There is also a special Lang Lang version of a Bugatti sports car:It has been announced that piano virtuoso Lang Lang is set to release his own range of perfume.Set for release in Europe in September, the fragrance is a collaborative venture with French distribution company Firmenich – who also manage fragrance production for Armani and Dior.It’s believed Lang Lang’s new fragrance will include jasmine, kyara wood, pink and black pepper, kumquat, bergamotte, gardenia, lavender, cedar wood, vetiver, patchouli and musk.Lang Lang’s other endorsements include Volkswagen, Allianz, Telefonica, Bombardier and China Merchants Bank.
I dunno, do you think I should release my own range of perfume?
(Trying vainly to repress the urge to insert a lot of fart jokes here...)
Let me leave you with the amazingly inappropriate photo of Lang Lang that accompanied the fragrance story:
It would be cruel to leave you with that, so here is a clip of a pianist who could not in any way be considered a laughing-stock:
Grigory Sokolov: he not only does not make any commercial endorsements, he doesn't even make any commercial recordings.
Amusing, yes; personally, if I were a pianist who had no trouble signing concerts that I found worth my time and if some perfumier approached me I'd probably think to myself, why not? more fool him. And if those Bugatti or Lamborghini people want to give me cars.... I suppose the real question is whether I'm good or fantastic at my playing or if the publicists and critics have overstated my skills because they are involved somehow with the propaganda.
ReplyDeleteIn what sense does Grigory Sokolov not make commercial recordings?
As far as I can tell, Grigory Sokolov has never set foot in a recording studio in his life. There are a very few CDs available (fewer than 10) that are issues from live recordings of concerts. He has only very reluctantly allowed them to be released. There is also a DVD of a concert he gave at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées several years ago that was filmed. And that's it. Yes, since you can purchase them, I guess you could call them commercial recordings, but considering he is possibly the greatest pianist in the world this is about a minimal as you can get.
ReplyDeleteAh. The couple of CDs that I can recall offhand from Spotify are live recordings-- I hadn't noticed that they all of them are.
ReplyDelete