Lang Lang. Photo by Xun Chi
«In the minds of Chinese children who play the piano, Lang Lang is a super idol—especially when his fingers fly across the piano keyboard. As a pianist myself, I cannot simply define Lang Lang as a traditional classical-music artist; he is both a renowned pianist and, in many ways, a cultural ambassador to China, helping to bring classical music to a larger audience.»
Lang Lang is an artist with a creative mind and a willingness to explore all possibilities. He gives his art form new life through collaborations with other musicians across musical genres, such as his performances of "One" with Metallica at the 2014 Grammy Awards and "Happy" with Pharrell Williams at this year's Grammy Awards. It is performances like these which allow people to experience how piano can be used in a variety of engaging ways. In 2014, at Chunwan, the Chinese Spring Festival Gala, Lang Lang even used an orange to play Rimsky-Korsakov's famous Flight of the Bumble Bee. His performances always bring surprises and leave a deep impression on his audience. His recitals are sold out in the every corner of the world, and, without a doubt, Lang Lang has become a distinct brand for China.
Parents in China usually offer a lot of support when it comes to music education. With such an emphasis on technique, it seems that most Chinese kids who learn to play the piano share a similarly stressful childhood with Lang Lang, and, of course, not everyone can achieve the level of fame as he has. I still remember when I started to play the piano at the age of six and had to practice at least eight hours per day in order to pass my technical exams. Lang Lang, however, believes that in addition to the hard training one needs to master basic technique, pianists should still be free to explore the music. With the idea of motivating kids through a more joyful approach to playing an instrument, Lang Lang dedicates his time and talent to promoting arts education—establishing both the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and the Lang Lang Music World in Shenzhen, China.
Lang Lang. Photo by Harald Hoffman
On Thursday, May 14, Lang Lang will perform here at the Met, as the opening concert of newly opened exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass. Met Museum Presents will also live stream the concert, which will allow audiences across the world to enjoy this performance. The combination of Lang Lang's performance style and the Met's majestic Great Hall will certainly make for an exciting evening of music making here at the Museum.
To purchase tickets to Lang Lang at the Met, or any other Met Museum Presents event, visit www.metmuseum.org/tickets; call 212-570-3949; or stop by the Great Hall Box Office, open Monday–Saturday, 11:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.