Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Yuja Wang's dress gets even more attention

Anne Midgette, music critic at the Washington Post writes rather extensively about the phenom. Se takes a mild sweep at the LA Times negative critique of the dress and argues that the negative reaction "is a mark to me of how far classical music remains isolated from what’s going on in the rest of society. We say we want younger audiences, and we wring our hands over classical music’s possible demise; and yet when a young classical music star does something that would be completely normal in any other entertainment field, we pounce on it as being extreme, attention-getting, questionable."

Debate?

The full article is here

What "other entertainment fields" are there where such attire would be appropriate except those where the singer is selling him/herself rather than the music.

I have nothing against concert performers dressing more casually than those of previous generations, or more comfortably or more reflective of what young people may favour in dress. That said, I felt that Yuja Wang's dress was inappropriate to the occasion. It bordered on the obscene, in that it attracted all the attention to her, physically, and not, in my curmudgeonly view, in an attractive way. I will refrain from using the four-letter word that came to mind to describe her when I saw photographs of her attire for that performance. The top was extremely low cut, the skirt was indecently short, and the whole skimpy outfit was so tight that one wonders how she could move in it. Spandex, I guess.

Say what you will and whether or not you think that "clothes (still) make the (wo)man," her brilliant pianism notwithstanding, she has gone down a notch in my esteem. I'm sure she could not care at all about my opinion, however.

Regards,

Debate? Really loaded issue. Thanks.

Well, I suppose we could ask a more general question. Is any discussion about apparel out of bounds for a critic? Completely?

Do you suppose a critic would deem it worth a mention if a young stud pianist came out in a sleeveless running shirt? Or no shirt at all?

I ask the rhetorical question because I'm not sure this is really a gender issue. Arguably, women may be the boundary pushers more than men. This can be healthy or troublesome, depending on your point of view. I didn't see what she wore, so I am completely agnostic in this particular case.

When women dress so indecently, it really takes a lot away from the music making. I know, as a young girl, that it is fun to dress up for concerts, but always be Tasteful and never let your clothes distract from the music making....

Here ya go:

Yeah, that's gonna grab some attention.

The reaction of the violist speaks volumes. But what it says, I'm not quite sure!

I thought her dress was fine and it wasn't indecent. All the criticism about it just shows that classical music can be very prudish and unfriendly to the younger crowd. I think Yuja finally has enough confidence to dress the way she wants. What she's wearing is not unusual for someone her age, and IMO she didn't do it to get attention. If anything, it's actually working against her.

Looks like she is ready for a cocktail party!! Nevertheless, Yuja probably does not give a "..." what we think. She a rising star and she will do whatever she wants to, to get any attention. On a personal note, I do think it is not appropriate. There are other more appropriate occasions for such a dress.

Like a runway in a fashion show or the Red Light District?

True. And in my opinion, unfortunate.

Most of the girls at my university's formal event (the ones who had the body for it) wore something like that. I can concede that it may not be appropriate considering her audience though - I could never imagine anyone wearing that to work and she is essentially working during her concerts. Still, her dress isn't indecent.

Nice evasive maneuvers PianoDad.. You should have the courage to express yourself, gender of the defendant non-withstanding!!!

Really? You wouldn't catch me dead in that dress. I have more self respect than that to go dress myself up like a common [censored] when I perform (not that my parents would let me anyway). To dress tastefully when you perform is to show respect for your teachers, the audience, the music, yourself, the orchestra, etc...

I don't think the dress is indecent either, but the dress and the very high heels together are unusual in the world of classical music. I remember reading (I think in the "press" section of her website) that she has been approached by designers who are keen to work with her, but she always declines, because the focus should be on the music. Seriously! When asked what she would have been if she had not been a musician, and she said an actress or athlete. She has also talked about wanting to outgrow the image of the little girl playing The Bumblebee amazingly. So perhaps there are some clues there, about wanting to be grown-up and to look athletic and glamorous. (I also briefly wondered if she feels more physically comfortable, and therefore plays with more spontaneity and freedom, when her shoulders and legs are as uncovered as possible. But then I remembered her really high heels, which killed my theory about physical comfort.)

Whatever her motives, I do think it distracts from the music. Wondering what (weird and wonderful tiny dress) a performer is going to wear, rather than how she's going to play, before the music begins? Yeesh.

I won't go into detail, but I can tell you that she does, indeed, give a "...." what you think. As I stated elsewhere on the forum, I had words with her personally about the dress and almost lost a friend in the process (we ironed things out, however). Those of you who know me know how I feel about this sort of thing and so I won't repeat myself. Simply put, I am not thrilled (to say the least). From the lips of the greatest movie character ever: that's all I have to say about that.

That would pretty much all of them



It might be the same word that first violinist appears to be thinking in the photo above. The second violinist appears to be thinking "I remember when I could worn that"

I wouldn't have worn it when I was 14 either. Wearing it doesn't mean that you don't have self-respect though. Everyone has different levels of comfort. People in certain religions and/or cultures would consider what you wear to be indecent because you're showing your face and your hair. People in different times would view your bared ankles as scandalous.

...and co-author of Fleisher's memoirs.

It was the Hollywood Bowl!

What's even more unfortunate is that it seems conservative to what I've seen girls wear that aren't even in high school yet.