9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Talks/Authors/Brewmasters/Comedians/Green/Health/Innovators/Musicians/Artists/Filmmakers at Google)[br][Applause] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Artists at Google[br]Lang Lang The Chopin Album - Interview moderated by Jeff Spurgeon of WOXR[br]October 15th, 2012 [br][Applause] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Good morning. Thanks for being here. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm very happy to be here for the second time, but the first time, I wasn't on the stage. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I just - I was just visiting the office - a very cool office, I say. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And yes, I prepared some morning songs for you to wake up. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So, a few Chopin pieces. We'll start with one of them, a very beautiful Nocturne 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and then, one or two Etudes, and then a Chopin waltz. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So hopefully, we will get really waked after 20 minutes of performance. Thank you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Applause] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Chopin: Nocturne in E-flat major, Opus 55 #2 (?)] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (6:44) [Etude - which?] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (8:11) [Etude in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (13:01) [Chopin: Waltz op 64 #1(?]) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (16:42) [Applause] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Jeff Spurgeon] Hello. I'm Jeff Spurgeon from WOXR, New York's classical station ....... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You may not know, because nobody told you: this is Lang Lang. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He's a classical pianist, reasonably well-known all over the globe (17:12) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it's quite a wonderful thing to hear you play. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Let me ask you: what was your warm up for this? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Just this morning: did you warm up this morning? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] I - I'm sorry, I didn't warm up: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I woke up around 10:20 [laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I mean I was running like crazy - speed - to get here 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I'm really grateful that I - I mean - you are here today, ...... for me. Thank you very much. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Jeff Spurgeon] It's really wonderful[br][Applause] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Jeff Spurgeon] It's extraordinary to have all that music just in your head, just at your command, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but that's what you do. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Well, as Rubinstein said, you know, one of the greatest pianists, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and he's had, he has like 60 piano concertos in his head. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And basically doing - in his 70's or 80's he said: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Just call me up, wake me up in the middle of the night, like, say, 4 am - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I can play whatever piece you want - in concert level" Well, I mean that's - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] I believe it but so can you - but so can you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He's had - he had a little more practice than you so far, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but you'll be there. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In China, Lang Lang is credited with influencing some 40 million kids 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to take up classical piano. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Now, I know that 40 million is not maybe a huge number at Google, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but still [audience laughs] it's a reasonably large number of people - [Lang Lang laughs] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to persuade to take up - and when you think about all the pianos that have to be made, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and all the music that has to be printed, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and all the lessons that have to be paid for, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I would say that you are, without question, classical music's greatest job creator.[laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I don't think there's anybody who's going to do more than that than you are. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Lang Lang's new album on the Sony label is "The Chopin Album". 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It contains at its heart the Opus 25 set of a dozen études, studies for piano, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that you have been studying since I think you were what? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Eight it was when you started to play those things? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yeah, I started to play the Chopin études when I was 8, and - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Took them on the road when you were 12 or 13? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yeah, I played the complete études when I was 13, right, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it was very tiring to play those pieces [laughter]. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I mean, it drives me nuts and it drives my neighbors nuts [laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I really feel bad about it, you know. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And, as you know, recently I started practicing in my appartment here, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I started practicing the Chopin études, you know [imitates a few notes] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and then my neighbor knocked at my door: "Can - could you stop?" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Really? You mean really? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yeah. I mean, no no. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I mean there's one neighbor who knows who I am, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so she's always like, "Oh, that's really wonderful!" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But then, there's another neighbor, I think, living downstairs, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because I always like to practice after 11, you know, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to find inspiration [laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And - and this lady, I think she hates me all the time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So anyway, that's - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] So you've been playing these since you were 8, playing them in public since you were 13. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Why record them now? Why not a little earlier? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Why not wait a couple more years? Maybe the wine will mellow a little more in the bottle. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Why decide to do these now? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] I mean, since I'm 30, you know, I like to - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to do some more repertoire, which I played a lot when I was a kid, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and also, you know, putting on new pieces. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I actually thought to do the 24 études, the complete cycle, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but I actually - I thought maybe I should do something, not just technical pieces, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but also very artistic pieces combined for the Chopin first solo for me to record. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And also to hear - I was also actually watching the video that I did when I was 13, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 playing the complete études, and I found (?) a few wrong notes, and I [makes dismayed sound] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but now, playing a few of those pieces like "The Winter Wind", "Ocean" études, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 now I feel slightly easier - slightly. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So that seems like a good sign, you know. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 17 years of practice and my technique is going somewhere [laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And - but more importantly, is the musical sense that - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there are so many new things I'm trying to reinterpret in this album, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that I try to find different colors, like you have here, different levels of colors 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the combination of the ...... of Chopin, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you know, the Romantic period of répertoire, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and especially last year, I did Liszt. