The Well-Tempered Ear
Pianist Yuja Wang’s new ‘Vienna Recital’ is another triumph
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By Jacob Stockinger
Yuja Wang remains the hottest pianist on the touring concert circuit — and not just for her daring, high fashion clothes and her sensuous legs and arms, and her especially expressive face.
Lang Lang might make more money.
Newcomer Yunchan Lim might inspire more anticipation.
And veterans Martha Argerich and Emanuel Ax might command more authority for their interpretations.
But the supremely talented China-born, U.S.-educated Wang remains in very high critical regard and high popular demand — something that the release just yesterday of her latest album “The Vienna Recital” is sure to sustain and increase.
The recital’s program features an eclectic and somewhat unusual mix of works by Beethoven, Scriabin, Isaac Albéniz, Nikolai Kaspustin and Philip Glass (whose Etude No. 6 you can hear Wang perform in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Ear also likes seeing that Wang uses the music through a printed score on what appears to be an iPad.
Here is a link to a rave review by Tal Agam from the The Classic Review that is based in Tel Aviv, Israel:
What do you think of Yuja Wang?
Have you listened to The Vienna Recital?”
What do you think of it?
Do you intend to listen to it?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Is piano-mania in China fading?
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By Jacob Stockinger
You have probably heard of piano superstars Lang Lang and Yuja Wang. Maybe even of prize-winners Yundi Li and Haochen Zhang, who both won the Van Cliburn competition while in their teens.
The Ear recently read where there are more piano students in China — the People’s Republic of China — than in Europe, North America and South America combined. In 2019, one music website estimated that “over 40 million Chinese kids are studying the piano today, with some sources going as high as 50 million.”
How did this piano phenomenon come about?
As Bloomberg news recently reported: “China’s love affair with the piano goes back several decades. During the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, the instrument was condemned as a symbol of the bourgeoisie. But thanks to the economic reforms and the country’s opening up, the piano became an affordable luxury for a quickly expanding middle class.” (Is it a similar story in South Korea, which has produced many outstanding pianists and winners of international competitions?)
That sounds familiar — similar to what happened in Western culture as the middle class expanded and Hausmusik for amateur musicians took hold. It was a time when most middle-class households had a piano. But now that is fading in the West. Check out all the used pianos listed for sale on Craig’s List and other places.
For more detailed background about about the role of pianos and classical music in China, see this 2019 post by Ludwig-Van.com:
But now news reports say China’s economy is headed for hard times.
What does that mean for piano-mania in China?
Maybe the same thing that has happened in Europe and the United States?
Here is an updated story from another source that says the Chinese piano craze is playing itself out:
https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1014703
Do you have an opinion about China and its love affair with pianos and Western music?
About the fate of pianos and piano lessons in the West?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #Middle-Class, affordable, amateur, amateur musicians, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Bach, Beethoven, blog, Bloomberg, bourgeoisie, Canada, Chamber music, children, China, Chinese, Classical music, Competition, composer, Concert, concerto, Craig's List, craze, Cultural Revolution, economic, economy, Europe, Facebook, fad, German, Germany, Haochen Zhang, hausmusik, instrument, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, kids, Korea, Korean, Lang Lang, link, Love, love affair, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luwig-Van.com, luxury, Madison, mania, Mozart, Music, music students, news, North America, online, pianists, Piano, piano lessons, post, PRC, reforms, report, share, Sixth Tone, Sonata, source, South America, South Korea, South Korean, symbol, tag, Taiwan, Taiwanese, The Ear, Toronto, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, used pianos, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Website, Western culture, Western music, winner, Wisconsin, Yuja Wang, Yundi Li
20 women composers talk about classical music
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By Jacob Stockinger
What do women composers think about themselves, their careers and the place they occupy in the world of classical music?
Here are quotes — with YouTube videos, great vintage still photographs and musical excerpts — by 20 women composers throughout history from Hildegard von Bingen in the Middle Ages to contemporary living composers such as Americans Joan Tower, Missy Mazzoli, Jennifer Higdon and Jessie Montgomery.
That many of the names will seem familiar to many readers is a sign of how the “canon” has expanded in recent years and brought a new appreciation of neglected women composers, many of whom have been completely overlooked but are now featured prominently on concert programs and radio shows.
Mind you, insightful observations and great quotes about sexism, racism, ambition, creativity and history don’t guarantee music of superior quality.
But their music has to be played and listened to before it can be judged.
The Ear found this collection well worth paying attention to by men as well as women, especially young ones pursuing a career in music. Everyone can use a little inspiration and encouragement.
Here is a link to the website based in Hong Kong, China that has the story:
What about Louise Ferrenc or Florence Price?
Barbara Strozzi and Asian women?
Are there other names you would include?
What do you think of the collage of quotes, music and videos?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Beethoven helps LeBron James break a big basketball scoring record
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By Jacob Stockinger
Sometime this coming week — maybe even by the time you read this — basketball superstar LeBron James (below) will break the all-time scoring record for the NBA.
The current record of 38,387 points is held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (known earlier in his career as Lew Alcindor) who he broke the previous record held by Wilt Chamberlain on April 5, 1984. Abdul-Jabbar, who is famous for his “skyhook,” retired at 42 in 1989 and is now 75.
At 38, James — who is just 63 points away from the record as of this writing — still has many years to play and score.
Based on what the James (below, in action) — who is also the first player to become a billionaire while playing in the NBA — usually scores each game, professional sports watchers expect he will surpass Abdul-Jabbar at a game against the Milwaukee Bucks this coming Thursday night, Feb. 9, in Milwaukee.
When he does, you will no doubt hear about it. It will be big news since the previous NBA scoring record has lasted for almost 34 years.
James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, is known as a very disciplined, even obsessive, player who even follows a special diet to stay in shape.
What’s more, according to reports, James — who took his first piano lesson from the famous Chinese pianist Lang Lang — also listens to classical music. He especially likes to listen to Beethoven (below) after he listens to hip-hop while in the weight room, and then leaves to get ready and “calm down” before a game and heading out to the court.
Here is a link to that story on ClassicFM:
What Beethoven pieces do you think LeBron James listens to in order to calm down before a game? Symphonies? Concertos? Chamber music? A lot of Beethoven seems more aggressive than relaxing to The Ear. But the slow middle movement of the Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” (played by Lang Lang in the YouTube video at the bottom) seems like a good choice.
Maybe James will even somehow read this and let us know his favorite works by Beethoven and other classical composers.
Do any other readers or athletes listen to classical music as part of their athletic training, preparation and activity? Do a lot of the runners who are listening to something through ear buds listen too classical music?
The Ear wants to hear.
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