LANG LANG

The star pianist

March 2021

Now 38 years of age, Chinese musician Lang Lang first started playing the piano at the tender age of three. Lang Lang explains: “I started lessons when I was three and a half. In the beginning I just played a little but, when I was five, I played my first recital, and from that point my parents had high hopes for me, especially my father.”  

He won the Shenyang Competition and gave his first public recital before the age of five and entered Beijing’s Central Music Conservatory aged nine. But, having difficulties with his lessons, was expelled from his piano tutor’s studio for “lack of talent”. In 1997, at 15 years of age, Lang and his father left for the United States, where Lang began studies with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music.  He was just 17 when his career took off and he became an overnight sensation after playing Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto at the “Gala of the Century” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. 

Lang Lang has played at the White House and at the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. The “Lang Lang effect” is credited with inspiring China’s 40 million classical piano students.  his achievements include a nomination for a 2007 Grammy Award and in 2009, he was listed in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. His name, Lang Lang, has even become a trademark.  

The discography of classical pianist Lang Lang includes nine studio albums, four live albums, one single, one compilation, two soundtracks, and three contributions to releases not under his name. His first album was released in 2000 under Telarc International Corporation. In 2003, he signed a contract with Deutsche Grammophon and released several albums with them. In February 2010, Lang Lang signed with Sony Classic.  

Lang Lang has recorded two soundtracks, including the score by Alexandre Desplat for the 2007 movie The Painted Veil. He has contributed to several albums of other musicians, including Andrea Bocelli’s greatest hits album, The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere. For the piece “Time for Dreams,” on his 2008 album Dreams of China, Lang Lang collaborated with German electronica musician Christopher von Deylen. He has achieved considerable commercial and critical success. His albums have ranked on Billboard charts, including the Top Classical Albums chart. 

In an unfortunate turn of events, the star was diagnosed with tendonitis in 2017 and his arm injury became so severe that it could have cost him his career. Many pianists suffer with the condition as a result of their extensive playing – but luckily, Lang Lang made a speedy recovery. 

Lang Lang married fellow pianist Gina Alice Redlinger in June 2019, and recently the acclaimed Chinese pianist revealed on Twitter that he is to be a father for the first time. “We could not be happier and cannot wait to welcome our new family member to the world.” said the artist. 

All the details about Lang Lang’s story and further concert dates can be found in his website: langlangofficial.com