Lang Lang (pianist)
Encyclopedia
Lang Lang born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang
, Liaoning
, China
, is a Chinese concert pianist
, currently residing in New York
, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances, television appearances, albums and soundtracks. Lang has done much to encourage children and young musicians to take an interest in classical music, especially through the international foundation he launched in New York in 2008.
. At the age of two, Lang watched the Tom and Jerry
episode The Cat Concerto
which features the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
by Franz Liszt
. According to Lang, this first contact with Western music is what motivated him to learn piano. He began lessons with Professor Zhu Ya-Fen at age three. At the age of five, he won first place at the Shenyang Piano Competition and performed his first public recital.
When Lang was nine years old, he was near his audition for Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music
, and, having difficulties with his lessons, was expelled from his piano tutor's studio for lack of talent. The music teacher at his state school noticed Lang's sadness, and decided to comfort him by playing a record of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 10 in C Major, K. 330
; she asked him to play along with the second movement. This reminded Lang of his love of the instrument. "Playing the K. 330 brought me hope again," he recalled.
Lang was later admitted into the conservatory where he studied under Professor Zhao Ping-Guo. In 1993, he won the Xing Hai Cup Piano Competition in Beijing and, in 1994, was awarded first prize for outstanding artistic performance at the fourth International Competition for Young Pianists in Ettlingen
, Germany. In 1995, at 13 years of age, he played the Op. 10 and Op. 25
étude
s by Chopin
at the Beijing Concert Hall
and, the same year, won first place at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians
in Japan, playing Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2
with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
in a concert broadcast by NHK Television
. When 14, he was a featured soloist at the China National Symphony
's inaugural concert, which was broadcast by China Central Television
and attended by President Jiang Zemin
. The following year he began studies with Gary Graffman
and Dick Doran
at the Curtis Institute of Music
in Philadelphia.
music critic called him "the biggest, most exciting young keyboard talent I have encountered in many a year of attending piano recitals". Lang has garnered praise from musicians and critics around the world – the conductor Jahja Ling
remarked, "Lang Lang is special because of his total mastery of the piano... He has the flair and great communicative power." National Public Radio's Morning Edition
remarked that "Lang Lang has conquered the classical world with dazzling technique and charisma." It is often noted that Lang successfully straddles two worlds – classical prodigy and rock-like "superstar", a phenomenon summed up by The Times
journalist Emma Pomfret, who wrote, "I can think of no other classical artist who has achieved Lang Lang's broad appeal without dumbing down."
Lang's performances have also been criticized. His performance style has been referred to as having "soggy rhythms and heavy phrasing," and as being "truly boring", "just bad" and "unendurable". Critics who feel that his playing is vulgar and lacks sensitivity have given him the nickname "Bang Bang". Pianist Earl Wild
called him "the J. Lo
of the piano." Others have described him as immature, though praised his ability to "conquer crowds with youthful bravado". Conversely, the same style has led his performance to be described as one of "blazing speed and thunderous power" with "daredevil tendencies" and "extremes of dynamics and rhythm." However, his growth in recent years has also been noted in The New Yorker
which reported: "The ebullient Lang Lang is maturing as an artist." In April 2009, when Time Magazine
included Lang Lang in its list of the 100 most influential people, fellow musician Herbie Hancock
described his playing as "so sensitive and so deeply human", commenting: "You hear him play, and he never ceases to touch your heart." Christopher McDougall
of Esquire
argues "[Lang's] interpretations aren't just expressions of feeling but the feelings themselves." Stephen Brookes of The Washington Post
states Lang's "kinetic display" has also been "fun to watch", because "underneath the gymnastics, there's clearly some serious musical thinking going on."
