1 00:00:02,776 --> 00:00:06,837 (Talks/Authors/Brewmasters/Comedians/Green/Health/Innovators/Musicians/Artists/Filmmakers at Google) [Applause] 2 00:00:06,837 --> 00:00:10,636 Artists at Google Lang Lang The Chopin Album - Interview moderated by Jeff Spurgeon of WOXR October 15th, 2012 [Applause] 3 00:00:10,636 --> 00:00:13,824 [Lang Lang] Good morning. Thanks for being here. 4 00:00:13,824 --> 00:00:18,591 I'm very happy to be here for the second time, but the first time, I wasn't on the stage. 5 00:00:18,591 --> 00:00:24,105 I just - I was just visiting the office - it's a very cool office, I must say. 6 00:00:24,105 --> 00:00:29,696 And yes, I prepared some morning songs for you to wake up. 7 00:00:29,696 --> 00:00:31,457 [laughter] 8 00:00:31,457 --> 00:00:38,779 So, a few Chopin pieces. I will start with one of them, a very beautiful Nocturne 9 00:00:39,748 --> 00:00:45,680 and then, one or two Etudes, and then a Chopin waltz. 10 00:00:45,707 --> 00:00:52,741 So hopefully, we will get really waked after 20 minutes of performance. Thank you. 11 00:00:52,741 --> 00:00:58,125 [Applause] 12 00:00:59,401 --> 00:01:07,359 [Chopin: Nocturne in E-flat major, Opus 55 #2 (?): up to 0:06:44] 13 00:06:44,199 --> 00:06:50,755 [Etude - which?: up to 0:06:11] 14 00:08:11,375 --> 00:08:16,798 (8:11) [Etude in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3: up to 0:13:01] 15 00:13:01,667 --> 00:13:07,178 [Chopin: Waltz op 64 #1 (?): up to 0:16:42]) 16 00:16:42,172 --> 00:16:47,856 [Applause] 17 00:16:52,092 --> 00:17:00,037 [Jeff Spurgeon] Hello. I'm Jeff Spurgeon from WOXR, New York's classical station [unclear: info about reception] 18 00:17:00,037 --> 00:17:05,825 You may not know, because nobody told you: this is Lang Lang. [laughter] 19 00:17:05,825 --> 00:17:12,634 He's a classical pianist, reasonably well-known all over the globe 20 00:17:12,634 --> 00:17:17,794 and it's quite a wonderful thing to hear you play. 21 00:17:17,794 --> 00:17:21,780 Let me ask you: what was your warm up for this? 22 00:17:21,780 --> 00:17:23,837 Just this morning: did you warm up this morning? 23 00:17:23,837 --> 00:17:25,977 [Lang Lang] I - I'm sorry, I didn't warm up: 24 00:17:25,977 --> 00:17:29,374 I woke up around 10:20 [laughter] 25 00:17:29,374 --> 00:17:38,376 I mean I was running like crazy - speed - to get here 26 00:17:38,376 --> 00:17:44,512 and I'm really grateful that I - I mean - you are here today, ...... for me. Thank you very much. 27 00:17:44,512 --> 00:17:49,473 [Jeff Spurgeon] It's really wonderful - really wonderful. Thank you [Applause] 28 00:17:49,473 --> 00:17:54,455 [Jeff Spurgeon] It's extraordinary to have all that music just in your head, just at your command, 29 00:17:54,455 --> 00:17:55,647 just - but that's what you do. 30 00:17:55,647 --> 00:17:58,457 [Lang Lang] Well, as Rubinstein said, you know, one of the greatest pianists, 31 00:17:58,457 --> 00:18:03,024 and he said, he has like 60 piano concertos in his head. 32 00:18:03,024 --> 00:18:08,944 And basically doing - in his 70's or 80's he said: 33 00:18:08,944 --> 00:18:13,978 "Just call me up, wake me up in the middle of the night, like, say, 4 am - 34 00:18:13,978 --> 00:18:20,568 and I can play whatever piece you want - in concert level" Well, I mean that's - 35 00:18:20,568 --> 00:18:23,467 [Spurgeon] I believe it but so can you - but so can you. 36 00:18:23,467 --> 00:18:26,988 He's had - he had a little more practice than you so far, 37 00:18:26,988 --> 00:18:28,841 but you'll be there. 38 00:18:28,841 --> 00:18:35,672 In China, Lang Lang is credited with influencing some 40 million kids 39 00:18:35,672 --> 00:18:38,035 to take up classical piano. 40 00:18:38,035 --> 00:18:41,612 Now, I know that 40 million is not maybe a huge number at Google, 41 00:18:41,612 --> 00:18:46,333 but still [audience laughs] it's a reasonably large number of people - [Lang Lang laughs] 42 00:18:46,333 --> 00:18:50,267 to persuade to take up - and when you think about all the pianos that have to be made, 43 00:18:50,267 --> 00:18:52,417 and all the music that has to be printed, 44 00:18:52,417 --> 00:18:54,501 and all the lessons that have to be paid for, 45 00:18:54,501 --> 00:18:59,774 I would say that you are, without question, classical music's greatest job creator.[laughter] 46 00:18:59,774 --> 00:19:04,104 I don't think there's anybody who's going to do more than that - than you are. 47 00:19:04,127 --> 00:19:07,051 Lang Lang's new album on the Sony label is "The Chopin Album". 48 00:19:07,051 --> 00:19:15,374 It contains at its heart the Opus 25 set of a dozen études, studies for piano, 49 00:19:15,374 --> 00:19:16,766 that you have been studying since I think you were what? 50 00:19:16,766 --> 00:19:18,402 Eight it was when you started to play those things? 51 00:19:18,402 --> 00:19:23,447 [Lang Lang] Yeah, I started to play the Chopin études when I was 8, and - 52 00:19:23,447 --> 00:19:25,374 [Spurgeon] Took them on the road when you were 12 or 13? 53 00:19:25,374 --> 00:19:29,702 [Lang Lang] Yeah, I played the complete études when I was 13, right, 54 00:19:29,702 --> 00:19:35,419 and it was very tiring to play those pieces [laughter]. 55 00:19:35,419 --> 00:19:39,281 I mean, it drives me nuts and it drives my neighbors nuts [laughter] 56 00:19:39,281 --> 00:19:41,007 I really feel bad about it, you know. 57 00:19:41,007 --> 00:19:44,827 And, you see, recently I started practicing in my apartment here, 58 00:19:44,827 --> 00:19:49,457 and I started practicing the Chopin études, you know [imitates a few notes] 59 00:19:49,457 --> 00:19:52,540 and then my neighbor knocked at my door: "Can - could you stop?" 60 00:19:52,540 --> 00:19:53,763 [Spurgeon] Really? Did he really? 61 00:19:53,763 --> 00:19:56,182 [Lang Lang] Yeah - no no: I mean, 62 00:19:56,182 --> 00:19:57,651 there's one neighbor who knows who I am, 63 00:19:57,651 --> 00:20:00,893 so she's always like, "Oh, that's really wonderful!" 64 00:20:02,216 --> 00:20:06,209 But then, there's another neighbor, I think, living downstairs, 65 00:20:06,209 --> 00:20:09,045 and - because I always like to practice after 11, you know, 66 00:20:09,045 --> 00:20:11,910 to find inspiration [laughter] 67 00:20:11,910 --> 00:20:16,207 And - and this lady, I think she hates me all the time. 68 00:20:16,207 --> 00:20:17,745 So anyway, that's - 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] So you've been playing these since you were 8, playing them in public since you were 13. 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Why record them now? Why not a little earlier? 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Why not wait a couple more years? Maybe the wine will mellow a little more in the bottle. 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Why decide to do these now? 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] I mean, since I'm 30, you know, I like to - 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to do some more repertoire, which I played a lot when I was a kid, 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and also, you know, putting on new pieces. 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I actually thought to do the 24 études, the complete cycle, 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but I actually - I thought maybe I should do something, not just technical pieces, 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but also very artistic pieces combined for the Chopin first solo for me to record. 