Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album"
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Not Synced(Talks/Authors/Brewmasters/Comedians/Green/Health/Innovators/Musicians/Artists/Filmmakers at Google)
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Not SyncedArtists at Google
Lang Lang The Chopin Album - Interview moderated by Jeff Spurgeon of WOXR
October 15th, 2012
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Good morning. Thanks for being here.
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Not SyncedI'm very happy to be here for the second time, but the first time, I wasn't on the stage.
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Not SyncedI just - I was just visiting the office - a very cool office, I say.
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Not SyncedAnd yes, I prepared some morning songs for you to wake up.
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Not Synced[laughter]
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Not SyncedSo, a few Chopin pieces. We'll start with one of them, a very beautiful Nocturne
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Not Syncedand then, one or two Etudes, and then a Chopin waltz.
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Not SyncedSo hopefully, we will get really waked after 20 minutes of performance. Thank you.
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Not Synced[Applause]
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Not Synced[Chopin: Nocturne in E-flat major, Opus 55 #2 (?)]
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Not Synced(6:44) [Etude - which?]
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Not Synced(8:11) [Etude in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3]
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Not Synced(13:01) [Chopin: Waltz op 64 #1(?])
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Not Synced(16:42) [Applause]
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Not Synced[Jeff Spurgeon] Hello. I'm Jeff Spurgeon from WOXR, New York's classical station .......
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Not SyncedYou may not know, because nobody told you: this is Lang Lang.
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Not SyncedHe's a classical pianist, reasonably well-known all over the globe (17:12)
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Not Syncedand it's quite a wonderful thing to hear you play.
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Not SyncedLet me ask you: what was your warm up for this?
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Not SyncedJust this morning: did you warm up this morning?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] I - I'm sorry, I didn't warm up:
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Not SyncedI woke up around 10:20 [laughter]
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Not SyncedI mean I was running like crazy - speed - to get here
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Not Syncedand I'm really grateful that I - I mean - you are here today, ...... for me. Thank you very much.
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Not Synced[Jeff Spurgeon] It's really wonderful
[Applause] -
Not Synced[Jeff Spurgeon] It's extraordinary to have all that music just in your head, just at your command,
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Not Syncedbut that's what you do.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Well, as Rubinstein said, you know, one of the greatest pianists,
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Not Syncedand he's had, he has like 60 piano concertos in his head.
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Not SyncedAnd basically doing - in his 70's or 80's he said:
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Not Synced"Just call me up, wake me up in the middle of the night, like, say, 4 am -
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Not Syncedand I can play whatever piece you want - in concert level" Well, I mean that's -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] I believe it but so can you - but so can you.
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Not SyncedHe's had - he had a little more practice than you so far,
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Not Syncedbut you'll be there.
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Not SyncedIn China, Lang Lang is credited with influencing some 40 million kids
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Not Syncedto take up classical piano.
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Not SyncedNow, I know that 40 million is not maybe a huge number at Google,
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Not Syncedbut still [audience laughs] it's a reasonably large number of people - [Lang Lang laughs]
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Not Syncedto persuade to take up - and when you think about all the pianos that have to be made,
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Not Syncedand all the music that has to be printed,
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Not Syncedand all the lessons that have to be paid for,
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Not SyncedI would say that you are, without question, classical music's greatest job creator.[laughter]
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Not SyncedI don't think there's anybody who's going to do more than that than you are.
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Not SyncedLang Lang's new album on the Sony label is "The Chopin Album".
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Not SyncedIt contains at its heart the Opus 25 set of a dozen études, studies for piano,
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Not Syncedthat you have been studying since I think you were what?
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Not SyncedEight it was when you started to play those things?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah, I started to play the Chopin études when I was 8, and -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Took them on the road when you were 12 or 13?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah, I played the complete études when I was 13, right,
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Not Syncedand it was very tiring to play those pieces [laughter].
