On April 10, Los Angeles time, pianist Lang Lang left his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first Chinese musician in history to "pick up stars" and the first Asian pianist to win this honor. In 1995, Lang Lang won the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians, so he made his debut. He was the first Chinese pianist to be hired by the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, and is one of the most prestigious Chinese pianists in the classical music scene today. When leaving the Avenue of Fame, Lang Lang accepted an exclusive interview with iWeekly, recalling the most special moment of his life, "I hope this is a good start, and I hope that more Chinese musicians will enter the Hall of Fame."
The first award-winning Chinese musician
Stretching along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, the Walk of Fame is a legendary cultural landmark managed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the City of Los Angeles and honors outstanding celebrities in the fields of film, television, recording, radio and live performance, with more than 2,690 star medals with celebrity names in recognition of their contributions to the entertainment industry. Since 1960, the Hollywood Walk of Fame has attracted millions of people from all over the globe.
△ Lang Lang is on his way to the event.
On the morning of April 10, pianist Lang Lang attended the star awarding ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the Hollywood Hall of Fame as the world's top pianist with significant contributions. In the 20th century, only the great classical pianists Horowitz, Rubinstein, Serkin, and Paderewski had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but in the 21st century, Lang Lang was still the first. The ceremony was presided over by Steve Nissen, President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and congratulated Dickon Stainer, President and CEO of Universal Music Group's Global Classical & Jazz Division, and Michele Anthony, Executive Vice President of Universal Music Group.
△ Lang Lang and Steve Neeson.
In his acceptance speech, Lang Lang said that music is cohesive, allowing people from different cultural backgrounds to communicate with each other and stimulate emotional resonance. He sees sharing music as his mission and hopes to continue to inspire as many people as possible to learn an instrument, whether it's piano or something else. He said: "I would like to thank every friend for their support along the way, my fans, and my motherland, China. The piano is the most precious gift of my life and I will always be grateful. At the end of the star awarding ceremony, Lang Lang also played two pieces of music, including a Chinese repertoire.
△ Lang Lang played the piano songs "Jasmine" and "Fire Dance" at the event.
△ Lang Lang took a group photo with his family.
Before Lang Lang, only 7 Chinese movie stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Huang Liushuang had won star honors on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, said Lang Lang has made outstanding contributions to the classical music scene, and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is excited to celebrate his extraordinary talent by awarding him a star on the Walk of Fame.
△Lang Lang, as the global brand spokesperson of Hennessy Paradis, also witnessed this honorary moment together.
Lang Lang's "piano" fate
In an exclusive interview with iWeekly, Lang Lang mentioned that he believes that the "gears of fate turn" in his life – one was the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the other was in Leipzig, Germany, where Bach was buried, playing the Gothenburg Variations, "these two moments are very important to me". Lang Lang played in front of hundreds of millions of people around the world at the Beijing Olympics, and 12 years later in Leipzig, he became a well-known pianist at home and abroad.
The Olympics and the Goldberg Variations are like Lang Lang's different labels that represent Chinese and Western elements, and of course the words "Genius", "Virtuoso" and "superstar" that are often repeated by the media. When Lang Lang first became famous, fans relished his father's past of how strict his son was. Now that Lang Lang has become a husband and father, looking back on this experience, he has a different taste. In 1982, Lang Lang was born in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. "Lang Dad" Lang Guo Ren Xila Erhu. Lang Lang began learning Bach at the age of three, and Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in the cartoon "Cat and Mouse" became his classical musical inspiration. At the age of five, Lang Lang attended his first recital.
"When I was a child, China was just starting to connect with the West, and the piano was one of the most important instruments. In an interview with The Guardian, Lang Lang said, "My mother always wanted to be a musician, and my father played in the Air Force Band. Later, due to the reduction of funds, I had to become a police officer. Lang Lang's parents bought a piano before he was born, "spending half of their annual salary."
When Lang Lang was nine years old, his father took him to Beijing to study in order to train his son. "We lived in the basement for three months, and at night we could hear rats gnawing on my score. The next day, my score for Liszt's Tarantella was half eaten. The Lang family's neighbors were hawkers who sold fish or soy sauce and "had never heard classical music, let alone practiced it every day." In 2023, Lang Lang recalled to a reporter from the British newspaper Daily Telegraph. His day began at 5 a.m. on the piano bench. "Through a thin wall, they're always going to be furious. But three years later, we became friends. After I went to the U.S. to study, they wrote to me and everybody signed it saying 'miss your music'. ”
During Lang Lang's childhood, his life in Beijing was like Dickens's world: an obsessive father, an unsympathetic piano teacher, and a kind stranger who helped ease the relationship between father and son. Classic FM, a well-known classical music medium, wrote. When a teacher commented on Lang Lang's "lack of talent" and he almost gave up, a Mozart piano piece pulled him back into the world of black and white: "I remembered my love for the piano. ”
In 1995, he participated in the second International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians held in Sendai, Japan, and won the gold medal. Two years later, Lang Lang went to the Curtis Institute of Music in the United States. In 1997, Lang Lang replaced pianist Andre Watts to perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which received a standing ovation from the audience and became famous. Lang Lang is famous for his abundant emotions and movements during his performances. Some classical music critics believe that his swaying body and arms are a way of communicating with the audience, "telling us how to react to his performance, guiding the audience through his emotions, his gestures".
