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Lang Lang
LANG LANG, piano, born in 1982 in Shenyang, China
Lang Lang recalls that when he was just two years old he watched a “Tom & Jerry” cartoon in which Tom plays Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody” on the piano. “From that moment on, there was only one thing I wanted: to play the piano.” His father was his first piano teacher, and his mother taught him how to read music. They made great sacrifices to provide the best for their only child (Lang Lang was born when China’s one-child-policy was in force). Among the highpoints of his amazing career his 1999 breakthrough stands out—when he made a dramatic last-minute substitution for an ailing André Watts at the Ravinia Festival in Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. Since then, he has appeared across the globe to great audience and critical acclaim. In an interview for Deutsche Grammophon, Lang Lang recalls: “When I was very little I heard Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto and was really touched by the beautiful melodies and all the exciting passages. And so, since my childhood it’s been a life dream to perform this concerto….When I was nine years old I started to practice it. And then when I was 13, I played it for the first time, in Beijing with the China Youth Orchestra.” He acknowledges that there are special challenges playing such a well-known work: “First, you must respect everything that’s written in the score. Then you need to play not only with your heart, but with your soul, because this piece has real emotional power—it’s like somebody who’s had tremendous life experiences—some are super exciting but some are deeply tragic. At the beginning of the second movement, everything is reborn, you have the most beautiful flute solo, and when the piano comes in, it’s like waterfalls—so beautiful and so pure. When I play that movement I just enjoy myself. I’m not on earth—I’m in some heavenly place.”
“Yes, there’s gold in them fingers.” The Times (London)
“This young pianist, barely into his twenties, has captured wide public attention with the brilliance and energy of his playing.” Washington Post
| Friday, December 31, 2010 8:00PM |
New Year's Eve: Alan Gilbert, Lang Lang, and Tchaikovsky |  |
Photo of Lang Lang: Philip Glaser