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Not SyncedI mean, it drives me nuts and it drives my neighbors nuts [laughter]
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Not SyncedI really feel bad about it, you know.
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Not SyncedAnd, as you know, recently I started practicing in my appartment here,
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Not Syncedand I started practicing the Chopin études, you know [imitates a few notes]
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Not Syncedand then my neighbor knocked at my door: "Can - could you stop?"
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Really? You mean really?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah. I mean, no no.
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Not SyncedI mean there's one neighbor who knows who I am,
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Not Syncedso she's always like, "Oh, that's really wonderful!"
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Not SyncedBut then, there's another neighbor, I think, living downstairs,
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Not Syncedbecause I always like to practice after 11, you know,
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Not Syncedto find inspiration [laughter]
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Not SyncedAnd - and this lady, I think she hates me all the time.
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Not SyncedSo anyway, that's -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] So you've been playing these since you were 8, playing them in public since you were 13.
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Not SyncedWhy record them now? Why not a little earlier?
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Not SyncedWhy not wait a couple more years? Maybe the wine will mellow a little more in the bottle.
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Not SyncedWhy decide to do these now?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] I mean, since I'm 30, you know, I like to -
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Not Syncedto do some more repertoire, which I played a lot when I was a kid,
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Not Syncedand also, you know, putting on new pieces.
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Not SyncedI actually thought to do the 24 études, the complete cycle,
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Not Syncedbut I actually - I thought maybe I should do something, not just technical pieces,
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Not Syncedbut also very artistic pieces combined for the Chopin first solo for me to record.
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Not SyncedAnd also to hear - I was also actually watching the video that I did when I was 13,
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Not Syncedplaying the complete études, and I found (?) a few wrong notes, and I [makes dismayed sound]
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Not Syncedbut now, playing a few of those pieces like "The Winter Wind", "Ocean" études,
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Not Syncednow I feel slightly easier - slightly.
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Not SyncedSo that seems like a good sign, you know.
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Not Synced17 years of practice and my technique is going somewhere [laughter]
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Not SyncedAnd - but more importantly, is the musical sense that -
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Not Syncedthere are so many new things I'm trying to reinterpret in this album,
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Not Syncedthat I try to find different colors, like you have here, different levels of colors
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Not Syncedand the combination of the ...... of Chopin,
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Not Syncedyou know, the Romantic period of répertoire,
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Not Syncedand especially last year, I did Liszt.
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Not SyncedSo I thought this was a nice moment to do Chopin.
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Not SyncedSo next year will be very different. So -
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Not Synced[Spuregeon] What's next year?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Next year, I will do Prokofiev and Bartók.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Well! OK So it's very very different, totally different, truly...
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Not SyncedThere's some unusual pieces on this album.
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Not SyncedThe Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise, a big favorite of yours,
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Not Synceddone with orchestra sometimes, but there is the solo version.
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Not SyncedYou've always liked this piece? (22:31)
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Not really. I mean, when I was a [laughter] - when I was a kid, I hated it,
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Not Syncedbecause I mean, once - no matter how great the work of art,
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Not Syncedthere are so many pianists playing the same piece, not in a very good level (?)
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Not Syncedthen you will feel kind of bored, you know.
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Not SyncedAnd so that exactly happens when I was a kid,
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Not Syncedyou know, I heard so many interpretations of this piece I got totally all around (?)
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Not Syncedand I didn't like it.
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Not SyncedThen I came to America and I studied at Curtis' in Philadelphia
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Not Synced- Do you know the Philly cheese steak? It's pretty good, yeah -
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Not SyncedAnyway, so, in Philadelphia, a boy from Kiev, he's - he also studied with the same teacher as me,
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Not SyncedGary Graffman
[Spurgeon] Gary Graffman -
Not Synced[Lang Lang] and he played it in a student recital. I was shocked by his playing.
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Not SyncedI'm like "Wow! This piece is spectacular!"