In 2001, after a sold-out Carnegie Hall
debut with Yuri Temirkanov
, he travelled to Beijing with the Philadelphia Orchestra
on a tour celebrating its 100th anniversary, during which he performed to an audience of 8,000 at the Great Hall of the People
. The same year, he made an acclaimed BBC Proms debut, prompting a music critic of the British newspaper The Times
to write, "Lang Lang took a sold-out Royal Albert Hall
by storm... This could well be history in the making". In 2003, he returned to the BBC Proms for the First Night concert with Leonard Slatkin
. After his recital debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berliner Zeitung
wrote: "Lang Lang is a superb musical performer whose artistic touch is always in service of the music".
Lang is a featured soloist on the Golden Globe
winning score of The Painted Veil
and can be heard on the soundtrack of The Banquet. He has recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon
and Telarc labels.. His album of the first
and fourth
Beethoven piano concertos with the Orchestre de Paris
and Christoph Eschenbach
debuted at #1 on the Classical Billboard Chart. In 2008, he was the pianist on Mike Oldfield
's 2008 album Music of the Spheres
. In 2010, he signed with Sony
for a reported $3 million.
In December 2008, Lang partnered with Google
and YouTube
in the project YouTube Symphony Orchestra
. It turned out to be a huge success as it attracted the new generation to classical music.
Lang has also recorded piano works for the video game Gran Turismo 5
s soundtrack, mostly under the "Classical" subgenre. This included versions of Danny Boy
, Beethoven's 8th Piano Sonata
, and one of the game's intro pieces, the third movement from Prokofiev's 7th Piano Sonata
.
Finally, he has performed for numerous international dignitaries including the former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan
, President Barack Obama
, Queen Elizabeth II
, President Hu Jintao
of China, President Horst Köhler
of Germany, Prince Charles
, as well as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
and Polish President Lech Kaczynski
.
on January 19, 2011, Lang played the theme song to the Korean War
movie Battle on Shangganling Mountain
called "My Motherland
". Although the tune is popular and has lost much of its political and historical significance in China, one of the lyric lines "we deal with wolves with guns" has been described as a direct reference to the United States. The event was interpreted by some Chinese dissidents, Chinese nationalists, bloggers, and conservative US media as a direct attempt to humiliate the United States.
In response to the controversy Lang denied that he had intended to insult the United States. He later released a statement stating that he "selected this song because it has been a favorite of mine since I was a child. It was selected for no other reason but for the beauty of its melody." White House spokesperson Tommy Vietor also responded by saying My Motherland is "widely known and popular in China for its melody. Lang Lang played the song without lyrics or reference to any political theme... Any suggestion that this was an insult to the United States is just flat wrong."
, Hollywood Bowl
in Los Angeles, suburban Chicago's Ravinia Festival, Theaterplatz in Dresden
and Hamburg
's Derby Park.
In July 2007, Lang was featured at the second concert from the Teatro del Silenzio, Lajatico, Italy, hosted by Andrea Bocelli
. During this concert he performed "Io ci sarò" with Bocelli, and Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody". The performance is available on the DVD entitled Vivere Live in Tuscany
.
In December 2007, Lang was guest soloist at the Nobel Prize
concert in Stockholm
, an event attended by the Nobel Laureates and members of the Royal Family. Collaborating with Maestro Seiji Ozawa
, he appeared at the New Year's Eve gala opening for the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. He also participated in the opening concert at Munich's Olympic Stadium with Mariss Jansons
, marking the commencement of the World Cup, and in a celebratory concert for the closing of '08 Euro Cup finals Lang Lang played with the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta
in front of Schönbrunn Palace
.
In 2008, over 5 billion people viewed Lang Lang's performance in Beijing's opening ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics
where he was promoted as a symbol of the youth and future of China. During these games, he was also featured as a cultural correspondent on the German TV station ZDF
and made several special appearances on NBC's The Today Show Summer Olympics broadcasts. In the opening ceremony
he performed a melody from the Yellow River Cantata
with seven-year-old Li Muzi. Lang also collaborated with German Electro-pop artist Schiller (band)
to record "Time for Dreams" which was used to promote some of television coverage of the 2008 Olympics broadcast in Germany.
