At LAT, "Classical gasp: Yuja Wang's dress at the Bowl causes a crescendo":
Pianist Yuja Wang struck a chord at the Hollywood Bowl this month and not just with her performance of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto. The 24-year-old Chinese soloist had necks craning, tongues wagging and flashbulbs popping when she walked on wearing an orange, thigh-grazing, body-hugging dress atop sparkly gold strappy stiletto sandals.God, that staid. Bunch of poofters.
In particular, Wang's outfit was a hot topic at the concert and continued after Times music critic Mark Swed's review appeared in print and online. While Swed praised her delicacy, speed and grace at the piano, his fashion comments — including the observation: "Her dress Tuesday was so short and tight that had there been any less of it, the Bowl might have been forced to restrict admission to any music lover under 18 not accompanied by an adult" — have touched off a spirited debate among music critics and bloggers about what constitutes appropriate concert attire and conversely, whether a critique of a performer's clothes has any place in a music review.
It should be noted that while the Los Angeles Philharmonic has a very specific dress code for members of its orchestra (several ones, actually, depending on the time of day and season), it does not apply to soloists. They, according to an L.A. Phil representative, are informed what the orchestra will be wearing and can choose whatever they feel is most appropriate. "For women that's traditionally an evening gown," the rep said, "but that's not always the case."
More pics at the link. (And Cameron Carpenter's cool.)
3 comments:
That is a definite classic...
I noticed she's getting flak from China also. Personally, I love her piano playing. It's true a lot of artists try to do things to draw attention to themselves. It's a tough business with lot's of competition. I think it might be better to lower the dress 6 inches or so though, or even wear a long dress.
Some of the men in the audience were probably having a hard time paying attention to the music.
Whether by clothes or pianism...she's a rising star.
Many artists do things to be noticed. Madonna is notorious for some of the things she has done.
It's a competitive business.
Personally, I love Yuja's pianism, but maybe she should be a little more conservative. It's hard to appreciate a performance when other things are too distracting.
China was giving her flak also.
I'm not mad at her or disgusted with her. I just think she should consider the total picture.
She'll probably be a concert Icon for a while because of this. I'm sure there are some 16 year olds that want to watch classical piano now. LOL
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