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Not SyncedAnd then I started loving this piece and - thanks to him, of course -
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Not Syncedand - so sometimes, you know, one amazing performance
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Not Syncedreally changes your entire view of a work
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Not Syncedand that's what happens in the Spianato and .....
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Now it turns - you played actually a wonderful cross-section of the album
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Not Syncedjust a few minutes ago.
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Not SyncedThere is a piece on this album, it's the last selection called "Tristesse"
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Not Syncedand it features a singer named Oh Land, who is from -
[Spurgeon and Lang Lang] Sweden -
Not Synced[Spurgeon] She lives in Williamsburg,
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Not Syncedbecause most people do.
[Lang Lang] Right. [Laughter] -
Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah, Brooklyn is getting .....
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] That's - it's beautiful.
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Not SyncedCan you tell me the story of this, because it's from a film?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Right, Trist - we did a film during the Chopin year,
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Not Syncedcalled "The Flying Machine", so it basically adapts a novel, kind of about Poland today,
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Not Syncedand as compared to the Chopin's days.
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Not SyncedSo actually, I was actor in this movie and my partner was Heather Graham [inaudible]
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Yeah, Heather Graham - many faces lit up when you said those words. [Laughter]
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Anyway. But that one was pretty classic. ........
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Not SyncedAnd so that - that film actually was quite inspiring,
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Not Syncedbecause there was Chopin's music and takes the journey of a piano
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Not Syncedactually, the piano became a flying machine, sort of,
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Not Syncedwe take the kids all over the world.
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Not SyncedAnd so, the theme song, we actually thought the Tristesse (?), which is the Opus 10 #3 étude
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Not Syncedis such a beautiful melody, which I played here, second to the last (?),
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Not Syncedand so we transcribed that to the theme song,
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Not Syncedso we got this beautiful voice of - her name is pretty funny: Oh Land -
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Not Syncedyeah, so, in the beginning I didn't know she's a - I mean is a he or she -
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Not Syncedbut when I heard the voice, I most certainly knew she's a she
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Not Syncedand she did a wonderful job.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Yeah. It's a sweet - it's a sweet song
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Not Syncedand Chopin - lots of people - lots of popular songs have been written on Chopin themes,
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Not Syncedbut this is another and it is just great
[Lang Lang] Yes. -
Not Synced[Spurgeon] Your foundation. Let's talk about that because that's such a big deal:
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Not Syncedthe Lang Lang International Music Foundation - it's going great guns (?)
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Not Syncedyou had some kids I think, from part of that program on the Tonight Show?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah: two weeks ago I was on Jay Leno -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Yeah: four minutes of classical music on network television.
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Not SyncedIt was extraordinary. Four whole minutes.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] It was amazing.
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Not SyncedYou know, these days, it's hard to get classical music on
[Spurgeon] Exactly right. -
Not Synced[Lang Lang] anyway, but I mean, Jay is a good friend
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Not Syncedand I mean, his name is Jay Jay now, after [laughter]
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] - the Lang Lang.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Oh my god, yes, 400 cars (?) -
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Not Syncedanyway, let's not talk about that.
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Not SyncedSo, we actually had a very fortunate selection of wonderful talents from the Los Angeles area
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Not Syncedand they - there were - I mean some of the kids I know them before,
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Not Syncedbecause they perform with me, my condition-
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Do you mean all kids......
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Not Synced10 of them, so Lang Lang played - you played "La Campanella" and the E-flat Waltz
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Not Syncedthat you heard part of here, and then ten kids, five other Steinways around in the room
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Not Syncedand they are all doing [inaudible]
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah, Turkish March [sings it]
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Not Synced[sings on the Turkish March] And that was so beautiful
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Not Syncedthat I really enjoyed working with them, and the way they played, it was magnificent.
