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Pianist in crossfire over White House music

WORLD-RENOWNED Chinese pianist Lang Lang are asking people not to politicize music after a patriotic song he played at the White House state dinner for President Hu Jintao sparked heated discussion in both countries.

Lang clarified that the piece "My Motherland" was selected for no other reason than the beauty of its melody in his post on Facebook yesterday. He selected the song because it was one of his favorite and he was devoted to bridging cultures through music, his post said.

"My Motherland" was the theme song for Shangganling Campaign (The Battle of Triangle Hill), a 1956 film that depicts the brutal battle in the Korean War.
The piece struck a sensitive nerve in both Chinese and American web posters. "It's very meaningful to play this song in the US, but I'm not sure they could get it," a poster said in a comment on Sina.com, a major Chinese news portals.

A poster for the conservative US website, Humanevents.com, said: "Playing this song at a White House state dinner is the rough equivalent of an American president providing music from Rambo II during a state visit to Vietnam," ABC News reported.

Lang Lang chose the song to express his deep love for China, Changjiang Daily quoted his manager Li Ning as saying. "The song is among his favorite pieces and he plays it regularly,"Li said.

Although it was created during special period of history, it is charged with admiration for the beauty of the country," Li told the newspaper.

 

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