Surreality

Speaking of the Grammys, for those of you who didn't catch the broadcast, you missed out on a performance of "Rhapsody in Blue" by the unlikely and slightly surreal pair of Lang Lang and Herbie Hancock. Hancock was the surprise winner of the night, taking Album of the Year over favorites Kanye West and Amy Winehouse. And it's always interesting to see Lang Lang, a classmate of mine from Curtis, because I remember him not as the rockstar of the classical keyboard with the artfully disarrayed hair, but as a quiet kid whose father sat with him in the practice room until the building closed at 11 pm every night.

As much as made-for-TV moments like the post-performance hugging irk me a little, it was nice to see at least one classical artist featured on the broadcast, particularly as none of the classical categories make it on TV. But imagine if they were televised - would that raise the profile of classical recordings and thus the classical music industry? With our tendendy to respond to anything that is glamourized, I'm inclined to think so...