[Spurgeon] [Inaudible] -
Not Synced[Lang Lang] And - I mean, I thought I really want, watching, you know,
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Not Syncedour next generation perform, it's a special moment and for me it's very inspiring
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Not Syncedand that's what our foundation is wanting to do, you know, to work with the next generation of artists
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Not Syncedand to - helping them - to support them to achieve their dreams,
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Not Syncedjust like many of the mentors helped me when I was very young.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] So, it's about helping the next generation - not necessarily about classical music?
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Not SyncedI mean it is classical-focused I think about it (?).
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yes, it will be focused on classical and piano,
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Not Syncedbut in the same time, we will also - to do some .....(?) with the Grammy people
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Not Syncedand VHI people, so we're trying to - trying to break the boundaries
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Not Syncedthrough these wonderful projects
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Not Syncedand I created this "101 pianists" project. So -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] You'll have a hundred pianists with you on stage? That's the idea?
[Lang Lang] Yes - yes. -
Not Synced50 pianos, people play 4-hands, the re... is that -
[Spurgeon] It's also a great job creator too, -
Not Syncedjust for the movers.[Laughter]
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] I mean, yeah, the movers were quite happy about this, you know, and this, and -
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Not Syncedbut the reason we wanted this is, as a pianist, we always practice by ourself.
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Not SyncedIt's sometimes very lonely, you know, you are in a dark room, much tougher than this one [laughter].
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Not SyncedI practice hours, hours, it's - it's hard training and for a kid, it's important to have a partner,
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Not Syncedlike two kids on one piano, so they can talk a little bit.
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Not SyncedAnd it's like doing your homework, you know, that type of thing.
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Not SyncedAnd then, the teachers can teach them, you know, how to play together
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Not Syncedand in the end, we all get together to play, and enjoy the music.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Music making
[Lang Lang] Yeah. -
Not Synced[Spurgeon] October 30th at Carnegie Hall, the Lang Lang International Music Foundation
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Not Syncedis having a big benefit concert, an evening with Joshua Bell and Dee Dee Bridgewater
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Not Syncedand the formerly mentioned Oh Land -
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] And Alec Baldwin
[Spurgeon] And Alec Baldwin will be the host -
Not Syncedand [inaudible]
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Not SyncedSo what's going to happen that night?
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Not SyncedJust a big bunch of music making, I guess'
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Err yes.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] I mean, do you collaborate, are you doing something with Dee Dee Bridgewater?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yes, so - so here I start, playing some Chopin,
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Not Syncedand then - with Josh - we play the Grieg Violin and Piano Sonata -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Is he Jay Jay also to you?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Err - Josh Josh. [laughter]
[Spurgeon] Just checking. -
Not Synced[Lang Lang] And then [giggles] in the second half, we start with 4 hands, 6 hands, 8 hands - and 10 hands.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] [Laughs] On one piano?
[Lang Lang] No.
[Spurgeon] OK. -
Not SyncedJust checking. Just checking.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yes, 10 hands on one piano that's -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Well, you'd know each other very well by the end of the piece, you'd be very familiar.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Just like the subway, you know
[Spurgeon] That's right. -
Not Synced[Spurgeon] You are a master, at the age of 30, you are a master, recognized around the globe.
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Not SyncedBut are you still a student and do you see any of your old teachers?
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Not SyncedGary Graffman was your teacher at Curtis,
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Not Syncedand then you've done a little bit of work with Daniel Barenboim.
[Lang Lang] Absolutely. -
Not Synced[Spurgeon] When you see them, do you play for them and ask them for their thoughts?
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Not SyncedIs it a lesson they give you - no - how does it work at this level
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Not Syncedwhere you are, in your stage of artistry - with these elder mentors, I guess you'd call them?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah. I mean, my teachers were, and still are
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Not SyncedGary Graffman, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniel Barenboim
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Not Syncedand they helped me tremendously, not just technically but -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Well, I was going to say, they're not going to say:
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Not Synced"You missed the E flat in the 40th bar." or - that's not what they do. So, what are they -
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Well, sometimes they do that too. [laughter]
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Not SyncedBut they - because the great musicians like those names, you know,
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Not Syncedthey are much more focused on the understanding
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Not Syncedand also on the traditional interpretations.