In February 2008, Lang and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock
performed together at the 2008 Grammy Awards, playing George Gershwin
's Rhapsody in Blue
. The two were again brought in by United Airlines
for the reintroduction of their "It's Time to Fly" advertising campaign with a series of new animated commercials aired during the 2008 Summer Olympics
. In April 2008, he premiered Tan Dun
's First Piano Concerto
, subtitled "The Fire". Hancock and Lang continued to collaborate with a world tour in summer 2009. Lang played at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
ceremony for US President Barack Obama
and at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo the next day.
Lang has made numerous TV appearances on shows such as The Today Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
, Good Morning America
, CBS Early Show and 60 Minutes
. He Lang has been featured on various news and lifestyle magazines, including diverse publications such as The New Yorker
, Esquire
, Vogue
(Germany), The Times
(London), Financial Times
, GQ, Die Welt
, Reader's Digest
and People
. Lang holds the title of the first Ambassador of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra
.
In 2009, he performed at Carnegie Hall
accompanied by Marc Yu
, an eleven-year-old pianist and musical child prodigy from Pasadena, California, who made his Carnegie Hall debut at the event.
Lang Lang was featured in the award-winning German-Austrian documentary Pianomania
, which was directed by Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis. The film premiered theatrically in North America, Asia and throughout Europe, and is a part of the Goethe Institute catalogue.
In 2010, he was featured at the Carnegie Hall's China Festival and performed with the New York Philharmonic on New Year's Eve at Avery Fisher Hall.
In 2011, Lang opened the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
performing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
. He played Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto
and Chopin’s Grande Polonaise Brillante.
in eight languages, was released in the summer of 2008. Delacorte Press also released a version of his autobiography specifically for younger readers, entitled Playing with Flying Keys.
. In 2008, the Recording Academy named him their Cultural Ambassador to China. More recently, Lang Lang has been chosen as an official worldwide ambassador to the 2010 Shanghai Expo
. Lang Lang was recognized for his efforts by the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) who appointed him an International Goodwill Ambassador in 2004. The Chinese government also recognized his achievement by selecting him as a vice-presidents of the All-China Youth Federation
where, in connection with the EU-China Year of Youth, his message was "Let us build a rainbow of goodwill with music!".
Lang has stated his mission is to share classical music around the world, with an emphasis on training children and young musicians through education. The Financial Times noted that he is "evangelical in his efforts to spread the popularity of classical music." In October 2008, he launched the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in New York with the support of the Grammys and UNICEF. The foundation was created to enrich the lives of children through a deeper understanding and enjoyment of classical music and to inspire and financially support the next generation of musicians. In May 2009, Lang Lang and his three chosen scholars from the foundation – Charlie Liu, Anna Larsen, and Derek Wang, aged between 8 and 10 years old – performed together on The Oprah Winfrey Show
in connection with her search for the world's "smartest and most talented kids."
In June 2011, Lang Lang became a global ambassador for Telefónica. Lang will be participating in activities with the company in fields such as culture, technology, education and social commitment.
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, is a Chinese concert pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, currently residing in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances, television appearances, albums and soundtracks. Lang has done much to encourage children and young musicians to take an interest in classical music, especially through the international foundation he launched in New York in 2008.
Early life
Lang Lang, which means brilliance of the sky, was born in Shenyang, China, and is of Manchu ethnicity. His father Lang Guoren (郎国任) is also a famous musician who specializes in the Chinese instrument erhuErhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
. At the age of two, Lang watched the Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
episode The Cat Concerto
The Cat Concerto
The Cat Concerto is a 1946 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 29th Tom and Jerry short, produced in Technicolor in 1946 and released to theatres on April 26, 1947 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical...
which features the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S.244/2, is the second in a set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by composer Franz Liszt, and is by far the most famous of the set. Few other piano solos have achieved such widespread popularity, offering the pianist the opportunity to reveal exceptional skill as a virtuoso,...
by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
. According to Lang, this first contact with Western music is what motivated him to learn piano. He began lessons with Professor Zhu Ya-Fen at age three. At the age of five, he won first place at the Shenyang Piano Competition and performed his first public recital.
