Lang Lang: ‘People thought working with Metallica would destroy my classical career’

Lang Lang was born in June 1982 in Shenyang, China. He began taking piano lessons at age three and gave his first public recital two years later. In 1991 he entered the Central Music Conservatory in Beijing and two years later, won Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians in Japan. In 1997, Lang Lang left China for the US to pursue a career as a concert pianist where he studied under legendary pianist Gary Graffman. He was just 17 when he became an overnight sensation after playing Tchaikovsky’s “First Piano Concerto” at the Gala of the Century with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Since that breakthrough, Lang has played sold-out concerts all over the world and formed ongoing collaborations with conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim and Christoph Eschenbach while performing with all the world’s top orchestras.

In 2004, he was appointed International Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, raising funds for earthquake relief. In 2008, he founded the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, which aims to cultivate tomorrow’s top pianists, champion music education at the forefront of technology, and build a young audience through live music experiences. In the same year more than four billion people watched him perform at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2013, Lang Lang was designated by the secretary-general of the United Nations as a messenger of peace, with a focus on global education.

In his Letter to My Younger Self, Lang Lang reflects on a life in music, collaborating with rock royalty and playing at the Bejing Olympics

By 16, I had started to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. This was the best time for me, because I had a very regular high school kid schedule every day. So I was trying to get into that high school culture in America, rather than always being with other classical musicians. It was a lot of fun being with some regular kids and American high school was much more relaxed than in China. So I had time to chill. It was a difficult time because my English was not that good yet – but I was becoming more independent. 

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I would tell my younger self to just enjoy being a teenager. Because although I was enjoying school, I was worried that I would not be able to make my career as a musician. I was relaxed when I got into Curtis, because I believed it was one of the best schools in the world – so if I don’t make it there, then where can I make it? But I began to realise you need to have a lot of luck as well as talent. It’s not just that you play well then become a pianist, you need a team behind you. And when I first arrived [aged 15], I thought I only needed to win some competitions.  

I had a lot of heroes as a teenager. There was Leonard Bernstein. But I also loved Michael Jordan, who was still playing basketball at that time, and Pete Sampras, who was winning everything in tennis. And of course, there was Luciano Pavarotti. But Britney Spears was also very interesting. It’s like she was every boy’s first girlfriend. Before I’d left China, I knew Michael Jackson songs, but by 16 I was also listening to hip-hop like Jay-Z for the first time.

I would also tell my younger self to do more exercise. I should have run more as a teenager, because now I’m a bit lazy. I didn’t spend enough time in the gym. I do exercise now, but it’s more difficult. So I will tell my younger self to run more, jump more, do more sports!  

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My performing style was established in my childhood but it has developed over the years and is still changing now. I recently started playing Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No 5” again, which I hadn’t played in 13 years – and the way I play it now is so different. When I’m moving my arms about now, it’s more genuine, more natural, rather than forced. Because it comes from the heart, and your musical guts. There is an inner response. 

If you told my younger self everything that will happen to him, he would say you’re fucking crazy. Sorry, but it’s true. He would not believe this at all. How can this kind of career actually happen? This boy will not believe it but also, he’s not ready for it. He has a lot to learn first to get mentally and physically ready. So I would say to him, you will never believe what is going to happen to you – all the hard work will pay off.  

What did I have to learn? Everything. Step by step. I had to learn harmony, composition, history and a tremendous amount of repertoire. Then I had to do chamber music, work with different musicians, take music classes all the time, see the world, make friends and not always just talk to an inner circle. My younger self needed to get out and socialise – but at the same time practise. It was not easy for him to find a balance. But I was living in Philadelphia, which was great as I didn’t get too carried away in a big city and was close enough to New York to go to concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center at weekends. Then I would go back to Philadelphia and be very focused. 

I would love to tell my younger self he will get to meet and work with Daniel Barenboim. Because without conductors, you will not have a career. Our life is so dependent on working with the right conductor. He’s one of the greatest pianists, the greatest conductor and best music writers, so he has everything. He’s a whole universe. And he’s so into Beethoven sonatas, Schubert, Mozart, Bach – and those are the greatest giants of music, which I had kind of learned, but not enough. Not very precisely. Not deeply enough. He changed the way I interpreted the music – which made me who I am today.

Watching Pavarotti and Bono together made me realise what was possible. Bono was the biggest rock star in the world and Pavarotti was the biggest opera star and you’re thinking, this is crazy, how will that work together? But [their collaboration with the rest of U2 as Passengers on Miss Sarajevo in 1995] worked so well – and that gave me encouragement for the future. The reason I went on to work with Metallica and Coldplay is because I had seen Bono and Pavarotti. 

Some people thought working with Metallica would destroy my classical career. They had a big tour of China and they wanted to work with a pianist. So they showed me their work, this was just two weeks before the Grammy show, and we decided it was a great idea. Thankfully, they are wonderful musicians, and it became one of my best moments. With Coldplay, it was even more dramatic. We did a Global Citizen concert at Central Park in 2021. I was playing Michael Jackson songs with a choir and Chris Martin saw me practising backstage. He knows who I am. So he asked if I could play a bit of Chopin for inspiration. I played his favourite piece then he said, can you play with us? I said, when? And he said, in 20 minutes! Luckily, I knew the song Clocks. It was this incredible spontaneous performance – we didn’t even have a rehearsal. 

At 16, I never thought about having a family. I was dating someone, but it was nothing serious – we were just holding hands. So I never thought that far ahead. But, of course, in the back of my mind, I knew one day I will do that. I would tell my younger self to take your time. Don’t rush into something you are not ready for.

Music is the best gift for a kid. My son is a big fan of The Beatles, sings their songs all the time, and has started playing drums because of that. He’s not yet into the piano and I’m not forcing him to play… but I did say to him that for any musician it’s good to learn piano. He said he understands. So he will probably start in another year – he told me it’s too hard for him to sit still at the moment! I miss him a lot because I’m touring so much. He used to travel with me but now he has to be in kindergarten and it’s a big problem if he misses classes. So I can’t see him enough. I want him to be more free than I was in what he chooses to do. Because maybe my childhood was too intense. But the fortunate thing was that I found something I loved the most, which is playing piano, very early. No matter what my son is going to do, I hope he finds something he loves and is serious about. He already speaks four languages – Chinese, German, English and French – so he is doing well! 

Playing for Barack Obama when he won the Nobel Prize [in 2009] was a really, really wonderful moment. And in the same concert, I met musical legends like Donna Summer the disco queen, and Will Smith, who was rapping on that same stage. It was a really interesting combination there that night to celebrate. 

If I could relive one day, it would be the opening of the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. It was so special, I will never forget it. It was important for me but also for China, to be seen in the world. It was a breakthrough moment for many people in China. And I feel that I’m an ambassador in culture for China. So, if I introduce more Chinese music to the world or introduce more western music to China, back and forth, that will be the best. Music brings people together.

Piano Book 2 by Lang Lang is out now.

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