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At the piano with Lang Lang

Sean visits Lang Lang at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam to discover his life on the road.

Sean Rafferty travels to Holland to meet the international pianist Lang Lang and finds him very much at home seated, of course, by the piano; this time at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Lang Lang takes a break from his busy tour schedule to give Sean a mini-masterclass on Beethoven鈥檚 F眉r Elise. They talk about Lang Lang鈥檚 passions and how his excitement for Tom and Jerry cartoons and Franz Liszt provided the catalyst for a young and determined pianist growing up in China.

Lang Lang began playing the piano at the age of three. He won the Shenyang Competition and gave his first public recital at five, before entering Beijing鈥檚 Central Music Conservatory aged nine. Lang Lang talks about difficult childhood times, practising for endless hours each day and night and about how he became an overnight sensation at seventeen when he stood in at short notice to play Tchaikovsky鈥檚 Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Today Lang Lang is spending a lot of his time immersing himself in the music of Beethoven, he demonstrates to Sean how he is exploring his technique as he prepares to play the concertos and record the piano sonatas. When on tour Lang Lang always visits the city鈥檚 museums and galleries. He is inspired by colour and today Sean and Lang Lang take time to stand in front of 鈥楽unflowers鈥� at the Museum Van Gogh - Lang Lang is transported and immediately his mind turns to music and Schumann ...

57 minutes

Last on

Christmas Day 2019 13:00
麻豆社 Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Piano sonata in A major, K.331 (3rd mvt - alla turca)

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Sony Classical.

  • Euphemia Allen

    The Celebrated Chop Waltz (aka 'Chopsticks')

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Bagatelle in A minor, WoO.59 (Fur Elise)

    Performer: Lang Lang.

  • Franz Liszt

    Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C sharp minor

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Rhapsody of a Theme of Paganini, Op.43

    Performer: Lang Lang. Orchestra: Mariinsky Orchestra. Conductor: Valery Gergiev.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor, Op.23

    Performer: Lang Lang. Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Nicola Porpora

    Nobil onda (Adelaide)

    Singer: Cecilia Bartoli. Orchestra: Il Giardino Armonico. Conductor: Giovanni Antonini.
    • Decca.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Prelude in C major, BWV.846 (Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Book 1)

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Teng Yu-Hsien

    Spring Wind

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Huang Hai Hwai

    Horses

    Composer: Chen Rao Xing. Composer: Shen Li Qun. Performer: Lang Guo-Ren. Performer: Lang Lang. Music Arranger: Lang Lang. Music Arranger: Lang Guo-Ren.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Trad.

    Jasmine Flower

    Performer: Lang Lang. Music Arranger: Peter Schindler.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Piano Concerto No.17 in G major, K.453 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Lang Lang. Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
    • Sony Classical.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57 (Appassionata)

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Sony Classical.

  • Robert Schumann

    Abegg variations, Op.1

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Fr茅d茅ric Chopin

    Etude in G sharp minor, Op.25 No.6

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Sony Classical.

  • Fr茅d茅ric Chopin

    Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor, Op.21 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Lang Lang. Performer: Zubin Mehta. Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

Broadcast

  • Christmas Day 2019 13:00
    麻豆社 Radio 3