty people on this site! More eunuchs in the harem? What did Lang Lang ever do to you? To my mind, anything that gives classical music more visibility is all to the good.
So we’ve gotten to that point, apology for mediocrity.
Have we gotten to that point for admittance into conservatories, for auditions for orchestral posts, for tenure decisions?
We’ve certainly gotten to that point for selecting music directors, oops, am I cutting too close to the bone?
Please don’t conflate the 3-minute Olympic relay with the promotion of classical music. Classical music is not so dire that it needs to be rescued by heroes like Olympic relay runners.
Additionally, I’ve observed that some people use grand causes to justify and praise whatever Lang Lang is doing. However, Lang Lang’s lofty goals often seem to be driven more by the pursuit of fame and money. Both the Olympic relay and classical music appear to be mere tools for him to advance his career and business interests.
For instance, Lang Lang’s aim to “promote classical music” led him to secure million-dollar endorsements from online piano companies with questionable practices. His concerts in China charge over $1,000 per child for the opportunity to perform on stage for just a few minutes alongside 100 other children.
Classical music, for Lang Lang, seems no different from other revenue-generating ventures, such as commercials for refrigerators, cooking ovens, baby formulas, protein products, and even underwear.
Good question. Lang lang must be an honorable man. How do I know? Had he done anything unethical we would have been hearing about it ad nauseam in this blog.
Another instance of Max Raimi calling someone a Eunuch in the Harem. Nice one, Max. You’re so clever and well read. Never snide. A true harem’s dream. We envy you.
“He wore a jersey marked 33, signifying that these are the 33rd modern Olympic Games.” Unsure where this idea comes from especially since all the jerseys I’ve seen today have different numbers. Here’s one example: https://www.france24.com/fr/sports/20240715-l%C3%A9on-lewkowicz-rescap%C3%A9-d-auschwitz-birkenau-et-relayeur-de-la-flamme-olympique-et-de-la-m%C3%A9moire
Wasn’t Lang Lang featured in the 2008 Olympics ceremony? Seems fitting to include him as he is already a part of Olympic lore
He’s not French, he’s not an athlete and he’s annoying. Why, why, why?