There isn’t a lot that hasn’t been said about Lang Lang. His path from young prodigy to global phenomenon has been well documented and amply reviewed, yet the usual debate of style versus substance still floats around his concert performances. To get that one out of the way, Lang Lang has both, and in spades. Yes, the style is sometimes flash – seriously, I’d love the address of his tailor – and he knows how to acknowledge a crowd with just the right degree of a superstar wave. But sit him in front of a piano and he’s instantly an artist in communion, bringing imagination and a dazzling technique to bear on whatever he chooses to play.

For his Sydney recital he was perhaps unadventurous, essentially reproducing his latest recording (Lang Lang in Paris, on Sony CD and DVD) with the Bach Italian Concerto thrown in, but familiarity with the disc hadn’t prepared me for the sheer brilliance of his playing, especially in the four Chopin Scherzi, and his ability to bring music to life, as in his revelatory performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons.

Visually he’s a fascinating player to watch and the perfect advocate for why you need to hear classical music live. Yes,...