When Lang was nine years old, he was near his audition for Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music
Central Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...
, and, having difficulties with his lessons, was expelled from his piano tutor's studio for lack of talent. The music teacher at his state school noticed Lang's sadness, and decided to comfort him by playing a record of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 10 in C Major, K. 330
Piano Sonata No. 10 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K 330 is among one of the three works in the cycle of piano sonatas K.330-332. The sonata was composed in 1783, when Mozart was twenty-seven years old...
; she asked him to play along with the second movement. This reminded Lang of his love of the instrument. "Playing the K. 330 brought me hope again," he recalled.
Lang was later admitted into the conservatory where he studied under Professor Zhao Ping-Guo. In 1993, he won the Xing Hai Cup Piano Competition in Beijing and, in 1994, was awarded first prize for outstanding artistic performance at the fourth International Competition for Young Pianists in Ettlingen
Ettlingen
Ettlingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe. Ettlingen is the second largest town in the district of Karlsruhe, after Bruchsal.-Geography:...
, Germany. In 1995, at 13 years of age, he played the Op. 10 and Op. 25
Études (Chopin)
The Études by Frédéric Chopin are three sets of solo studies for the piano, There are twenty-seven overall, comprising two separate collections of twelve, numbered Opus 10 and 25, and a set of three without opus number.-Composition:...
étude
Étude
An étude , is an instrumental musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty, usually designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular technical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano...
s by Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
at the Beijing Concert Hall
Beijing Concert Hall
The Beijing Concert Hall is located on the Beixinhuajie in Xicheng District, near the west Chang'an Avenue, on the south of Liubukou....
and, the same year, won first place at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians
International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians
The International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians is the junior section of the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition. The competition is open to musicians under the age 17 in the area of piano, violin, and cello...
in Japan, playing Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Chopin)
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, is a piano concerto composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1830. Chopin wrote the piece before he had finished his formal education, at around 20 years of age. It was first performed on 17 March 1830, in Warsaw, Poland, with the composer as soloist. It was...
with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1951 by Samuil Samosud, as the Moscow Youth Orchestra for young and inexperienced musicians, acquiring its current name in 1953...
in a concert broadcast by NHK Television
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
. When 14, he was a featured soloist at the China National Symphony
China National Symphony Orchestra
The China National Symphony Orchestra is China's national orchestra....
's inaugural concert, which was broadcast by China Central Television
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
and attended by President Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
. The following year he began studies with Gary Graffman
Gary Graffman
Gary Graffman is an American classical pianist, teacher of piano and music administrator.Graffman was born in New York City to Russian-Jewish parents. Having started piano at age 3, Graffman entered the Curtis Institute of Music at age 7 in 1936 as a piano student of Isabelle Vengerova...
and Dick Doran
Dick Doran
Dick Doran served as a legislative assistant to Philadelphia Congressman William J. Green, as executive director of the Philadelphia Democratic County Executive Committee, as Chief of Staff to Governor Milton J...
at the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
in Philadelphia.