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And also to hear - I was also actually watching the video that I did when I was 13, 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 playing the complete études, and I found (?) a few wrong notes, and I [makes dismayed sound] 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but now, playing a few of those pieces like "The Winter Wind", "Ocean" études, 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 now I feel slightly easier - slightly. 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So that seems like a good sign, you know. 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 17 years of practice and my technique is going somewhere [laughter] 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And - but more importantly, is the musical sense that - 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there are so many new things I'm trying to reinterpret in this album, 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I try to find different colors, like you have here, different levels of colors 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and the combination of the ...... of Chopin, 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, the Romantic period of répertoire, 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and especially last year, I did Liszt. 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I thought this was a nice moment to do Chopin. 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So next year will be very different. So - 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spuregeon] What's next year? 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Next year, I will do Prokofiev and Bartók. 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Well! OK So it's very very different, totally different, truly... 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There's some unusual pieces on this album. 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise, a big favorite of yours, 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 done with orchestra sometimes, but there is the solo version. 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You've always liked this piece? (22:31) 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Not really. I mean, when I was a [laughter] - when I was a kid, I hated it, 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because I mean, once - no matter how great the work of art, 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there are so many pianists playing the same piece, not in a very good level (?) 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then you will feel kind of bored, you know. 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And so that exactly happens when I was a kid, 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, I heard so many interpretations of this piece I got totally all around (?) 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I didn't like it. 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Then I came to America and I studied at Curtis' in Philadelphia 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 - Do you know the Philly cheese steak? It's pretty good, yeah - 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Anyway, so, in Philadelphia, a boy from Kiev, he's - he also studied with the same teacher as me, 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Gary Graffman [Spurgeon] Gary Graffman 111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] and he played it in a student recital. I was shocked by his playing. 112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm like "Wow! This piece is spectacular!" 113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then I started loving this piece and - thanks to him, of course - 114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and - so sometimes, you know, one amazing performance 115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really changes your entire view of a work 116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and that's what happens in the Spianato and ..... 117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Now it turns - you played actually a wonderful cross-section of the album 118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just a few minutes ago. 119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There is a piece on this album, it's the last selection called "Tristesse" 120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and it features a singer named Oh Land, who is from - [Spurgeon and Lang Lang] Sweden 121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] She lives in Williamsburg, 122 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because most people do. [Lang Lang] Right. [Laughter] 123 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah, Brooklyn is getting ..... 124 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] That's - it's beautiful. 125 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Can you tell me the story of this, because it's from a film? 126 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Right, Trist - we did a film during the Chopin year, 127 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 called "The Flying Machine", so it basically adapts a novel, kind of about Poland today, 128 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and as compared to the Chopin's days. 129 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So actually, I was actor in this movie and my partner was Heather Graham [inaudible] 130 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Yeah, Heather Graham - many faces lit up when you said those words. [Laughter] 131 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Anyway. But that one was pretty classic. ........ 132 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And so that - that film actually was quite inspiring, 133 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because there was Chopin's music and takes the journey of a piano 134 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually, the piano became a flying machine, sort of, 135 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we take the kids all over the world. 136 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And so, the theme song, we actually thought the Tristesse (?), which is the Opus 10 #3 étude 137 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is such a beautiful melody, which I played here, second to the last (?), 138 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and so we transcribed that to the theme song, 139 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so we got this beautiful voice of - her name is pretty funny: Oh Land - 140 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 yeah, so, in the beginning I didn't know she's a - I mean is a he or she - 141 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but when I heard the voice, I most certainly knew she's a she 142 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and she did a wonderful job. 143 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Yeah. It's a sweet - it's a sweet song 144 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and Chopin - lots of people - lots of popular songs have been written on Chopin themes, 145 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but this is another and it is just great [Lang Lang] Yes. 146 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Your foundation. Let's talk about that because that's such a big deal: 147 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Lang Lang International Music Foundation - it's going great guns (?) 