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Not SyncedSo they will show you how the traditional sound.
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Not SyncedAnd then we will start discussing about new possibilities -
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Not Syncedhow we recreate those moments that the traditional lights (?).
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Not SyncedAnd then, you know, they will help me to find out my ways, you know:
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Not SyncedI will start to explore some of my ideas on those passages, how I'm going to do it.
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Not SyncedAnd obviously, we know that music - there are some, I mean, there are certain styles.
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Not Syncedbut there are not certain rules, you know, so basically, there are lots of alternatives.
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Not SyncedAnd the important thing is how to organize the alternatives,
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Not Syncedand how to - balancing them, having a right pulse (?).
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Not SyncedAnd this is the challenge, because you can do lot of interpretations,
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Not Syncedbut if they are unbalanced, if what you start, in the end, doesn't make sense,
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Not Syncedthen all those feelings are wasted, you know,
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Not Syncedand so, first you free [inaudible], and then you need to limit your interpretations into certain ways.
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Not SyncedAnd then, in the concert, you start everything new again, you know,
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Not Syncedtry to get inspired from the actual stage and to recreate new feelings, a new emotion,
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Not Syncedbut aware of that tradition lines, which will hold every interpretation
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Not Syncedin the right speed and right pulse.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Right. Well, you're part of that tradition.
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Not SyncedYou're recreating it and making it at the same time.
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Not SyncedI should say too that there is time for questions from all of you here -
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Not Synceda little bit, to just - hold: think of your question -
[Lang Lang] Hold the line! Hold the line! -
Not Synced[Spurgeon] Yeah, exactly.
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Not SyncedAnd I've wondered about the transition from Chinese culture to Western culture for you,
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Not Syncedin music as well, because you grew up playing this music for a very long time.
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Not SyncedFor me, Chinese classical music is - is a little bit strange,
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Not Syncedand maybe a little bit difficult to listen to, because I haven't had as much experience with it.
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Not SyncedYou've been steeped in both traditions.
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Not SyncedDo you hear them the same way, or do you switch, sort of from one to another?
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Not SyncedAnd you put them together too, because you've done lots of piano transcriptions
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Not Syncedof traditional Chinese pieces that weren't thought of on a piano. (33:52)
- Title:
- Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album"
- Description:
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The Chopin Album -- Lang Lang's third album for Sony Classical -- includes the second set of Chopin's Études (op. 25), the Andante spianato & Grande Polonaise and a selection of shorter works that he has long enjoyed performing, including three Nocturnes and the Waltz op. 64 no. 1, popularly known as the "Minute" Waltz.
Chopin "speaks with such a universal voice," Lang Lang says. "I genuinely believe he's a true ambassador for classical music among the great composers. He appeals to everyone."
Chopin has accompanied Lang Lang throughout his career. One of the first pieces he learnt was the Grande Valse brillante in E-flat major op. 18 (included on this album), and it was Chopin's music that also carried him through a number of career-changing competitions, including Ettlingen (Germany) in 1994 and the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Sendai (Japan) in 1995, when he took First Prize performing Chopin's Second Piano Concerto. And it was with the Chopin Études that Lang Lang made his now-renowned Beijing Concert Hall recital at age 14 -- a performance that led to his studying with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.
"The reason that Chopin's Études hold such a special place for pianists", says Lang Lang, "is that they provide the training for so many different elements of technique. But they're not just studies, not just normal exercises -- not just for your fingers -- they help you develop how your mind works, and how you control the different layers of your emotional response."
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Music Captioning
- Project:
- On and Around Music
- Duration:
- 54:48
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album" | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album" | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album" | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album" | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album" | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album" | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album" | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album" |