The pianist Lang Lang is the finest poetry in music. Chinese pianist Lang Lang: biography, personal life of Lang Lang - Ave Maria Schubert-Liszt

Lang Lang

If we describe in one word Lang Lang as a musician and a person, his views on the world, his environment, then this word will be "inspiration".

This word sounds like a pervasive musical motive of his life and career. He inspires millions of listeners with open-hearted acting - sincere, emotional, be it modest recitals or performances on the greatest stages and major events - such as the concert during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro with Placido Domingo in honor of the final match; at the 56th Grammy Awards, where he played with Metallica; a performance at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which was seen by over 4 billion television viewers around the world; "Last Night" at the BBC Proms Festival at London's Albert Hall, or a concert in honor of the 200th anniversary of Franz Liszt, which was broadcast in more than 500 cinemas in the US and Europe.

Lang Lang has strong creative ties with some of the world's greatest musicians, from conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel and Sir Simon Rattle, to artists far removed from the world of classical music, including the dubstep performer Marquis (Marquez) "nonstop" Scott or the legendary jazz titan Herbie Hancock.

As an exclusive artist and ambassador for Sony since 2010, he has recorded Prokofiev's 7th Piano Sonata as the soundtrack for the multi-million dollar computer game Gran Turismo 5 and 6, which has become a worldwide bestseller. The pianist builds cultural bridges between East and West by regularly introducing Chinese music to Western audiences and Western music to China.

And yet he never forgets the music that once inspired him and continues to inspire him to this day. Great musicians and, above all, great composers: Liszt, Chopin and others - whose music he now gladly gives to others. Thanks to the famous cartoon "Cat Concert" from the TV series "Tom and Jerry", he became acquainted with the music of Liszt in early childhood. And this sense of admiration for a child discovering great music undoubtedly stays with him now and inspires him to what he calls his "second career": to enrich the lives of children around the world with the help of classical music. He does this as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, as well as through his own Lang Lang International Music Foundation. Perhaps this prompted the American weekly The New Yorker to call Lang Lang "the world ambassador of the piano."

In 2009, Time magazine named Lang Lang among the 100 Most Influential People of the Year, calling the pianist a symbol of China's youth and future. It is to him that China owes a huge part to its passion for the art of piano - a phenomenon called the "Lang Lang Effect" by The Today Show. For the first time in its history, Steinway has named one of the new models specifically designed for teaching, “The Lang Lang Piano,” and presented it in China.

A small child lives and may always live in Lang Lang. This kid would surely approve of how the pianist generously gives himself to young people. He is a great mentor. He invites 100 piano students to each of his concerts. The main activities of his Foundation are the cultivation of future stars of the piano art, the use of the latest technologies and methods in music education, the formation of a youth audience of classical music.

The pianist is constantly featured on major television channels and in leading music publications around the world. He has spoken for the world's most famous politicians: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, four US presidents, Prince Charles, former German President Kohler, French President Hollande and his predecessor Sarkozy. He was recently honored to play in front of President Obama and former PRC President Hu Jintao at a dinner at the White House, as well as a concert to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee at Buckingham Palace.

Lang Lang was a member of the World Economic Forum with the participation of 250 young world leaders, is an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, the highest award of the Ministry of Culture of China, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Medal of the Order of Arts and Literature of France.

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Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - German composer, organist. During his lifetime he was famous as an organist and harpsichordist; his work as a composer was perceived by his contemporaries in connection with the practical activities that took place in the typical musician of the 17th and 18th centuries. the setting of the church, courtyard and city. He spent his childhood in Eisenach, in 1695-1702 he studied in Ohrdruf and Lineburg. At the age of 17, he played organ, clavier, violin, viola, sang in the choir, was an assistant cantor. In 1703–07 organist in Neukirche in Arnstadt, in 1707–08 organist in Blasiuskirche in Mühlhausen, in 1708–17 as court organist, chamber musician, from 1714 as court accompanist in Weimar, in 1717–23 as court conductor in Köthen, in 1723 Thomaskirche and city music director in Leipzig (1729–41 head of the Collegium musicum).