148 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you had some kids I think, from part of that program on the Tonight Show? 149 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah: two weeks ago I was on Jay Leno - 150 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Yeah: four minutes of classical music on network television. 151 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was extraordinary. Four whole minutes. 152 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] It was amazing. 153 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You know, these days, it's hard to get classical music on [Spurgeon] Exactly right. 154 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] anyway, but I mean, Jay is a good friend 155 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I mean, his name is Jay Jay now, after [laughter] 156 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] - the Lang Lang. 157 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Oh my god, yes, 400 cars (?) - 158 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 anyway, let's not talk about that. 159 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, we actually had a very fortunate selection of wonderful talents from the Los Angeles area 160 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they - there were - I mean some of the kids I know them before, 161 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because they perform with me, my condition- 162 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Do you mean all kids...... 163 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 10 of them, so Lang Lang played - you played "La Campanella" and the E-flat Waltz 164 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that you heard part of here, and then ten kids, five other Steinways around in the room 165 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they are all doing [inaudible] 166 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah, Turkish March [sings it] 167 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [sings on the Turkish March] And that was so beautiful 168 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I really enjoyed working with them, and the way they played, it was magnificent. [Spurgeon] [Inaudible] 169 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] And - I mean, I thought I really want, watching, you know, 170 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 our next generation perform, it's a special moment and for me it's very inspiring 171 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and that's what our foundation is wanting to do, you know, to work with the next generation of artists 172 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and to - helping them - to support them to achieve their dreams, 173 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just like many of the mentors helped me when I was very young. 174 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] So, it's about helping the next generation - not necessarily about classical music? 175 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I mean it is classical-focused I think about it (?). 176 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yes, it will be focused on classical and piano, 177 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but in the same time, we will also - to do some .....(?) with the Grammy people 178 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and VHI people, so we're trying to - trying to break the boundaries 179 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 through these wonderful projects 180 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I created this "101 pianists" project. So - 181 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] You'll have a hundred pianists with you on stage? That's the idea? [Lang Lang] Yes - yes. 182 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 50 pianos, people play 4-hands, the re... is that - [Spurgeon] It's also a great job creator too, 183 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just for the movers.[Laughter] 184 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] I mean, yeah, the movers were quite happy about this, you know, and this, and - 185 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but the reason we wanted this is, as a pianist, we always practice by ourself. 186 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's sometimes very lonely, you know, you are in a dark room, much tougher than this one [laughter]. 187 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I practice hours, hours, it's - it's hard training and for a kid, it's important to have a partner, 188 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 like two kids on one piano, so they can talk a little bit. 189 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And it's like doing your homework, you know, that type of thing. 190 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then, the teachers can teach them, you know, how to play together 191 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and in the end, we all get together to play, and enjoy the music. 192 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Music making [Lang Lang] Yeah. 193 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] October 30th at Carnegie Hall, the Lang Lang International Music Foundation 194 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is having a big benefit concert, an evening with Joshua Bell and Dee Dee Bridgewater 195 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and the formerly mentioned Oh Land - 196 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] And Alec Baldwin [Spurgeon] And Alec Baldwin will be the host 197 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and [inaudible] 198 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So what's going to happen that night? 199 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Just a big bunch of music making, I guess' 200 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Err yes. 201 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] I mean, do you collaborate, are you doing something with Dee Dee Bridgewater? 202 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yes, so - so here I start, playing some Chopin, 203 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then - with Josh - we play the Grieg Violin and Piano Sonata - 204 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Is he Jay Jay also to you? 205 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Err - Josh Josh. [laughter] [Spurgeon] Just checking. 206 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] And then [giggles] in the second half, we start with 4 hands, 6 hands, 8 hands - and 10 hands. 207 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] [Laughs] On one piano? [Lang Lang] No. [Spurgeon] OK. 208 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Just checking. Just checking. 209 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yes, 10 hands on one piano that's - 210 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Well, you'd know each other very well by the end of the piece, you'd be very familiar. 211 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Just like the subway, you know [Spurgeon] That's right. 212 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] You are a master, at the age of 30, you are a master, recognized around the globe. 