Maybe I Should Release My Own Fragrance...

Still reeling from the new book on Beethoven by John Suchen that I just posted about, I run across this article that, frankly, leaves me gasping for air:

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.

There is also a special Lang Lang version of a Bugatti sports car:

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.

The Fruits of Celebrity

In complete contrast to the artist we have been spending this past week with, here is something associated with rather a different kind of artist: a special Lang Lang edition of a Bugatti sports car:

I'm sure there are good solid commercial reasons for doing this, but it is not really conducive to be taken seriously as an artist, is it? I can't help but contrast this with the approach Hilary Hahn takes to her career. She is always doing serious projects and taking her responsibilities as an artist to heart. This, along with her remarkable gifts, is what makes her a cultural treasure. Some other artists seem to regard their dexterity and virtuosity as a path to the fruits of celebrity: big fees, endorsements and notoriety.

Some other things Lang Lang has been up to that make you question his artistic character. Here he is playing with Metallica:

Here he is with a dubstep dancer:

Here he is doing the end of the third movement of the Piano Concerto No. 3 by Prokofiev, with a drummer:

In contrast to the Hahn project, none of these endeavors have a particularly musical purpose. They are really just efforts in promoting celebrity. More people will hear about Lang Lang who are not primarily listeners to classical music.

You know, I don't think that this is the sign of the apocalypse or anything. This has been a strategy for some performers for a long time. It works, it builds audiences but at the same time it reduces the aesthetic authority of the music. Instead of putting yourself at the service of the music, you make the music serve your career goals. But I don't think it fools the more attentive listeners.

Let's hear another kind of pianist. This is Friedrich Gulda doing his variations on "Light My Fire" by the Doors.

Gulda was a somewhat eccentric figure who might be mistaken for the celebrity-seeking kind of artist. But he really wasn't. You notice that what he is doing in the clip is absorbing the rock music of the 60s into a more classical idiom (with a little jazz as well). He is not taking classical music and making it sound like pop music!

Here is Gulda playing the first movement of a Beethoven sonata:

Artistry and Economics

Every now and then you read a piece of news that reveals a new social fault line: like this one. Here is part of a press release:

On January 31, Allianz and Lang Lang have started a global partnership: Lang Lang will become a global Allianz brand ambassador. At the same time, Allianz and the Lang Lang International Music Foundation announced that the Foundation plans to run a dedicated youth programme to be sponsored by Allianz.

According to Wikipedia, Allianz:

is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core business and focus is insurance. As of 2010, it was the world's 12th-largest financial services group and 23rd-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.

Also according to Wikipedia, Lang Lang is:

 a New York-based Chinese concert pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is known for his concert performances, television, as well as releasing albums and soundtracks. Lang has done much to encourage children and young musicians to take an interest in classical music, especially through the international foundation he launched in New York in 2008.

High-profile athletes have long exploited their celebrity to win promotional contracts with large companies who see a big publicity benefit to throwing a bit of money at a famous person who will say nice things about them. It has alway seemed a bit odd to me, especially when it blows up as it recently did with Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods. Would you actually buy a product because an athlete endorses it? Really?

Musicians have been exploring some interesting ways of increasing their income. Dr. Dre is currently in the lead as I talk about in this post about the highest-paid musicians of 2012.

So what's the social fault line? Maybe it is more of a philosophical fault line. Here is the problem: it seems to me that more and more public life, that is to say the shared public arena or agora, is dominated by fantasy. Beyoncé's Superbowl half-time show, pop music generally, is all about various forms of fantasy. But it extends a lot further than that. The looking to celebrities, especially those known mainly for being famous, for endorsements, opinions, wise counsel, is a widespread and inherently idiotic practice.

Let's take a closer run at that Allianz press release for some examples of fantasy speak:

With its support of the exclusive youth programme, Allianz will promote the Foundation’s aim to inspire the next generation of classical musicians and to encourage music performance as a means of social development.

 

The programme will give young pianists from around the world the opportunity to work with Lang Lang. The aim is to share Lang Lang’s passion for music and make the young musicians ambassadors among their peers through a life-changing experience. “Music makes life better. It heals, unites and inspires - and it makes us better people,” is the artist’s conviction.

Lots of happythoughts, sure, but what does all this actually mean? The word "exclusive" has the sheen of, well, exclusivity, but no actual content. There are lots of youth programs. What about "inspire"? That's a nice word, but I can't actually think of a single instance in the whole history of music where a foundation has inspired anything other than the frantic filling-out of grant application forms. Inspiration comes from lots of unlikely places--just not foundations. Does Lang Lang have a "passion" for music? Perhaps--he certainly has a driving ambition. In what sense could "young musicians" be "ambassadors among their peers"? Let alone through a "life-changing experience". See, these are just buzz phrases that have no reference whatsoever to anything in the real world.

What bothers me is that we live in the real world, but all our public discussion seems to live in some weird fantasy world. I think music is another kind of 'real' world, with its own set of joys and sorrows, triumphs and frustrations, beauties and uglinesses. I dislike happythought talk about music just as much as I do happythought talk about the real world. I dislike the idea of successful classical musicians like Lang Lang being pulled into the kind of big dollar promotional crap that dominates the world of sports.

I'm just a grouch! Now let's listen to some Lang Lang:

Trying to play the "Flight of the Bumblebee" on an iPad. Sigh. Now of course Lang Lang is a fine pianist and musician. I just put that up to show the kinds of things artists do these days to show what regular folk they are. Here is Lang Lang in a serious recital in Vienna: