Let’s listen to some piano variations performed by Lang Lang, during his 2022 World Tour!
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This year 2022 starts on a musical touch, particularly with the world-renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang who would offer sold-out recitals and concerts in major cities around the World. After being the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic and all major American orchestras, this artist would notably visit soon the French cities of Toulouse and Lille!
The Chinese virtuoso pianist Lang Lang is born on June 14th, 1982, in Shenyang, in China. This is where this artist began his piano studies at the age of 3 and joined Zhu Yafen at the Beijing Conservatory a few years later, where he entered many competitions. Encouraged by his family, he notably won the illustrious First Prize in 1987, at the Shenyang Piano Competition, and subsequently gave his first public recital. Thereafter, numerous awards followed this one, including the First Prize at the 1995 Tchaikovsky Competition dedicated for Young Musicians in Japan.
From 1997 until 2002, the young pianist perfected his technique at the Curtis Institute with Gary Grafflab and settled in the United States. This is where he still resides today and where he started his international career in 2001, at the Carnegie Hall in New York and performed Grieg’s Concerto. Therefore, Lang Lang became more and more acclaimed by critics and recorded his first popular disc for Deutsche Grammophon, in 2003 playing the first Piano Concertos of Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn.
A couple of years later, Lang Lang inaugurated a musical live career in sports events, with a performance at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Munich in 2006, accompanied by the city’s three symphony orchestras, before performing at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, in 2008, in the opening the Shanghai World Expo, in 2010 and in the 2015 World Athletics Championships, also in Beijing (photo credits: Lang Lang).
Another facet of this hyperactive artist would be his social and cultural commitment, essentially in terms of sharing classical music, with a focus on training children and young musicians through education. That’s why, he inaugurated in 2007 the Lang Lang Music Foundation which aims to help young prodigy pianists in several countries, around the World. This educational side naturally lead Lang Lang to be named Honoris Causa Doctor of Music by the Prince of Wales at the Royal College of Music, and in November 2013, he was even appointed as Messenger of Peace by the United Nations, partly honoring his collaboration with the Unicef.
At last, Lang Lang also succeeded to proceed a crossover with pop and electronic music, since the pianist performed at the 56th Grammy Awards with the American band Metallica, in 2014. Thereafter, in 2015, he collaborated with Jean-Michel Jarre on the occasion of his Electronica album (volume 1), for the song The Train & The River.
As a testimony to his global popularity, the talented Lang Lang was featured in the Times 100 list of the World’s most influential people, commending his notoriety, proved by the fact that most of his albums are among the best-selling classical music issues in the United States.
More information on his official website.
10/01/22, in Toulouse (France) / Halle Aux Grains
19/04/2022, in Amsterdam (Netherlands) / Concertgebouw