213 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But are you still a student and do you see any of your old teachers? 214 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Gary Graffman was your teacher at Curtis, 215 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then you've done a little bit of work with Daniel Barenboim. [Lang Lang] Absolutely. 216 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] When you see them, do you play for them and ask them for their thoughts? 217 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Is it a lesson they give you - no - how does it work at this level 218 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 where you are, in your stage of artistry - with these elder mentors, I guess you'd call them? 219 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah. I mean, my teachers were, and still are 220 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Gary Graffman, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniel Barenboim 221 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they helped me tremendously, not just technically but - 222 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Well, I was going to say, they're not going to say: 223 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "You missed the E flat in the 40th bar." or - that's not what they do. So, what are they - 224 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Well, sometimes they do that too. [laughter] 225 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But they - because the great musicians like those names, you know, 226 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they are much more focused on the understanding 227 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and also on the traditional interpretations. 228 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So they will show you how the traditional sound. 229 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then we will start discussing about new possibilities - 230 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 how we recreate those moments that the traditional lights (?). 231 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then, you know, they will help me to find out my ways, you know: 232 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I will start to explore some of my ideas on those passages, how I'm going to do it. 233 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And obviously, we know that music - there are some, I mean, there are certain styles. 234 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but there are not certain rules, you know, so basically, there are lots of alternatives. 235 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And the important thing is how to organize the alternatives, 236 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and how to - balancing them, having a right pulse (?). 237 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And this is the challenge, because you can do lot of interpretations, 238 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but if they are unbalanced, if what you start, in the end, doesn't make sense, 239 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then all those feelings are wasted, you know, 240 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and so, first you free [inaudible], and then you need to limit your interpretations into certain ways. 241 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then, in the concert, you start everything new again, you know, 242 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 try to get inspired from the actual stage and to recreate new feelings, a new emotion, 243 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but aware of that tradition lines, which will hold every interpretation 244 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the right speed and right pulse. 245 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Right. Well, you're part of that tradition. 246 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You're recreating it and making it at the same time. 247 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I should say too that there is time for questions from all of you here - 248 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a little bit, to just - hold: think of your question - [Lang Lang] Hold the line! Hold the line! 249 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Yeah, exactly. 250 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I've wondered about the transition from Chinese culture to Western culture for you, 251 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in music as well, because you grew up playing this music for a very long time. 252 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For me, Chinese classical music is - is a little bit strange, 253 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and maybe a little bit difficult to listen to, because I haven't had as much experience with it. 254 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You've been steeped in both traditions. 255 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Do you hear them the same way, or do you switch, sort of from one to another? 256 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And you put them together too, because you've done lots of piano transcriptions 257 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of traditional Chinese pieces that weren't thought of on a piano. (33:52) 258 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] It's just like this, you know, when you hear American music, 259 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 when you hear a German music, when you hear a - African music, it's different, you know. 260 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But in the same time, it's all called music. 261 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's like music, I mean, in that we try to express similar subjects, similar feelings 262 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but use a different wording and a different language. 263 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That's a bit like in the music world. 264 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I mean, obviously, you have to switch fast with the haste (?) of music making. 265 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But in the end of the day, following that (?) I grew up both in the Chinese traditional music 266 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and in Western classical, 267 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because my father plays erhu, which is a Chinese violin, 268 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yeah - I mean recently, I found a different interesting thing of the difference between fork and chopsticks 269 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and the difference between erhu and violin - 270 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Do you see the similarity out there? [Spurgeon] Interesting. 271 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Well, erhu has two strings, and violins have four. 272 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] [laughss] and chopsticks: two and a fork, usually four tines. 273 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Right, here we go. So that's the difference. 274 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Laughter] 275 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Very good, that's a very good answer. 