Lang Lang

The Chinese pianist Lang Lang was born in Shenyang in 1982 and received his first piano lessons when he was three. He began his professional training at the age of nine at the Beijing Conservatory, continuing it at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with Gary Graffman starting in 1997. His international breakthrough came in 1999, when he stepped in at short notice with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. Ever since then he has appeared with the world’s major orchestras, including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras as well as the leading American orchestras, and he maintains an intensive collaboration with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, and Sir Simon Rattle. Lang Lang has also gained fame among audiences beyond the realm of classical music. All of his CDs have made their way to the pop charts. He performed at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and was a star guest at the Last Night of the BBC Proms, which was broadcast around the world. On the other end of the spectrum, he can also be found playing for school audiences of just a few hundred children. He is strongly dedicated to encouraging the younger generation, especially through the Lang Lang Foundation, which he founded in 2008 to support top talents and to inspire enthusiasm for classical music among young audiences. Lang Lang also regularly appears with artists from other genres, such as the jazz legend Herbie Han-cock, the band Metallica, and the singer and rapper Pharell Williams. Lang Lang has performed for such illustrious personalities as Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, and Pope Francis. The pianist, who was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2013, is involved in a wide range of social activities. He holds several honorary doctorates, has been awarded the highest prize of the People’s Republic of China, and has been inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Lucerne Festival debut on 22 November 2006 in a recital featuring works by Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt.

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July 2022