Steve Schwartz wrote:

>For those of you more attuned to the current classical scene than me, I ask
>whether Lang's general rep is rapturous or mixed.

I watched the opening of the Prom's where Lang did the Tschaikovsky Piano
Concerto No 1 a favourite of mine when I was a youth.  I thought I must
be getting old since the sounds that emanated from the TV meant nothing
to me at all but the audience loved it.  A few days later I read Hugh
Canning's review of the concert in the Sunday Times.  He was impressed
by Lang's technique, he played all the notes in the right order but what
happened to the spirit of the music?  You may well ask, actually you
did!  It seems the sooner Lang Lang is shipped back to China the better.
May be he could become a cabaret act juggling a vase with his feet while
banging out Tschaikovsky on the piano at a 1000 notes a minute.

Tim Horwood