Bach is one of the greatest representatives of the world humanistic culture. The work of Bach, a universal musician, distinguished by the comprehensiveness of genres (except for opera), summarized the achievements of the musical art of several centuries on the verge of baroque and classicism. A bright national artist, Bach combined the traditions of Protestant chant with the traditions of the Austrian, Italian, and French schools of music. Bach, an unsurpassed master of polyphony, is characterized by the unity of polyphonic and homophonic, vocal and instrumental thinking, which explains the deep interpenetration of various genres and styles in his work.

The leading genre in vocal and instrumental creativity of Bach is the spiritual cantata. Bach created 5 annual cycles of cantatas, which differ according to their belonging to the church calendar, according to text sources (psalms, choral stanzas, "free" poetry), according to the role of the chorale, etc. Of the secular cantatas, the most famous are "Peasant" and "Coffee". The drama and principles worked out in the cantata were embodied in the masses, "Passions". "High" Mass in h-moll, "St. John Passion", "St. Matthew Passion" became the culmination of the centuries-old history of these genres. Organ music is central to Bach's instrumental work. Synthesizing the experience of organ improvisation inherited from his predecessors (D. Bukstehude, I. Pachelbel, G. Boehm, I. A. Reinken), various variation and polyphonic methods of composition and contemporary principles of concert, Bach rethought and updated the traditional genres of organ music - toccata , fantasy, passacaglia, choral prelude. A virtuoso performer and one of the greatest experts in keyboard instruments at the time, Bach created an extensive literature for the clavier. Among the clavier works, the most important place is occupied by the Well-Tempered Clavier, the first experience in the history of music of the artistic application of the art developed at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. tempered scale. The greatest polyphonist, in the HTK fugues, Bach created unsurpassed samples, a kind of school of counterpoint skill, which found continuation and completion in the Art of the Fugue, on which Bach worked over the last 10 years of his life. Bach is the author of one of the first clavier concertos - the Italian Concerto (without orchestra), which fully confirmed the independent significance of the clavier as a concert instrument. Bach's music for violin, cello, flute, oboe, instrumental ensemble, orchestra - sonatas, suites, partitas, concerts - signifies a significant expansion of the expressive and technical capabilities of instruments, reveals a deep knowledge of instruments and universalism in their interpretation. The 6 Brandenburg Concertos for various instrumental ensembles, embodying the genre and compositional principles of concerto grosso, were an important milestone on the way to a classical symphony.

During Bach's lifetime, a small portion of his works were published. The true scale of Bach's genius, who had a strong influence on the subsequent development of European musical culture, began to be realized only half a century after his death. Among the first connoisseurs were I.N.Forkel, the founder of Baikal studies (he published an essay on the life and work of Bach in 1802), K.F. 1829. This performance, which had historical significance, served as an impetus for the revival of Bach's work in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1850 the Bach Society was formed in Leipzig.

Compositions:

For soloists, chorus and orchestra - St. John Passion (1724), St. Matthew Passion (1727 or 1729; final version 1736), Magnificat (1723), High Mass (h-minor, circa 1747–49; 1st edition 1733) , 4 short masses (1730s), oratorios (Christmas, Easter, about 1735), cantatas (about 200 spiritual, over 20 secular ones have survived); for orchestra - 6 Brandenburg concertos (1711–20), 5 overtures (suites, 1721–30); concertos for instruments and orchestra - for 1, 2, 3, 4 claviers, 2 for violin, for 2 violins; chamber instrumental ensembles - 6 sonatas for violin and clavier, 3 sonatas for flute and clavier, 3 sonatas for cello and clavier, trio sonatas; for organ - 6 organ concerts (1708–17), preludes and fugues, fantasies and fugues, toccatas and fugues, passacaglia in c minor, choral preludes; for clavier - 6 English suites, 6 French suites, 6 partitas, Well-Tempered Clavier (volume 1 - 1722, volume 2 - 1744), Italian Concerto (1734), Goldberg Variations (1742); for violin - 3 sonatas, 3 partitas; 6 suites for cello; spiritual songs, arias; compositions without specifying the performer - Musical Offering (1747), The Art of the Fugue (1740-50), etc.