276 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Do you - do you think it's - I mean, one of the things with your foundation, 277 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you're helping people to explore classical msic: 278 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 do you think you can make people like classical music? 279 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was - I feel like, sometimes it's a sales job. 280 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Nobody says: "Oh my God, you've got to hear rock n' roll, you won't believe what that stuff is" 281 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Nobody says that, but about classical music, some of those people say: 282 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Oh, well, if you haven't heard it, you should maybe listen to a little bit of it." 283 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Do you feel like having, I mean, to "sell it"? 284 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The idea of it? 285 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] I mean - my experience of it (?) is pretty funny. 286 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There are two - there are two experiences of it. 287 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The first was in America - and then I'll talk about China alright? - 288 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, first in America, I came when I was 15, and then, I was in a regular high school in Philadelphia. 289 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 All those "dudes" and "yammies" (?) 36:09 290 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then, they asked me: "What do you do here, in this country?" 291 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I: "Oh, I'm studying classical music." alright (?): "Classical music? what is that?" 292 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [laughter] "Oooh, I know, I know - I'll tell you: are you playing the dudes that already passed, 293 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 like 500 years ago?" [laughter]"You do his work?" 294 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I say "Yes, kind of like that but not [inaudible]" 295 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I say: "Just think about Shakespeare, right? He died for many years, but still his work is classic, right?" 296 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So there, I know we have a serious problem, you know. 297 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then a few years later, I went back to China for - for concerts. 298 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then - ............ (36:55) 299 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There's one guy who came and he's like: 300 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "I hear so you're recording in the same label as Mozart." [laughter] 301 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, you see, it's a total ........ 302 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but somehow it's quite funny, right? 303 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So - so in a way, that - you know - that gives us the room to sort of have some work to do. 304 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But I don't think we need to "sell" this, you know, this art, 305 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because classical music is so wonderful - it's just - 306 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people sometimes don't know it, that's it: we just need to, you know, 307 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 using social media and networks and platforms too. 308 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Can you give an example of social media? 309 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 - Just kidding, just kidding: it's Google Talk - it's Google 310 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah. Yeah, I mean, remember, a few years ago, 311 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 YouTube had a, like a YouTube Symphony Orchestra competition 312 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and it was a big phenomenon on internet. 313 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I had the great privilege of being their ambassador for - for the proect. 314 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And - so in the future, I mean, today, even like when I tweet or I'm facebooking, 315 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I start to share some of the musical thoughts 316 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 - not just talking about food and movies [laughter] 317 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but to share a little bit of feelings towards, to the music I play. 318 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then, I share some of my favorite links of the great musicians performing 319 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and you know, to try to inspire some fans to listen. 320 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Yeah. Very good, thank you. Alright. 321 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You've got microphones over there, so if you have questions, 322 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 please go to a microphone and we'll .... up and knock you down with Lang Lang. 323 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q1 from the audience] Hi [name ?] [Inaudible] 324 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm a father: I've got a 5-year old and a 2-year old (38:41) 325 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and for better or worse, my kids are into popular music. 326 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon (?)] Good for you] 327 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q1] Yes. And I'm wondering - [laughter] 328 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So making them sit down and listen to better music, to classical music, 329 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is a little help [Lang Lang] Than you very much [laughs] 330 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q1] It is a little heavy-handed. 331 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was wondering, what have you found that really works with kids, to get them engaged 332 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and interested in new kinds of music, in particular, classical music. 333 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah. There are a few compositors which I felt quite - who could have a real good connection to kids. 334 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One is Tchaikovsky - piece like Nutcracker or Swan's Lake (?) and - 335 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and Mozart - Mozart is probably the best composer to, I mean really (?) inspire the kds. 336 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And Chopin, also, I would say: very melodic. 337 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Ah, but you wouldn't start with [inaudible] Wagner's Ring cycle, right? [laughter] 338 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That's a little hard, yeah. 339 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, good luck! May there is some new - maybe Lady Gaga comes out there. [laughter] 340 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q2] Quick question, along those lines. I have a 4- and a 6-year old 341 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they like [Lang Lang] [inaudible: very tiring?] 