Performing and recording career
Lang has given sold out recitals and concerts in many major cities and is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and the top American orchestras. A Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
music critic called him "the biggest, most exciting young keyboard talent I have encountered in many a year of attending piano recitals". Lang has garnered praise from musicians and critics around the world – the conductor Jahja Ling
Jahja Ling
Jahja Ling is an orchestra conductor. He is of Chinese descent and is now an American citizen. He began to play the piano at age 4 and studied at the Yayasan Pendidikan Musik School of Music. At age 17, he won the Jakarta Piano Competition and, one year later, was awarded a Rockefeller grant to...
remarked, "Lang Lang is special because of his total mastery of the piano... He has the flair and great communicative power." National Public Radio's Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
remarked that "Lang Lang has conquered the classical world with dazzling technique and charisma." It is often noted that Lang successfully straddles two worlds – classical prodigy and rock-like "superstar", a phenomenon summed up by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
journalist Emma Pomfret, who wrote, "I can think of no other classical artist who has achieved Lang Lang's broad appeal without dumbing down."
Lang's performances have also been criticized. His performance style has been referred to as having "soggy rhythms and heavy phrasing," and as being "truly boring", "just bad" and "unendurable". Critics who feel that his playing is vulgar and lacks sensitivity have given him the nickname "Bang Bang". Pianist Earl Wild
Earl Wild
Royland Earl Wild was an American pianist widely recognized as a leading virtuoso of his generation. Harold C. Schonberg called him a "super-virtuoso in the Horowitz class". He was known as well for his transcriptions of classical music and jazz...
called him "the J. Lo
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
of the piano." Others have described him as immature, though praised his ability to "conquer crowds with youthful bravado". Conversely, the same style has led his performance to be described as one of "blazing speed and thunderous power" with "daredevil tendencies" and "extremes of dynamics and rhythm." However, his growth in recent years has also been noted in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
which reported: "The ebullient Lang Lang is maturing as an artist." In April 2009, when Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
included Lang Lang in its list of the 100 most influential people, fellow musician Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
described his playing as "so sensitive and so deeply human", commenting: "You hear him play, and he never ceases to touch your heart." Christopher McDougall
Christopher McDougall
Christopher McDougall is an American author and journalist best known for his 2009 best-selling book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen....
of Esquire
Esquire
Esquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...
argues "[Lang's] interpretations aren't just expressions of feeling but the feelings themselves." Stephen Brookes of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
states Lang's "kinetic display" has also been "fun to watch", because "underneath the gymnastics, there's clearly some serious musical thinking going on."
In 2001, after a sold-out Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut with Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov is a Russian conductor of Circassian origin.Yuri Temirkanov has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic since 1988.-Early life:...
, he travelled to Beijing with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
on a tour celebrating its 100th anniversary, during which he performed to an audience of 8,000 at the Great Hall of the People
Great Hall of the People
The Great Hall of the People is located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square, Beijing, People's Republic of China, and is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the People's Republic of China and the Communist Party of China. It functions as the People's Republic of China's...
. The same year, he made an acclaimed BBC Proms debut, prompting a music critic of the British newspaper The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to write, "Lang Lang took a sold-out Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
by storm... This could well be history in the making". In 2003, he returned to the BBC Proms for the First Night concert with Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,...
. After his recital debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berliner Zeitung
Berliner Zeitung
The Berliner Zeitung, founded in 1945, is a German center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, published by Berliner Verlag. It is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since unification. In 2003, the Berliner was Berlin's largest subscription newspaper—the weekend...
wrote: "Lang Lang is a superb musical performer whose artistic touch is always in service of the music".
Lang is a featured soloist on the Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
winning score of The Painted Veil
The Painted Veil (2006 film)
The Painted Veil is a 2006 Chinese-American drama film directed by John Curran. The screenplay by Ron Nyswaner is based on the 1925 novel of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham...
and can be heard on the soundtrack of The Banquet. He has recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
and Telarc labels.. His album of the first
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15, was written during 1796 and 1797. The first performance was in Prague in 1798, with Beethoven himself playing the piano, dedicated to his student Babette Countess Keglevics....
and fourth
Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.-Musical forces and movements:...