The biography of the composer and archival photographs can be viewed on the website of the State House-Museum of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Klin. We recommend that you take a fascinating tour of the house-museum.

Lan Lan was born in Shenyang, Liaoning on June 14, 1982. His father played the erhu, an ancient two-stringed violin. When Lan was two years old, he watched the "Cat Concert" release of the popular animated series "Tom and Jerry"; this episode featured Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. The pianist stated that this was his first exposure to Western music, which awakened his love for the piano.

Lan started taking lessons at the age of three. By the age of five, he won first place at the Shenyang Piano Competition and performed in public for the first time. The boy came to audition at the Beijing Central Conservatory at the age of nine, but because of problems with the sketches he performed, Lang was not accepted, claiming that he was "mediocre." At that moment, the saddened kid was supported by one of the music teachers, who decided to play the piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330 "by V.A. Mozart 9 (W. A. ​​Mozart). The teacher even connected him to the performance. Lan later stated that this sonata had given him new hope.

Later in the conservatory, the progressive Lan won the Piano Competition in Beijing (Beijing) in 1993, and in 1994 - the first prize for outstanding achievements at the Fourth International Competition for Young Performers in Ettlingen, Germany (Ettlingen, Germany). In 1995, he played the etudes "Op. 10" and "Op. 25" by Fr. Chopin (Frédéric Chopin) at the Beijing Concert Hall and won first prize at the International Competition. P.I. Tchaikovsky for young musicians in Japan (Japan).

At the age of 14, Lan performed a solo number at the China National Symphony Orchestra's presentation concert. The concert, attended by Jiang Zemin, was broadcast on China Central Television. The following year, Lahn began his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Lan gave recitals, performed at other major concerts in various cities and became the first Chinese pianist to play with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and some of the leading American orchestras. The Chicago Tribune music critic called Lana "the biggest, most exciting young keyboard talent" of any artist the critic has encountered in recent years.

Lan has received accolades from a number of critics and musicians from around the world. Indonesian conductor Jahja Ling said, "Lan Lan is special because of his total pianist skill ... He has talent and great communicative power." NPR's Morning Edition noted that "Lan Lan has conquered the classical world with his dazzling technique and charm."

However, Lan's style of performance caused a lot of controversy as soon as Lan burst onto the classical music scene in 1999. Pianist Earl Wild nicknamed Lana "Piano J. Lo", referring to pop singer Jennifer López. Others noted the immaturity of the Chinese pianist, but acknowledged his ability to "win over crowds with youthful bravado" was phenomenal among classical musicians.

In 2001, following Lin's sold-out debut at Carnegie Hall under Yuri Temirkanov, the Chinese traveled to Beijing with the Philadelphia Orchestra touring in honor of its 100th anniversary. Together with the orchestra, Lan performed in front of an audience of 8,000 at the People's Assembly House.

Best of the day

In the same year, the pianist made his debut at the London BBC Proms festival, after which the music critic of the British newspaper The Times wrote: "Lan Lan took the beaten-up Royal Albert Hall by storm." In 2003, Lan reappeared on BBC Proms with the premiere concert of Leonard Slatkin. After the performance of the Chinese with the Berlin Philharmonic, the following article appeared in the German newspaper "Berliner Zeitung": "Lan Lan is an amazing music performer, whose artistic techniques are always in the service of music."

In December 2008, Lan partnered with Google and YouTube to launch the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. In the same year, about a billion viewers watched Lang perform at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing. The pianist was hailed as a symbol of China's youth and future at these Games.