342 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 - they start and stop things, especially my 6-year old daughter. 343 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She's interested now in piano. 344 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 How do I get that going, keep that going, you know, get her - 345 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because I imagine little doggy challenges along the way. 346 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] First, get a good teacher. That's very important. 347 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And - very important, if you have time, please take her to kids' events, 348 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, kids' concerts. I'm told (?) Carnegie does a lot of these things 349 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and Lincoln Center or - take her to some of the concerts that other kids perform. 350 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because for me, it was the same. 351 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The reason I started linking performance when I was very young is because all my friends were musicians 352 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they were actually playing something, and we can actually play together, 353 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 like two pianos, or three pianos, or violin, playing a trio, a little trio. 354 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And music is like a language: we need a communication, 355 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we need to use our language, you know: 356 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 if you learn a new language, you could only use it. 357 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You're not interested and you forget about it. 358 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, you know, this communication is very important. 359 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] I know there is at least one more question, it's just - yeah 360 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q3] [inaudible] [Spurgeon] I'll repeat it. 361 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q3] [inaudible] 362 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Yes, so the question was, did you - what are your plans for your next recordings. 363 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And are you - will you - Bach, specifically. 364 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah. I mean, I love Bach. When I was a kid, I played Bach's work every week (?) 365 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I tried to memorize a work by Bach every week to train my brain, you know. 366 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By the way, after that, you can remember every cell phone number you own (?) [laughter] 367 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And really, Bach is - really, now - really challenging, but incredible. 368 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Certainly, I would love to record the "Goldberg Variations", 369 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 certainly I would do more classic repertoire records, 370 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but it needs to be balanced. 371 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So this year and last year I did all of the romantics, 372 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then next year will be contemporary, and then you know - 373 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so, I'm trying to balance the recordings. 374 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Thanks for bringing the Goldberg, by the way. 375 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] You, Sir. 376 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q4] So, there is a lot of talk about - sorry, I'm very tall - 377 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there is a lot of talk about bringing classic music to children and I am in some sense a product of that. 378 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My father went way out of his way to play clasic music, he reallly enoyed it - 379 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I hated it, as a kid. 380 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I'm here, so that's obviously no longer the case. 381 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But I am - I studied, or at least I was taught classical guitar. [Lang Lang] Oh? 382 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q4] And that lapsed for several years while I went to [inaudible]. 383 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Now I guess a little absence was worthwhile. 384 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But what advice would you give towards adults who have a musical sensibility, 385 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who have musical appreciation and - I guess in my cast - have or in general cases, 386 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 do not have some degree of musical training. 387 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because children are taught at a very early age to begin to play classical music, 388 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or begin music in general. 389 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Is there any sen- is there any fear that I should have for instance lack of dexterity, 390 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [inaudible] plasticity of mind. 391 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What advice would you give to us adults who want to begin to hopefully - with a lag - 392 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reach the kind of level you're operating on? [laugher] 393 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Well you - you're getting deep with this. 394 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Well ah - adult, yeah. I mean there's a app called Magic Piano, which I co-produced. 395 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I mean, if you feel it difficult to play the real piano, try that. [laughter] 396 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It'll be easier to play because somehow, it plays by itself. 397 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Ah, and - yeah, you can certainly buy a piano, which has a kind of a high tech disk 398 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then you just push a - whoever's Chopin, whoever's Tchaikovsky, 399 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whoever's Beethoven 400 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and somehow - and then, you know, you can, maybe start to see the positions on the piano 401 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and try to follow it. 402 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But again: I really - I'm really welcoming adults actually learning an instrument. 403 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And especially - you had a musical training before, right? 