Beethoven piano concertos with the Orchestre de Paris
Orchestre de Paris
The Orchestre de Paris is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs most of its concerts at the Salle Pleyel.-History:In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, conductor Charles Munch was called on by the Minister of Culture,...
and Christoph Eschenbach
Christoph Eschenbach
Christoph Eschenbach , born February 20, 1940, Breslau, Germany is a German-born pianist and conductor. He currently holds positions in Washington, D.C. as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.-Early...
debuted at #1 on the Classical Billboard Chart. In 2008, he was the pianist on Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's 2008 album Music of the Spheres
Music of the Spheres (Mike Oldfield album)
Music of the Spheres is an album by English musician Mike Oldfield, released in the United Kingdom on 17 March 2008. New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra is the featured vocalist on "On My Heart", and the album also features Chinese pianist Lang Lang on six tracks.The album, Oldfield's second album...
. In 2010, he signed with Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
for a reported $3 million.
In December 2008, Lang partnered with Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
in the project YouTube Symphony Orchestra
YouTube Symphony Orchestra
The YouTube Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra assembled by open auditions hosted by YouTube, the London Symphony Orchestra and several other worldwide partners. Launched on December 1, 2008, it is the first-ever online collaborative orchestra.-2009:...
. It turned out to be a huge success as it attracted the new generation to classical music.
Lang has also recorded piano works for the video game Gran Turismo 5
Gran Turismo 5
is the fifth edition of the Gran Turismo racing video game series. Developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, it was released for PlayStation 3 on November 24, 2010...
s soundtrack, mostly under the "Classical" subgenre. This included versions of Danny Boy
Danny Boy
-Background:The words to "Danny Boy" were written by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly modified them to fit the "Londonderry Air" in 1913, after his sister-in-law in the U.S. sent him a copy. Ernestine...
, Beethoven's 8th Piano Sonata
Piano Sonata No. 8 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, commonly known as Sonata Pathétique, was written in 1798 when the composer was 27 years old, and was published in 1799. Beethoven dedicated the work to his friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky...
, and one of the game's intro pieces, the third movement from Prokofiev's 7th Piano Sonata
Piano Sonata No. 7 (Prokofiev)
Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 7 in B flat major, Op. 83 , the second of his three so-called War Sonatas, was composed between 1939-1942 and premiered January 18, 1943 in Moscow by Sviatoslav Richter....
.
Finally, he has performed for numerous international dignitaries including the former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, President Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
of China, President Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU and the CSU, and the liberal FDP, Köhler was elected to his first five-year term by the Federal Assembly on...
of Germany, Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, as well as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
and Polish President Lech Kaczynski
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
.
White House state dinner controversy
At the White House state dinner in honor of P.R. China President Hu JintaoHu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
on January 19, 2011, Lang played the theme song to the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
movie Battle on Shangganling Mountain
Battle on Shangganling Mountain
Battle on Shangganling Mountain is a 1956 Chinese war film. It is also known as Shangganling Battle.The film depicts the Battle of Triangle Hill during the Korean War which American soldiers recall the battle as especially hard fought...
called "My Motherland
My Motherland
"My Motherland" is a song written for the Chinese movie Battle on Shangganling Mountain . Lyrics were written by Qiao Yu . Music was composed by Liu Chi . Both of them are well-known for a number of songs since 1950s...
". Although the tune is popular and has lost much of its political and historical significance in China, one of the lyric lines "we deal with wolves with guns" has been described as a direct reference to the United States. The event was interpreted by some Chinese dissidents, Chinese nationalists, bloggers, and conservative US media as a direct attempt to humiliate the United States.
In response to the controversy Lang denied that he had intended to insult the United States. He later released a statement stating that he "selected this song because it has been a favorite of mine since I was a child. It was selected for no other reason but for the beauty of its melody." White House spokesperson Tommy Vietor also responded by saying My Motherland is "widely known and popular in China for its melody. Lang Lang played the song without lyrics or reference to any political theme... Any suggestion that this was an insult to the United States is just flat wrong."