As a classical musician, Lang Lang has both an insistence on this art — he once told reporters that he welcomes and respects all comments, and will insist on his own interpretation of music — but also has a liveliness that goes beyond the stereotype of classical music as "obscure, complex and difficult to understand". Lang Lang's straightforward enthusiasm often surprised the media interviewing him. In many interviews, Lang Lang has put forward his own views on his father's "high-pressure policy", but he has never denied his absolute love for music. Many reporters who interviewed Lang Lang mentioned his warmth, generosity and easy-goingness. "He recalls his childhood so peacefully. "A smile, a few words, and the story is over." An award-winning virtuoso in competitions, he was accompanied by a once avid father and a piano, but he adapted very well. He is passionate and generous, full of ideas for music, and covers up his past suffering with an approachable charm and a sense of humor. ”
"Lang Lang's inexhaustible strength and incredible on-the-spot response ability represent China's determination to make a name for itself in the cultural world. In a 2017 interview with Lang Lang, The Focus wrote, "He reveals where the motivation to pursue the extraordinary lies as a musician and as a person." When asked by a website reporter "When did you learn to give up rankings", the then 35-year-old Lang Lang replied as a true artist: "I saw an interview with Rubinstein on TV, and the reporter asked him: Are you the greatest pianist? If you look at Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin, do you think of rankings? Every great artist is a whole world in itself. ’”
"I don't think I'm number one. Just because you can be the best pianist at the box office doesn't mean you're the best pianist. You will be very happy to see a packed audience at a concert and to see how enthusiastic the audience is for you, because you have the best profession in the world – through music, you take them to another world. ”
"Lang Lang is a rare figure. He's a classical music superstar, but he can also blend with pop art. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Lang Lang's outgoing personality helped him introduce classical music to a new audience. He has collaborated with Disney on music programs, with pop singers, at Carnegie Hall for Chinese music and cultural events, and for piano teaching and performance in various places.
"Music unites us. We need Indian, Chinese, Japanese music, everything. Classical music is very elegant, delicate, and erudite. I want to inspire young people to learn about the world of classical music. Lang Lang said to the media. Many years later, looking back at his father forcing him to practice the piano, Lang Lang, who had a son, told reporters frankly that "I will never force my son to practice for six hours a day." "I'm not going to push him. If he really likes to perform and really wants to perform, I will support him. ”
"Today, as an influential pianist, I must help more young musicians realize their dreams. Lang Lang said to iWeekly. In 2023, he will perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London and give public lessons to young pianists. The media at the scene observed that Lang Lang was "very good at using words to describe the delicacy and expression he wanted."
He insisted on spending 30 minutes with each student. The Telegraph wrote.
△ Wife and child.
Q&A
Q: IWeekly
A: Lang Lang is a Chinese pianist
Q: As the first Chinese musician to leave a handprint on the Avenue of Stars, what do you think this achievement means to you and the Chinese music industry?
A: For me, as the first Chinese musician and the first Asian pianist, it is a great encouragement and encouragement to leave this handprint and "pick" this star. Before me, there were four classical pianists – not the only one, the only four pianists who had ever received this honor. Vladimir Horowitz, Rubinstein, Rudolf Serkin and Ignacy Jan Paderewski are some of my favourite pianists. I am incredibly proud to be the fifth pianist in the history of classical music to win a star.
And then I am also proud to be Chinese, I hope this is a good start, and I hope that more Chinese musicians, actors, and directors will be inducted into the Hollywood Hall of Fame.
Q: It's been 27 years since you started your career in 1997, how has your perception of music changed now and when you were back then?
A: I have been active as a professional pianist since 1997. In the past 27 years, I feel like I've experienced a lot of things, and there have been a lot of very memorable moments. I feel that I am becoming more and more mature today. Of course, it is also because after having a family and children, they will be more mature, have higher requirements for themselves, and be more clear about their own development direction. In addition, I think that as an influential pianist, I must help more young musicians realize their dreams.
Q: On the long road of music, is there any moment that is particularly worth remembering for you, or that makes you feel that the "gears of fate are turning"?
A: The rotation of the gears of fate, I can say that it is the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. First of all, it was the first time that our country was on the most influential stage in the world. Being able to participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games as a Chinese and to be able to perform in Beijing at that time was a very worthwhile, very, very fortunate moment in my life. The other was to play Gothenburg (Variations) at the place where Bach worked (Leipzig, Germany). It should be said that the "Goldberg Variations" were played next to Bach's grave. These two moments are very important to me. One is at the Olympics, as a Chinese show of China's strength, the face of the new era of the Chinese, and the other is the Bach moment, which I think is the Everest of Western classical music.
Q: Do you have any new plans for touring or recording records in the near future, and can you tell the fans?
A: I recently recorded a work by the French composer Saint-Saëns, and I've received some good feedback so far, and I'm doing more training for the future.
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