404 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So for you, it would be very easy, actually, to pick it up again, you know, 405 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the great work you did before (45:02) 406 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and maybe now learn do it (?) you will feel more comfortable, 407 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 maybe you will like it more than when you were a kid. 408 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And also, you know, classical guitar is pretty cool, 409 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I'm sure, as, you know, while you're playing, you'll get some new dates or something. 410 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [laughter] I mean, that's very important, you know, I know some of my friends who studied 411 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 - adults - who study piano. I say: "Why are you doing it?" "Oh, I try to impress the girls." [laughter] 412 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, I mean, I know lots of those people. 413 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, it is a good encouragement, right, so - 414 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] The choice of instrument can be important for that too. 415 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You'll get more dates with a guitar, probably, than with an accordion. [laughter] 416 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Just a thought. 417 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Guitar is very popular these days, you know, 418 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it's probably one of the instruments I can think of, more popular than piano, it's probably guitar. 419 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I would like to learn it, actually - guitar - if - maybe I should learn some classical guitar skills from you. 420 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q4] I'd love to give you a lesson. [laughter] 421 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] I got new lessons [inaudible]. [Q4] [inaudible] a teacher. 422 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q4 and Lang Lang] Thank you. 423 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] Yes, Sir. 424 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q5] I wanted to ask, when you memorize a piece, is it only technical 425 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or do you also memorize, like, how you feel, 426 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is it like, before you start playing, do you have to get into the emotion of that piece, 427 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or is it just the music getting you there, when you hear it? 428 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah - that's, that's - yeah. 429 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 First, sometimes I hear a great music in my ear, whether - any type of music: 430 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm just trying to get memorized the melodies first. 431 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I want to somehow play on the pianos. 432 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But some work, I know it for many years 433 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and it doesn't mean that you start to love those - repertoire right away. 434 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Some pieces take a few years to digest and then you are like "Wow! I should do it!" 435 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And so, first comes to - the general stuff, you know, you read a score after you know, 436 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you read it like in this piece you want to learn. 437 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So you learn it from the score and you play, simply, by their - just play by your right hand 438 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or putting it together like this. 439 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And after that, you are trying to - analyzing the piece 440 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and using everything you learned from the past, you know, 441 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and your head will be like a multimedia screen, trying to take a lot of elements 442 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and trying to put those things inside of the music. 443 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because the most important thing is not the note, it's this thing behind the note, 444 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the meaning behind the note. 445 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, the more meaning - meanings you're getting, is better for the first work session. 446 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then later, you're just trying to balance the right ones. 447 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And you will know the right ones when you're ready. 448 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the beginning, you don't really know, so you try lots of things, 449 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then later you will know, wow, this one will not work, 450 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because this is maybe defeating the style of - 451 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then later, after you really understand the dynamics of the score, 452 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you start to recreate things. 453 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then, you play for several of your teachers, or your colleagues 454 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and you get more ideas. 455 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then, you start looking into this work again, and then you start performance. 456 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And when you perform, every day, every time, you should try different things. 457 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And after a year, I think you can - you're ready for recording. 458 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon laughs] [Q5] Thank you. 459 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Lots of alternatives (?) (48:59) 460 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q6] My name is ...... I work in Google. 461 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I actually have the opposite problem from Samir with me, actually 462 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 2 and half year old daughter, she actually loves classical music 463 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Yeah! Here we go! [claps] 464 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q6] She even goes to sleep while hearing Andrea Boccelli and you playing ..... 465 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which is very nice. 466 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I have a different question: I want to learn playing the piano myself, as well. 467 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Wonderful! [Q6] Mmm? 468 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Wonderful, that's a great idea. 469 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q6] I'm pretty old, you know, 35. 470 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My question is actually in 2 parts. 