Select appearances
To date, tens of thousands of people have seen Lang's performances in parks and open-air venues, including New York City's Central ParkCentral Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
in Los Angeles, suburban Chicago's Ravinia Festival, Theaterplatz in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
's Derby Park.
In July 2007, Lang was featured at the second concert from the Teatro del Silenzio, Lajatico, Italy, hosted by Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
. During this concert he performed "Io ci sarò" with Bocelli, and Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody". The performance is available on the DVD entitled Vivere Live in Tuscany
Vivere Live in Tuscany
Vivere Live in Tuscany is a CD/DVD package of a pop concert by classical Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The concert was performed at Bocelli's Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico, Tuscany, July 2007. In this DVD he performs duets with Sarah Brightman, Elisa, Laura Pausini and Heather Headley, and...
.
In December 2007, Lang was guest soloist at the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
concert in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, an event attended by the Nobel Laureates and members of the Royal Family. Collaborating with Maestro Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
, he appeared at the New Year's Eve gala opening for the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. He also participated in the opening concert at Munich's Olympic Stadium with Mariss Jansons
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons is a Latvian conductor, the son of conductor Arvīds Jansons. His mother, the singer Iraida Jansons, who was Jewish, gave birth to him in hiding in Riga, Latvia, after her father and brother were killed in the Riga Ghetto...
, marking the commencement of the World Cup, and in a celebratory concert for the closing of '08 Euro Cup finals Lang Lang played with the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
in front of Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna...
.
In 2008, over 5 billion people viewed Lang Lang's performance in Beijing's opening ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
where he was promoted as a symbol of the youth and future of China. During these games, he was also featured as a cultural correspondent on the German TV station ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
and made several special appearances on NBC's The Today Show Summer Olympics broadcasts. In the opening ceremony
2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture...
he performed a melody from the Yellow River Cantata
Yellow River Cantata
The Yellow River Cantata is a cantata by Chinese composer Xian Xinghai . Composed in Yan'an in early 1939 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the work was inspired by a patriotic poem by Guang Weiran, which was also adapted as the lyrics...
with seven-year-old Li Muzi. Lang also collaborated with German Electro-pop artist Schiller (band)
Schiller (band)
Schiller is the main project of Christopher von Deylen , a German musician, composer and producer. He won the ECHO award in 2002 for the Best Dance Single of the Year.. Schiller has sold over 7 million albums worldwide.Christopher Von Deylen does not provide vocals for any of his compositions...
to record "Time for Dreams" which was used to promote some of television coverage of the 2008 Olympics broadcast in Germany.
In February 2008, Lang and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
performed together at the 2008 Grammy Awards, playing George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
. The two were again brought in by United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
for the reintroduction of their "It's Time to Fly" advertising campaign with a series of new animated commercials aired during the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. In April 2008, he premiered Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
's First Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto (Tan Dun)
Piano Concerto "The Fire" is the first piano concerto by Chinese composer Tan Dun. It was commissioned by Lorin Maazel, New York Philharmonic's music director. Its premiere was given in 9 April, 2008, by Chinese pianist Lang Lang and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin...
, subtitled "The Fire". Hancock and Lang continued to collaborate with a world tour in summer 2009. Lang played at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
2009 Nobel Peace Prize
The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to U.S. President Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people." The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009, citing Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and...
ceremony for US President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo the next day.
Lang has made numerous TV appearances on shows such as The Today Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
, Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, CBS Early Show and 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
. He Lang has been featured on various news and lifestyle magazines, including diverse publications such as The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
(Germany), The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
(London), Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, GQ, Die Welt
Die Welt
Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...
, Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
and People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
. Lang holds the title of the first Ambassador of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra
YouTube Symphony Orchestra
The YouTube Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra assembled by open auditions hosted by YouTube, the London Symphony Orchestra and several other worldwide partners. Launched on December 1, 2008, it is the first-ever online collaborative orchestra.-2009:...
.
