Lang Lang is Brought To You By...
Tiger Woods sells Nike shoes, Steve Nash sells Clearly Canadian beverages, Michael Phelps sells Frosted Flakes, and Lang Lang sells...shoes and cars?
Product endorsements have been a staple of professional sports and Hollywood for decades resulting in high profile athletes and actors becoming international superstars by lending their faces to products ranging from personal hygiene to jewelry to pest control. But with the rising superstar culture in classical music, product endorsement has started to seep into the young, hip and beautiful faces who by night grace the world's stages with amazing performances of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.
Sponsorship is certainly nothing new in the classical music world - for decades, pianists have been identified as "Steinway" or "Yamaha" artists and with that classification can therefore tickle only the company-approved ivories. Lang Lang's adventures in product placement, however, go beyond anything we've seen before with his own version of the adidas "Gazelle Originals" shoe and an association with the carmaker Audi (technically he's called a "Global Audi Ambassador") which will see him riding through the streets of Phoenix in high style.
So what's the result of this new trend? Positives abound. Lang Lang is arguably the most famous classical music face in the world and more exposure for artists means more exposure for the orchestras with whom they perform. In a media-saturated world, that means symphony orchestras can enjoy their time in the superstar sun. It's a fitting trend, really, given classical music's historic superstar glory days in the mid 1800's which saw stars like Franz Liszt and Paganini getting all but mobbed by the press and adoring fans at their own concert appearances.
So with Lang Lang arriving to perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 for a sold out Symphony Hall audience this Sunday, what do you think of this new trend? Do Lang Lang's endorsements make you more inclined to test drive an Audi or seek out some new sneakers? Or does the thought of a future filled with NASCAR-style sponsor paint jobs on string basses make you lunge for your commercial-free CD collection to get your classical music fix instead?
Sponsorship is certainly nothing new in the classical music world - for decades, pianists have been identified as "Steinway" or "Yamaha" artists and with that classification can therefore tickle only the company-approved ivories. Lang Lang's adventures in product placement, however, go beyond anything we've seen before with his own version of the adidas "Gazelle Originals" shoe and an association with the carmaker Audi (technically he's called a "Global Audi Ambassador") which will see him riding through the streets of Phoenix in high style.So what's the result of this new trend? Positives abound. Lang Lang is arguably the most famous classical music face in the world and more exposure for artists means more exposure for the orchestras with whom they perform. In a media-saturated world, that means symphony orchestras can enjoy their time in the superstar sun. It's a fitting trend, really, given classical music's historic superstar glory days in the mid 1800's which saw stars like Franz Liszt and Paganini getting all but mobbed by the press and adoring fans at their own concert appearances.So with Lang Lang arriving to perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 for a sold out Symphony Hall audience this Sunday, what do you think of this new trend? Do Lang Lang's endorsements make you more inclined to test drive an Audi or seek out some new sneakers? Or does the thought of a future filled with NASCAR-style sponsor paint jobs on string basses make you lunge for your commercial-free CD collection to get your classical music fix instead?
3 Comments:
Really, no comments?!?!?!?!
OK folks, what's going on here? There is a stunning silence on the blog and I'm curious about why that is?
Is there something we can do to make this a more conducive environment? I feel like we've given some pretty interesting concerts not to mention inaugurating a whole two week festival.
It would be great if we could get some consumer reviews going since commentary from the established sources are not as forthcoming as one might expect. I'm looking to you to fill in the gaps and let us and your fellow concertgoers know what they can expect and how you felt about it.
I'd hate to close this down given the great posts over the past couple of years.
Let your voice be heard!!!
Yes, I've also noticed that participation in the blog has slowed down. I miss the discussions and interaction.
Sunday's concert with Lang Lang was very special. It was great to see a packed house, and there was a palpable energy and excitement around the performance.
Thanks for everything you're doing to grow audience for the symphony. It is noble work.
I didn't understand Lang Lang's interpretation of Chopin. He is good at some showy pieces like Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, but big NO for Chopin. It was a drama on stage, but his playing didn't move me a bit. I think the Phoenix Symphony and Maestro Christie did terrific job by following his unpredictable playing. such a harsh playing! Please respect the composer, the conductor and the orchestra. To those who don't know, check out another famous Chinese pianist Yundi Li who was the first prize winner in the Chopin International Piano Competition when he was 18 in 2000 on YouTube. and he is more famous than Lang Lang in Asia and Europe
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