'A completely different side of me': Lang Lang on his latest album

DPA
·3 min read
The virtuoso piano playing of Chinese pianest Lang Lang is known around the world. With his new album, he wants to show a new side of himself. Ian West/PA Wire/dpa
The virtuoso piano playing of Chinese pianest Lang Lang is known around the world. With his new album, he wants to show a new side of himself. Ian West/PA Wire/dpa

Chinese star pianist Lang Lang has released a new album dedicated to French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, saying the project fulfils one of his life-long dreams.

"I've always wanted to record French music. The new album shows a completely different side of me," the 41-year-old told dpa.

In order to make his dream come true, Lang Lang not only involved his wife - fellow pianist Gina Alice Redlinger who holds dual German-Korean citizenship - as well as the Gewandhaus orchestra based in the German city of Leipzig.

The album, simply titled "Saint-Saëns," was released on March 1 and includes Lang Lang's rendition of Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2 and the iconic "Carnival of the Animals."

The orchestra is directed by Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons.

Composer and conductor Saint-Saëns was born in Paris in 1835 and his works are on par with the legends of classic music like Johann Sebstian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, according to the Chinese superstar.

In addition to his own compositions, Lang Lang's latest album also includes works by other French composers, including Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Léo Delibes (1836-1891), Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) and Maurice Ravel (1875-1937).

Music is the most important part of his life, says the pianist, who was born in Shenyang, China. "It calms me down, cheers me up when I'm feeling down."

Music is also the best gift parents can give their children, Lang Lang said. "I can see that in my son. He is so happy when he listens to music."

In 2008, Lang Lang set up a foundation that supports early music education in the US, China and the UK.

Lang Lang, who became known worldwide for his performance at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, has played concerts around the globe, including performances the awarding of the Nobel Prize to former US president Barack Obama, at the Diamond Jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and for Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Last year, he performed at the coronation concert at Windsor Castle the day after the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Before going on stage, he always sticks to the same routine, Lang Lang says: "I always try to take a short nap."

The Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, in a city that was home to Bach for many years, is one of his favourite orchestras and Andris Nelsons "one of the most important conductors ever," Lang Lang said about his collaborators on the latest album.

Nelsons, who the pianist said is down to earth and enormously empathetic, "supported the album with everything he had and took it to a new level together with his orchestra."

Between March and June, Lang Lang is performing in various cities as part of an extensive tour set to take him across Germany, the US, Canada, France, Austria and the Netherlands.