On January 19, 2011, Lin played at the White House, at a dinner in honor of Chinese President Hu Jintao. One of the numbers was the melody from the song "My Motherland" from the anti-American film "Battle on Shangganling Mountain" about the Korean War. The lyrics contain the line "We are dealing with wolves with guns", which alludes to the Americans.

Despite the fact that the popular "My Motherland" has practically lost its political and historical significance in China, Lin's choice was interpreted by some as an insult to the United States. Later, the pianist said that he chose this song because it was his favorite as a child, that's all. He conveyed the beauty of the melody, rather than trying to offend the United States.

On July 4, 2015, Lahn performed "Rhapsody in the Blues" at the "A Capitol Fourth" concert at the Independence Day celebrations in Washington, DC.

After Lana was named one of the "100 Most Influential People" by Time magazine, jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, describing the pianist's skill, stated: "You hear him play, and it will never cease to touch your heart." ...

Lang Lang is a well-known personality in China and abroad, he plays the piano and performs works of famous composers of classical music.

Lang Lang was born on June 14, 1982 in Shenyang, one of the largest cities in eastern China with a population of about 8 million. Lang is considered one of the popular pianists of the People's Republic of China.

Lan Kozeny is Lang's father, he is also a musician and plays the erhu. In general, who does not know the erhu - this is an old bowed stringed Chinese instrument, a kind of violin with two strings.

When the boy was about 2 years old, there was a cartoon Tom and Jerry on TV, probably everyone saw this cartoon, and so there was the music of Franz Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. Lang later said that after listening to this western melody, he had a desire to make music, namely to play the piano. I wonder what other desires a two-year-old child may have.

Lang Lang - 74 virtuoso seconds (live)

At the age of three, parents sent their boy to study music to a famous person in this direction, Professor Zhu Ya-Fen. Two years later, at the Shenyang Piano Competition for piano in Shenyang, Lang managed to bypass all competitors and take the honorable first place. It was at this event that the first solo concert of our young musician took place.

At the age of 9, Lang decided to try his hand at the Beijing Conservatory. The exams there were quite serious and the young guy did not succeed. The desire to study music was so great that Lang's parents took professor of music Zhao Ping-Guo as a teacher and mentor for their son. Studying diligently for several years, the boy nevertheless entered this conservatory and continued his studies. Lang's parents were probably wealthy people, since they took famous people and music professors as teachers for their child.

Competitions and performances

In 1993, Lang wins the Xing Hai Cup Piano Competition. A year later in Germany at the fourth international competition for young pianists, he performed well and was noted as a talented musician, thereby probably opening the door to his international recognition.

At the age of fourteen, the young pianist had already performed in front of his president. After that, he decides to go to Philadelphia and enter the Curtis Institute.

In 1999, at the "Gala of the Century" concert, Lang is already playing Tchaikovsky, the audience was simply delighted and expressed their emotions with thunderous applause. Lang Lang has been named by connoisseurs of music and various critics as a brilliant and outstanding representative of piano playing among young musicians.

Contribution to music and art

Lang founded his international music foundation of the same name. He sees it as his mission to make classical music popular all over the world, thereby focusing on educating young children and young musicians. In New York, in 2008, the Lang Lang International Music Foundation began its work, in the opening of which UNICEF and the Grammy took part.

Lang Lang - La Campanella (Live)

This fund was specially created for the development of children's lives, in which the main task is to enjoy and deep understanding from listening to classical music, thereby inspiring today's youth to make music, to invest their strength and financial resources there for future generations of musicians.

Not a bad idea - agree with me. Better let the youth play music, and not wander around the entrances and doorways with alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and similar decomposing harmful things.

In the spring of 2009, Lang and three students from his international foundation - Anna Larsen, Charlie Lee and Derek Wang, who are eight to ten years old, all took part in the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Awards and awards

In 2004, Langa was chosen as UNESIF's International Ambassador. In 2008, the US National Academy of Arts and Recording made Lang one of their cultural ambassadors to China.