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I thought this was a nice moment to do Chopin. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So next year will be very different. So - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spuregeon] What's next year? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Next year, I will do Prokofiev and Bartók. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Well! OK So it's very very different, totally different, truly... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There's some unusual pieces on this album. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise, a big favorite of yours, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 done with orchestra sometimes, but there is the solo version. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You've always liked this piece? (22:31) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Not really. I mean, when I was a [laughter] - when I was a kid, I hated it, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because I mean, once - no matter how great the work of art, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there are so many pianists playing the same piece, not in a very good level (?) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 then you will feel kind of bored, you know. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And so that exactly happens when I was a kid, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you know, I heard so many interpretations of this piece I got totally all around (?) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I didn't like it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Then I came to America and I studied at Curtis' in Philadelphia 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 - Do you know the Philly cheese steak? It's pretty good, yeah - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Anyway, so, in Philadelphia, a boy from Kiev, he's - he also studied with the same teacher as me, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Gary Graffman[br][Spurgeon] Gary Graffman 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] and he played it in a student recital. I was shocked by his playing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm like "Wow! This piece is spectacular!" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then I started loving this piece and - thanks to him, of course - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and - so sometimes, you know, one amazing performance 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 really changes your entire view of a work 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and that's what happens in the Spianato and ..... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Now it turns - you played actually a wonderful cross-section of the album 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just a few minutes ago. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There is a piece on this album, it's the last selection called "Tristesse" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it features a singer named Oh Land, who is from - [br][Spurgeon and Lang Lang] Sweden 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] She lives in Williamsburg, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because most people do.[br][Lang Lang] Right. [Laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yeah, Brooklyn is getting ..... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] That's - it's beautiful. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Can you tell me the story of this, because it's from a film? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Right, Trist - we did a film during the Chopin year, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 called "The Flying Machine", so it basically adapts a novel, kind of about Poland today, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and as compared to the Chopin's days. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So actually, I was actor in this movie and my partner was Heather Graham [inaudible] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Yeah, Heather Graham - many faces lit up when you said those words. [Laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Anyway. But that one was pretty classic. ........ 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And so that - that film actually was quite inspiring, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because there was Chopin's music and takes the journey of a piano 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 actually, the piano became a flying machine, sort of, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we take the kids all over the world. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And so, the theme song, we actually thought the Tristesse (?), which is the Opus 10 #3 étude 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is such a beautiful melody, which I played here, second to the last (?), 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and so we transcribed that to the theme song, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so we got this beautiful voice of - her name is pretty funny: Oh Land - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 yeah, so, in the beginning I didn't know she's a - I mean is a he or she - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but when I heard the voice, I most certainly knew she's a she 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and she did a wonderful job. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Yeah. It's a sweet - it's a sweet song 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and Chopin - lots of people - lots of popular songs have been written on Chopin themes, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but this is another and it is just great[br][Lang Lang] Yes. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Your foundation. Let's talk about that because that's such a big deal: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the Lang Lang International Music Foundation - it's going great guns (?) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you had some kids I think, from part of that program on the Tonight Show? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yeah: two weeks ago I was on Jay Leno - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Yeah: four minutes of classical music on network television. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was extraordinary. Four whole minutes. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] It was amazing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You know, these days, it's hard to get classical music on [br][Spurgeon] Exactly right. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] anyway, but I mean, Jay is a good friend 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I mean, his name is Jay Jay now, after [laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] - the Lang Lang. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Oh my god, yes, 400 cars (?) - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 anyway, let's not talk about that. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So, we actually had a very fortunate selection of wonderful talents from the Los Angeles area 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they - there were - I mean some of the kids I know them before, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because they perform with me, my condition- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Do you mean all kids...... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 10 of them, so Lang Lang played - you played "La Campanella" and the E-flat Waltz 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that you heard part of here, and then ten kids, five other Steinways around in the room 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they are all doing [inaudible] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yeah, Turkish March [sings it] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [sings on the Turkish March] And that was so beautiful 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that I really enjoyed working with them, and the way they played, it was magnificent.[br][Spurgeon] [Inaudible] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] And - I mean, I thought I really want, watching, you know, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 our next generation perform, it's a special moment and for me it's very inspiring 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and that's what our foundation is wanting to do, you know, to work with the next generation of artists 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and to - helping them - to support them to achieve their dreams, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just like many of the mentors helped me when I was very young. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] So, it's about helping the next generation - not necessarily about classical music? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I mean it is classical-focused I think about it (?). 