Lang Lang

The Chinese pianist Lang Lang was born in Shenyang in 1982 and started taking piano lessons at the age of three. He began his professional training at the Beijing Conservatory when he was nine and, starting in 1997, continued his studies at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with Gary Graffman. His international breakthrough came in 1999, when Lang Lang appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. Since then, he has performed with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics and the major American orchestras, working closely with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, and Sir Simon Rattle. Lang Lang is also known to audiences beyond the classical music community, and his recordings have made their way into the pop charts. His most recent release, which appeared in 2024, is with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Andris Nelsons and includes works by Saint-Saëns. Lang Lang performed at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has been the star guest at the globally broadcast Last Night of the BBC Proms. He has also appeared in settings with just a few hundred school children in the audience. He is committed to supporting young talent, particularly through the Lang Lang Foundation, which was established in 2008. Regular collaborations with artists from other genres, such as jazz legend Herbie Hancock, the rock band Metallica, and Céline Dion and Lady Gaga, are also part of his practice. Lang Lang has performed for such illustrious figures as Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, and Pope Francis and played at the Coronation Concert for King Charles III in 2023. Appointed UN Messenger of Peace in 2013, he is moreover involved in a variety of social causes. Lang Lang, who holds several honorary doctorates, was 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 composers from Mozart to Rachmaninoff.

March 2025