Lang Lang returns one-handed for Chinese gala
mainThe pianist, out with a left-arm injury for the past three months, has returned to the stage for the state celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China.
But he played right hand only, we’re told, with an unnamed child covering the left hand part.
Don’t worry, plenty of hopeful followers-on waiting behind the scenes. But not in China. The Alink-Argerich website lists for the first half of 2017 a total of around 113 “international piano competitions” having taken place in 36 countries, of which Italy heads up the list with 21 competitions, followed by USA (16), France (11), Germany (10), Spain(9), Poland (6), Ukraine (3), and Russia (3). With around 113 x 4 = 452 “laureates” in half a year alone, the world can look forward to an virtually unending supply of classical pianists.
The kid’s name is Peter Leung. Here’s a cute video Lang Lang and Peter posted on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/LangLangPiano/videos/10155825046798352/
One would think that this virtuoso would have a injury of any kind and there is mention to the effect that he sustained and arm injury. Is it because he has faulty technique or under duress to perform again and again the same works that have been played over and over for 150 years or more? I am under the impression that the Russian school of piano playing is one of ease and that they rarely sustain injuries to their hands, wrists and arms. Did Lang Lang have those kind of teachers who emphasized a playing technique that makes it easier to accomplish technical problems without being injured in the process. Sometimes travelling and not sleeping well, not eating well and the lack of time to relax and rest is out of the question. There are many pianists who have suffered back, head and neck problems because of their postural habits and sitting too long at the keyboard practicing to excess and so they become injured in very mysterious ways as Fleischer and Graffman where dystonia took it toll and they were unable to play at all for years. We do recall what Schumann did to his fourth finger on his right hand with an ingenious device that he contrived to strengthen it and in the process received a permanent injury that ended his career as a pianist.
Peter Tarsio http://www.nwcmta.com member of http://www.rcmtg.org and http://www.mtna.org
I must correct a typo after the fact as the correct spelling of my surname is Tarsio
I was a former student of Robert Goldsand at the Manhattan School of Music and you can find me on Facebook and my website again is: http://www.nwcmta.com
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/14/arts/when-a-pianist-s-fingers-fail-to-obey.html?pagewanted=all
Thought I would post this here as its one of the pianists I cited in an earlier post.
Peter Tarsio