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yes, it will be focused on classical and piano, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but in the same time, we will also - to do some .....(?) with the Grammy people 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and VHI people, so we're trying to - trying to break the boundaries 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 through these wonderful projects 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I created this "101 pianists" project. So - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] You'll have a hundred pianists with you on stage? That's the idea?[br][Lang Lang] Yes - yes. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 50 pianos, people play 4-hands, the re... is that -[br][Spurgeon] It's also a great job creator too, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just for the movers.[Laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] I mean, yeah, the movers were quite happy about this, you know, and this, and - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but the reason we wanted this is, as a pianist, we always practice by ourself. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's sometimes very lonely, you know, you are in a dark room, much tougher than this one [laughter]. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I practice hours, hours, it's - it's hard training and for a kid, it's important to have a partner, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like two kids on one piano, so they can talk a little bit. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And it's like doing your homework, you know, that type of thing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then, the teachers can teach them, you know, how to play together 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and in the end, we all get together to play, and enjoy the music. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Music making[br][Lang Lang] Yeah. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] October 30th at Carnegie Hall, the Lang Lang International Music Foundation 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is having a big benefit concert, an evening with Joshua Bell and Dee Dee Bridgewater 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the formerly mentioned Oh Land - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] And Alec Baldwin[br][Spurgeon] And Alec Baldwin will be the host 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and [inaudible] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So what's going to happen that night? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Just a big bunch of music making, I guess' 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Err yes. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] I mean, do you collaborate, are you doing something with Dee Dee Bridgewater? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yes, so - so here I start, playing some Chopin, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and then - with Josh - we play the Grieg Violin and Piano Sonata - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Is he Jay Jay also to you? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Err - Josh Josh. [laughter][br][Spurgeon] Just checking. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] And then [giggles] in the second half, we start with 4 hands, 6 hands, 8 hands - and 10 hands. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] [Laughs] On one piano?[br][Lang Lang] No.[br][Spurgeon] OK. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Just checking. Just checking. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yes, 10 hands on one piano that's - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Well, you'd know each other very well by the end of the piece, you'd be very familiar. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Just like the subway, you know[br][Spurgeon] That's right. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] You are a master, at the age of 30, you are a master, recognized around the globe. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But are you still a student and do you see any of your old teachers? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Gary Graffman was your teacher at Curtis, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and then you've done a little bit of work with Daniel Barenboim.[br][Lang Lang] Absolutely. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] When you see them, do you play for them and ask them for their thoughts? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Is it a lesson they give you - no - how does it work at this level 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where you are, in your stage of artistry - with these elder mentors, I guess you'd call them? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Yeah. I mean, my teachers were, and still are 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Gary Graffman, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniel Barenboim 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they helped me tremendously, not just technically but - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Well, I was going to say, they're not going to say: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "You missed the E flat in the 40th bar." or - that's not what they do. So, what are they - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Lang Lang] Well, sometimes they do that too. [laughter] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But they - because the great musicians like those names, you know, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they are much more focused on the understanding 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and also on the traditional interpretations. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So they will show you how the traditional sound. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then we will start discussing about new possibilities - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 how we recreate those moments that the traditional lights (?). 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then, you know, they will help me to find out my ways, you know: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I will start to explore some of my ideas on those passages, how I'm going to do it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And obviously, we know that music - there are some, I mean, there are certain styles. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but there are not certain rules, you know, so basically, there are lots of alternatives. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And the important thing is how to organize the alternatives, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and how to - balancing them, having a right pulse (?). 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And this is the challenge, because you can do lot of interpretations, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but if they are unbalanced, if what you start, in the end, doesn't make sense, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 then all those feelings are wasted, you know, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and so, first you free [inaudible], and then you need to limit your interpretations into certain ways. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then, in the concert, you start everything new again, you know, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 try to get inspired from the actual stage and to recreate new feelings, a new emotion, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but aware of that tradition lines, which will hold every interpretation 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in the right speed and right pulse. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Right. Well, you're part of that tradition. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You're recreating it and making it at the same time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I should say too that there is time for questions from all of you here - 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a little bit, to just - hold: think of your question -[br][Lang Lang] Hold the line! Hold the line! 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Spurgeon] Yeah, exactly. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I've wondered about the transition from Chinese culture to Western culture for you, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in music as well, because you grew up playing this music for a very long time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 For me, Chinese classical music is - is a little bit strange, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and maybe a little bit difficult to listen to, because I haven't had as much experience with it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You've been steeped in both traditions. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Do you hear them the same way, or do you switch, sort of from one to another? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And you put them together too, because you've done lots of piano transcriptions 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of traditional Chinese pieces that weren't thought of on a piano. (33:52)