The Lang Way to Success: “Follow Your Heart and Dream”

By Andy Liu

Lang Lang is no stranger to Washington’s critical concert goers. And when this world-class pianist returned to the Kennedy Center last month and joined the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, the applause prompted three curtain calls and an encore performance. It was a mesmerizing experience for many that night, with notable fans, including Vice President Joe Biden, crowding backstage afterward to congratulate Lang.

“I am really inspired by [Washington, D.C.]. The audiences [here] have a very good understanding of classical music. We have very good [two-way] communication,” said the 30-year-old Chinese pianist. His two-week residency in November included a series of recitals and sold-out concerts with Christoph Eschenbach, music director of the NSO and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Praised as the “hottest artist on the classical music planet” by The New York Times, Lang Lang’s sometimes unconventional performing style makes him a figure of controversy for some. But he has wowed audiences in major cities worldwide for over a decade with his uniquely natural and powerful performances with the world’s top orchestras. I found him very friendly, with the smile of a boy next door, when offstage. When I asked him about his most unforgettable performance, Lang recalled Beijing, China where he performed for over five billion viewers in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Lang said another milestone for his career was an unanticipated debut at the renowned Ravinia Festival near Chicago in 1999. Then just 17 years old, Lang was called upon at the last minute to substitute for under-the-weather André Watts. He played Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). It was a striking success, gaining him international fame. He attributed this breakthrough to Eschenbach, CSO’s then-music director, with whom Lang developed a deep professional and personal bond that lasts today.

Besides Eschenbach’s mentorship, his parents’ ambitious vision and a strict education helped shape Lang Lang’s success.

“My parents supported me very much when I was studying the piano, as well as after I started my career. They bought a piano for me very early and took me to the best teacher in the city [ Shenyang in Liaoning Province]. Later, my Dad quit his job and took me to study the piano at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing,” recalled Lang.

Lang and his father, formerly of China’s Air Force Orchestra and later a policeman, rented a shabby apartment on the outskirts of Beijing, and had to bear disrespect from locals. His mother worked in their hometown to make ends meet. At school, Lang’s professor was ruthless with criticism, telling the boy that he had no talent and should go home. This so discouraged his father that he told Lang to kill himself.

These were the unusual pressures under which Lang Lang found dedication to success. He started piano lessons when he was three and a half, and would practice more than a half of each day, on top of schoolwork. He played his first recital at age five. His official biography records that “he won first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition” after entering China’s best music school at age nine and “played the complete 24 Chopin études at the Beijing Concert Hall at age 13.” He began studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 14, leading up to his star-making Ravinia performance three years later.

When asked about the “secret” of his success, Lang replied, “Education, true love [for] and strong belief in classical music. Then you will have tremendous drive and dedication to classical music no matter what is happening outside.”

Now into the third decade of his life, the superstar pianist is committed to music education for the next generation. During his D.C. visit, Lang conducted a master class and performed with 100 local children at the Kennedy Center as part of his three-hour “101 Pianists” workshop. The popular program has engaged youth communities in Berlin, London, New York, Rome, San Francisco and Toronto since 2009.

“I always dream[ed] of doing something [to advocate] the classical music education,” said Lang, “It is wonderful to cultivate music into children’s hearts and let them appreciate the great beauty of classical music … I will do my best to educate kids musically and help them grow up in music.”

Lang Lang’s “second career” as a music education evangelist led to the launch of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in New York four years ago. Through the foundation’s programs, he promotes classical music as a means of social development for youth, building their self-confidence and a drive for excellence. In China, Lang Lang opened the Lang Lang Music World schools last year in Shenzhen and Chongqing. As In ternational Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), he has worked to raise funds and awareness for earthquake relief in China and Haiti.

“He is so inspiring,” said the Asian American father of a 12-year-old son, named Eric, whom he brought to Lang’s performance. “My son has played the piano for five years and I hope he will also perform at the Kennedy Center like Lang Lang.”

“It is not hard for me to communicate with both [U.S. and Chinese] people. I am a pianist focused on piano playing simply with my own style, maybe immersed in Chinese culture. I am very glad international audiences can welcome me. It means all cultures have common ground and can communicate with each other,” said Lang.

This month, Lang Lang is touring in Asia and will perform in Beijing, China on New Year’s Eve. Before leaving D.C., he shared with Asian Fortune readers what keeps driving him to aspire and succeed: “Follow your heart and dream. Work hard on what you like. Like people; be nice to and share with people. Strengthen willing; no fear.”

Visit Lang Lang’s official website at www.langlang.com