Artist description Born in Shen Yang, China, Lang Lang began his piano studies at the age of three with Professor Zhu Ya-Fen from the Shen Yang Conservatory of Music. At the age of nine he entered the Central Music Conservatory in Beijing, where he studied with Professor Zhao Ping-Guo. Excelling in all aspects of his classes, he was accepted in 1997 into the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he currently studies with Gary Graffman, the Director of the Institute. Lang Lang has won numerous awards at international competitions beginning at the age of five, when he won first prize in the Shen Yang Piano Competition after which he gave his first public recital. He won first prize in the Fifth Xing Hai Cup Piano Competition in Beijing, first prize and outstanding artistic performance in the Fourth International Young Pianists Competition in Germany and first prize at the Second Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition held in 1995 in Japan. Lang Lang records exclusively for Telarc Records. His first album is a recital recorded live at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall and is also available in 2-channel Surround SACD. His second album, which will be released in the spring of 2002, features Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto recorded live during the London Proms at Royal Albert Hall.

Music Style Classical Piano

Artist History Since his dramatic and triumphant last-minute appearance at the Ravinia Festival in August 1999 when he filled in for an indisposed Andre Watts, Lang Lang has burst upon the international musical scene with unparalleled excitement and acclaim. Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as the biggest, most exciting keyboard talent encountered in many years and already performing with the world's leading orchestras, this captivating 19-year-old pianist has shown himself to be an artist of significant maturity and depth. When Lang Lang made his sold-out Carnegie Hall debut in April 2001 with the Baltimore Symphony under Yuri Temirkanov, The New York Times wrote "He is stunning." In August 2001 he made his London debut at the BBC Proms performing Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, conducted by Temirkanov. The Times of London wrote "Lang Lang took a sold-out Albert Hall by storm... This could well be history in the making." In the 2001/02 season Lang Lang will make his subscription debuts with the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony. He will tour Europe with the NDR Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach, and Asia with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under Temirkanov. In December 2001 he will perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch in their final subscription concerts at the Academy of Music. The season also includes orchestral engagements with the Atlanta, Houston and Seattle symphonies, the London Philharmonic with Eschenbach and the NHK Symphony of Japan with Charles Dutoit, as well as debut recitals at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theatre in Washington, D.C., Wigmore Hall in London and the Louvre in Paris.

Albums Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3

Press Reviews "The dazzling technique one quickly took for granted; the constant wonder was the extraordinary energy of his playing, the ability to shape every paragraph with total certainty, the unswerving focus...a complete artist." -- The Guardian "...this could well be history in the making." -- The Times

Location Philadelphia, PA - USA

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