In 2009, the famous Time magazine included our young pianist in the TOP 100 - a list of the 100 most influential people of that year.

liveinternet.ru

Lang Lang was born a child prodigy. This happened in the city of Shenyang (Liaoning province), which was the capital of Manchuria three hundred years ago. By mid-April 1982, when the future pianist was born, it was already a fairly large financial and cultural center.

The beginning of the way

At the age of two, the baby was fortunate enough to fall in love with the piano under the influence of the American cartoon about Tom and Jerry (everyone remembers the excellent performance of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2). That is why, at the age of three, the pianist Lang Lang began his studies at the conservatory, immediately with Professor Zhu. It was 1985. And in 1987 the little pianist Lang Lang won his first victory - the first prize of the Shenyang Piano Competition.

In 1991, the boy was admitted to study at the main conservatory of China in Beijing, where he found a new mentor - Zhao Pinguo, also a professor. In the same year, the pianist Lang Lang expanded his biography with a new and much more significant victory: he received the main prize at the Fifth Piano Competition in China. Three years later, in 1994, the conquest of Europe took place. 12-year-old Chinese pianist Lang Lang won the Fourth International Competition for Young Pianists in Germany.

Craftsmanship

A year later, at the next stage of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, which was hosted by Japan, the pianist from China Lang Lang performed Frederic Chopin - Piano Concerto No. 2 (with orchestra At the same time the audience heard his interpretation of all twenty-four etudes by Chopin. Thirteen-year-old Chinese virtuoso pianist Lang Lang conquered the whole world with his musicality, originality of arrangements and exceptionally noble taste.

In 1997, his American life begins, as the family emigrated to Philadelphia. It is now necessary to study young talent at the Music Institute with Harry Graffman, a student of Vladimir Horowitz. And success follows success. In 1999 he performed Tchaikovsky's First Concerto with the renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra, to the utmost delight of the press throughout the world. Then a dense concert activity begins.

Concerts

At some concerts, there were almost as many listeners as the stadium can accommodate. For example, in Beijing. Over the next few years, the young man played in the best concert halls in the world: in London and Washington, Paris and Vienna. He traveled a lot in Asia and America. In 2002 he won the award for his extraordinary musical talent. In a year, this young man will be named one of the twenty teenagers who will change the world.

In 2003, a CD recording was released by Grammophon studio (Germany), which did not leave the first stage of the ratings for more than forty weeks. A year later, a concert was also recorded at Carnegie Hall. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) honors the young pianist with an ambassador's post, after which Lang Lang actively fights against malaria in African countries. This does not interfere with his musical career at all. In 2006, Lang Lang received the title of "Musician of the Year" after a concert in Berlin.

Today

Now Lang Lang is considered the brightest of the pianists in the world, performing classical music, and the finest of musicians, which was repeatedly noted by the Times magazine. In addition, the Chinese pianist was named one of the 100 most influential people on the planet. Over the past few years, a huge repertoire has been accumulated, including only thirty-seven concerts for piano and orchestra. There are few pianists in the world (and there is only one Chinese, and this is Lang Lang) who have played with all five of the world's most famous orchestras.

It would seem that there are a dime a dozen of excellent pianists at the present time, simply do not count, any major competition shows this, especially the Moscow one named after Tchaikovsky. And they all have impeccable technical skills, brought up due to absolute musical ear taste. Lang Lang's coordination is amazing. So he could only: his signature, when giving an autograph, he performed without interruption of the pen in Latin calligraphic - Richter, passing into a mirror writing in a single line. And Lang Lang knows how to sign two autographs at the same time. His left hand and right hand work the same way.

Personal life

Lang Lang is a magnificent pianist not only due to high-class finger acrobatics, he is charming in his emotions and cannot but be liked by a non-musician. But not everyone likes musicians. He gives over one hundred and fifty concerts a year. This is an unthinkable figure for a pianist of his age. Plus a very high saturation of social activities. There is very little time left for personal life.