In 2009, he performed at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
accompanied by Marc Yu
Marc Yu
Marc Yu is a musical child prodigy, playing the piano and the cello.-Biography:Marc has been playing the piano since the age of two and a half, and the cello since the age of six. He also exhibits prodigiousness in academic subjects, having advanced to high school-level math by the age of seven...
, an eleven-year-old pianist and musical child prodigy from Pasadena, California, who made his Carnegie Hall debut at the event.
Lang Lang was featured in the award-winning German-Austrian documentary Pianomania
Pianomania
Pianomania is a 2009 German-Austrian documentary film by directors Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis. The film presents Stefan Knüpfer, a virtuoso piano tuner, in his work with pianists such as Lang Lang, Alfred Brendel and Pierre-Laurent Aimard....
, which was directed by Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis. The film premiered theatrically in North America, Asia and throughout Europe, and is a part of the Goethe Institute catalogue.
In 2010, he was featured at the Carnegie Hall's China Festival and performed with the New York Philharmonic on New Year's Eve at Avery Fisher Hall.
In 2011, Lang opened the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
performing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
. He played Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Liszt)
Franz Liszt composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124 over a 26-year period; the main themes date from 1830, while the final version dates 1849. The concerto consists of four movements, which are performed without breaks in between, and lasts approximately 20 minutes...
and Chopin’s Grande Polonaise Brillante.
Books
Lang Lang's biography, Journey of a Thousand Miles, published by Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in eight languages, was released in the summer of 2008. Delacorte Press also released a version of his autobiography specifically for younger readers, entitled Playing with Flying Keys.
Awards and outreach
Lang has received numerous awards and has been seen by millions of television viewers throughout the world. He appeared in Time magazine's 2009 list of the 100 Most Influential People in the WorldTime 100
Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. First published in 1999 as a result of a debate among several academics, the list has become an annual event.-History and format:...
. In 2008, the Recording Academy named him their Cultural Ambassador to China. More recently, Lang Lang has been chosen as an official worldwide ambassador to the 2010 Shanghai Expo
Expo 2010
Expo 2010, officially Expo 2010 Shanghai China was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in the city of Shanghai, China, from May 1 to October 31, 2010. It was a major World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions, the first since 1992...
. Lang Lang was recognized for his efforts by the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) who appointed him an International Goodwill Ambassador in 2004. The Chinese government also recognized his achievement by selecting him as a vice-presidents of the All-China Youth Federation
All-China Youth Federation
The All-China Youth Federation is an organization founded in 1949 that represents many youth groups in China, including the Communist Youth League of China...
where, in connection with the EU-China Year of Youth, his message was "Let us build a rainbow of goodwill with music!".
Lang has stated his mission is to share classical music around the world, with an emphasis on training children and young musicians through education. The Financial Times noted that he is "evangelical in his efforts to spread the popularity of classical music." In October 2008, he launched the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in New York with the support of the Grammys and UNICEF. The foundation was created to enrich the lives of children through a deeper understanding and enjoyment of classical music and to inspire and financially support the next generation of musicians. In May 2009, Lang Lang and his three chosen scholars from the foundation – Charlie Liu, Anna Larsen, and Derek Wang, aged between 8 and 10 years old – performed together on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
in connection with her search for the world's "smartest and most talented kids."
In June 2011, Lang Lang became a global ambassador for Telefónica. Lang will be participating in activities with the company in fields such as culture, technology, education and social commitment.
Further reading
- Lang, Lang: "Journey of a thousand miles : my story", Lang Lang with David Ritz, New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2009, 239 p. ISBN 9780385524568
- Lang, Lang: "Lang Lang: playing with flying keys", Lang Lang with Michael French, introduction by Daniel Barenboim,New York: Delacorte Press, 2008, 215 p. ISBN 9780385735780
- Wu, Grace: "Lang Lang", Cheng & Tsui Co, 2010, 93 p. ISBN 0887277586