471 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 First of all, I heard about something called the Suzuki method [Lang Lang] [Inaudible] 472 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q6] Yeah, but I heard conflicting opinions about it. 473 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I wonder what's your take on it? 474 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And the second part: is it if - is it a - how do you say it - 475 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is it a real ambition to learn to play the piano at such a late age? 476 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I mean, to do even something minimal? 477 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] It's never too late. 478 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Suzuki method: actually I didn't know this method when I was practicing - 479 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then later I know the method, but I've been brought up by just playing scales. 480 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I didn't really have any method, you know, try this method or not - 481 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think that's - maybe it's important for some people, 482 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but it's not necessary to be focused on one method, 483 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because in the end of the day, there are so many ways of playing piano 484 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and you don't want to start (?) with one thing, 485 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, in the very beginning and you just stop (?) with it. 486 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q6] Yeah, yeah, but I refer .... Suzuki method, both the father and the child are learning together. 487 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I thought that- 488 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] My father also did that, but it was a different kind of method. 489 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yeah he's - he's playing like the strict method. [laughter] 490 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But you know, I'm sure it will work for many people. 491 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I just wasn't brought up by this method. And I - yeah - 492 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm always - you know, this is a very challenging way to know: 493 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what is the real right, you know, beginning method for kids to learn the piano? 494 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We are still trying to figure that out. So once I know more about it, I'll let you know. 495 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But seriously, you can always learn piano, no matter how old you are. 496 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I have a doctor friend, you know. He's a - a - he's a wonderful doctor and lives in Germany. 497 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And he's now, I think, 50 years old. Good guy: 50. 498 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He starts, because he always loved the piano, 499 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but he never had money to learn when he was very young, he was focused onto medicine, you know. 500 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Then somehow his - after he became a very successful doctor - 501 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he wanted to - to, you know - to establish his childhood dream, 502 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which is to play beautiful sounds. 503 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And so he started to learn piano when he turned 42. Seriously, this is a - 504 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and he finds a teacher who is very young, like early 20's, 505 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but a very good guy, you know, very solid pianist. 506 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So he starts learning from him. And you kno what? 507 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He just made - this 50-year old doctor just made his finally archive (? Archiv?) recording 508 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of ten of his favorite pieces, including the Schumann "Träumerei", you know, "Dreaming", 509 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 including the Schubert Impromptus, including a Chopin's Waltz, including Liszt's "Consolation". 510 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So this guy's like only learned a few years, 511 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but he has his golden top ten. 512 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So he can open a radio show, you know, ....... 513 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And he plays very beautiful, I mean the technique maybe is not really there, 514 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but he's certainly put his emotions there, 515 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which is more important, somehow, you know. 516 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And so I'm sure you can do the same and I'm sure you'll be marching on with that (?) [laughter] 517 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [someone says something inaudible] 518 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] One more question: you. 519 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Q7] Given the level of evocativeness that you achieve, I have to wonder: 520 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 do you have some sort of meditative practice other than at the piano? 521 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What are your favorite ways to tap into, say, greater levels of humanity? 522 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Hem. [inaudible] I mean, I - I mean the first really important thing is taking naps. [laughter] 523 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Talking about meditation, I mean that's a - 524 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that's the first thing to come to my mind, 525 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because I'm such a night person, I don't sleep well in the night, 526 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I just get over in my mind some strange ideas. 527 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So during the day, I like to take, like one-hour nap. 528 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then somehow, that calms me down and I - I feel great. 529 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And also, I - I think the best way to - you know - for ourself to get ready mentally 530 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is reading books. Read as much as you can. 531 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And also, after reading, take a little walk in a park or go to museums. 532 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This, for me, is the best way of learning new knowledge and relaxing 533 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and this makes me a much better musician and human being . Yeah. Thank you. 534 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Spurgeon] And thanks to everyone here at Google today, and thanks to Lang Lang. Great. 535 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Lang Lang] Thanks! [Applause]