However, Lang Lang always makes time for those who are not so successful. That is why he is a paradoxical figure who cannot but cause controversy, enthusiasm and discontent at the same time. As a pianist, he is not typical of our time, as his popularity is comparable to that of any rock or movie star.

Controversy

And in disputes, too, there are no pronounced two sides in opinions. The first say that the secret of such success is poetry, and now everyone has such a technique. Others laugh: his playing, they say, is unmistakable, like all Chinese pianists, more similar in mechanicalness to a computer. Still others interpret that as a young man Lang Lang was the reincarnation of Horowitz, and is now so commercialized that the beauty of his sound is devoid of real content. And all these people are professional musicians.

For example, the conductor cannot stand flirting with the audience, which he said to the pianist: "One more smile - that's it, we don't play anymore." But very, very many critics say that the pianist still manages to convey to the listener the true beauty of the music performed, and this is not narcissism at all. Lang Lang is a popularizer, and this he sees as his main task.

Interview

This pianist has been a charismatic magician since childhood. He is now an adult. And when he performed in Russia in 2017, he gave several interviews, preceding them with a request not to remember his jokes with Chopin's etude, performed with the help of an orange, with "Flight of the Bumblebee", played on the iPad, and much more. Some journalists didn't even have any questions after this request.

They asked about the use of influence as one of the hundreds of the most influential on the planet. It turns out that the pianist is involved in a lot of musical projects, and he also has his own foundation. And he considers it his duty to pass classical music on to the next generations. The Chinese pianist opens music schools all over the world: in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, China. The project is now continuing in Europe. For Chinese children, he considers it important to receive an international music education, brings teachers from abroad, teaches himself.

Russian school

All the Chinese teachers of this pianist studied in the Soviet Union. And his American teacher has a Russian school, and what a Russian one! Now he knows Italian, German, and some other European pianistic schools. And he changes the methodology when studying: Prokofiev plays in Russian, and tries to perform Beethoven in German.

And even the most picky opponents are forced to admit: the musician does it great. Every time he proves that it is not in vain that he bears the title of the best pianist of our time on a global scale. He has a sound of stunning beauty, filled with strength and emotions, true lyricism and poetry.

Watch video Chinese pianist Lang Lang opened the Lebanese festival with Rachmaninoff's music (news) in good quality | One of the most famous pianists of our time, the Chinese performer Lang Lang presented Rachmaninov's second piano concerto to the audience at the opening of the International Festival in Byblos, in an ancient Lebanese city.

Thousands of classical music fans have gathered in the ancient Phoenician port of Byblos for one of the world's premier open-air music festivals.

It was opened by the famous Chinese pianist Lang Lang. This 32-year-old musician has achieved success in the manner of popularizing the classics - he brought a touch of glamor to it.

LANG LANG, PIANIST:

“This music is like the great literature of the past, which everyone still reads, and new films are made on its basis. It's the same with classical music. Although she came to us long ago, she continues to live and evoke passion. "

Today, many call him the greatest pianist of our time. Last year, Time magazine ranked Lang as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Together with the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, Lang performed Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto.

This was followed by almost an hour of Chopin's music. But listeners and that was not enough.

JOHNNY KURY, DOCTOR FROM LEBANON:

“The show was great, but too short to play more. The atmosphere of Byblos is wonderful: the waves were heard against the background of the orchestra and Lang Lang playing, which made the evening special. "

Lang himself was inspired to play the piano at the age of three by the music of Liszt performed by the cat in the cartoon "Tom and Jerry".

The Byblos International Festival is considered one of the largest and most popular in Lebanon, along with the Baalbek and Beiteddin festivals. They introduce the Lebanese audience to the best Western works and performers. In the past, they have featured Russian artists from the Mariinsky and Bolshoi Theaters, as well as world stars Placido Domingo, Luciano Povarotti and Elton John. The book that shook the world. It will never be the same again!

This book has changed the mindset of millions of Chinese people. Since the publication of the Nine Commentaries in 2004
200 million Chinese have left the ranks of the Chinese Communist Party around the world. And this figure continues to grow!