You almost expect a punchline -- like, 'well, someone had to.' Ba dum bum. (As a Torontonian I thought I'd better beat anyone else to the punch.) But it is true that the fabulous pianist is doing his first North American "residency," in Canada this week, and the city happens to be Toronto.

What this means is Lang Lang will perform concerts with the TSO, do book signings, and a solo recital which will be recorded by CBC Radio 2 on Friday, and broadcast on Tempo (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) on Oct 6, and then again on Nov 9th on Sunday Afternoon In Concert (Sunday 1:00 p.m., 1:30 NT).

And this brings me to a note about how you can keep track of such things -- CBC R2 now has an online Concert Calendar, which makes it possible to see both what R2 is recording, and broadcasting, concert-wise.

But back to Lang Lang. On Sunday he spoke at a public forum at the Royal Ontario Museum, and according to the Toronto Star report gave several reasons he chose Toronto -- TSO music director, Peter Oundjian, 'a great maestro and friend,' Roy Thomson Hall, and the Chinese community among them. Lang Lang is quoted as saying "this city has lots to offer and is open to many different world cultures. You need an international city to do this kind of residency."

And he should know. Only 26, Lang Lang travels the world to perform (when he's not writing books or endorsing running shoes.

And for those not in Toronto, here's a brief look at the irrepressible Lang Lang, having a little fun both at the piano and not - - titled "Lang Lang Gone Mad," although I think that's a bit unfair -- more like Lang Lang fooling around for the camera, and having a massively good time doing it.

And wow, those hands at the end -- flying!