Lang Lang, one of many world’s most influential classical artists, says that musicians should all the time act as a “bridge” between cultures, however much more so throughout occasions of disaster.
Speaking to AFP after an intimate efficiency on the Steinway piano showroom in Manhattan, the 41-year-old famend pianist stated “every musician is an ambassador for their own culture.”
“When you’re a performing artist you play a lot of different works from different parts of the world, and it’s almost like a bridge, bridging the cultures,” he stated. “I think every musician has the responsibilities to share the different heritage through their music.”
Born in northeastern Shenyang in 1982, the globe-trotting performer grew to become well-known enjoying the good romantic composers.
He’s introduced that sensibility to Disney, because the leisure conglomerate that revolutionized the animation business celebrates its one hundredth anniversary.
Lang Lang final 12 months launched an album of songs based mostly on Disney classics — “The Disney Book” — in addition to a companion particular that is streaming on Disney+.
And just lately he launched a “Steinway X Disney” restricted version piano handpainted with the likeness of Mickey Mouse.
Lang Lang stated a good thing about partnering with Disney is bringing extra classical music to the ears of younger individuals.
“A lot of the time people ask me to play ‘Frozen,’ to play ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight,'” he stated, citing themes from the animated basic “The Lion King” and the more moderen phenomenon a couple of kingdom trapped in perpetual winter.
He stated a part of his aim is to make variations of these fashionable songs “exceptional” and within the mildew of “Chopin or Lizst — this level of piano that romantic composers will do.”
Lang Lang stated the “deep emotion” that music can evoke permits it to “unite people’s hearts.”
“Music is quite powerful,” he stated. “When you listen to music, you get a lot of different types of feelings. Whether it’s happy, whether it’s sad, or sentimental, in a way that you get a whole world, a range of emotions.”
He additionally lauded the facility of dwell efficiency, which for years was set again by the coronavirus pandemic, saying that artists performing onstage is “kind of like visual art and performing arts combined.”
“Whether it’s moving hands or moving the body and facial expression, it’s very moving in a way,” he continued. “A great performance always moves your heart.”
Asked if he had any concern over AI — whose use in music has been the topic of controversy and debate all through the business, with some pointing to copyright abuses — Lang Lang dismissed the priority.
“It’s not easy to create another Beethoven,” he stated.
© 2023 AFP