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)
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] It's just like this, you know, when you hear American music,
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Not Syncedwhen you hear a German music, when you hear a - African music, it's different, you know.
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Not SyncedBut in the same time, it's all called music.
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Not SyncedIt's like music, I mean, in that we try to express similar subjects, similar feelings
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Not Syncedbut use a different wording and a different language.
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Not SyncedThat's a bit like in the music world.
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Not SyncedI mean, obviously, you have to switch fast with the haste (?) of music making.
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Not SyncedBut in the end of the day, following that (?) I grew up both in the Chinese traditional music
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Not Syncedand in Western classical,
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Not Syncedbecause my father plays erhu, which is a Chinese violin,
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Not SyncedYeah - I mean recently, I found a different interesting thing of the difference between fork and chopsticks
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Not Syncedand the difference between erhu and violin -
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Not SyncedDo you see the similarity out there?
[Spurgeon] Interesting. -
Not Synced[Lang Lang] Well, erhu has two strings, and violins have four.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] [laughss] and chopsticks: two and a fork, usually four tines.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Right, here we go. So that's the difference.
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Not Synced[Laughter]
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Very good, that's a very good answer.
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Not SyncedDo you - do you think it's - I mean, one of the things with your foundation,
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Not Syncedyou're helping people to explore classical msic:
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Not Synceddo you think you can make people like classical music?
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Not SyncedI was - I feel like, sometimes it's a sales job.
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Not SyncedNobody says: "Oh my God, you've got to hear rock n' roll, you won't believe what that stuff is"
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Not SyncedNobody says that, but about classical music, some of those people say:
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Not Synced"Oh, well, if you haven't heard it, you should maybe listen to a little bit of it."
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Not SyncedDo you feel like having, I mean, to "sell it"?
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Not SyncedThe idea of it?
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] I mean - my experience of it (?) is pretty funny.
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Not SyncedThere are two - there are two experiences of it.
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Not SyncedThe first was in America - and then I'll talk about China alright? -
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Not SyncedSo, first in America, I came when I was 15, and then, I was in a regular high school in Philadelphia.
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Not SyncedAll those "dudes" and "yammies" (?) 36:09
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Not SyncedAnd then, they asked me: "What do you do here, in this country?"
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Not SyncedAnd I: "Oh, I'm studying classical music." alright (?): "Classical music? what is that?"
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Not Synced[laughter] "Oooh, I know, I know - I'll tell you: are you playing the dudes that already passed,
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Not Syncedlike 500 years ago?" [laughter]"You do his work?"
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Not SyncedI say "Yes, kind of like that but not [inaudible]"
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Not SyncedI say: "Just think about Shakespeare, right? He died for many years, but still his work is classic, right?"
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Not SyncedSo there, I know we have a serious problem, you know.
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Not SyncedAnd then a few years later, I went back to China for - for concerts.
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Not SyncedAnd then - ............ (36:55)
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Not SyncedThere's one guy who came and he's like:
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Not Synced"I hear so you're recording in the same label as Mozart." [laughter]
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Not SyncedSo, you see, it's a total ........
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Not Syncedbut somehow it's quite funny, right?
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Not SyncedSo - so in a way, that - you know - that gives us the room to sort of have some work to do.
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Not SyncedBut I don't think we need to "sell" this, you know, this art,
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Not Syncedbecause classical music is so wonderful - it's just -
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Not Syncedpeople sometimes don't know it, that's it: we just need to, you know,
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Not Syncedusing social media and networks and platforms too.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Can you give an example of social media?
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Not Synced- Just kidding, just kidding: it's Google Talk - it's Google
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah. Yeah, I mean, remember, a few years ago,
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Not SyncedYouTube had a, like a YouTube Symphony Orchestra competition
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Not Syncedand it was a big phenomenon on internet.
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Not SyncedAnd I had the great privilege of being their ambassador for - for the proect.
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Not SyncedAnd - so in the future, I mean, today, even like when I tweet or I'm facebooking,
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Not SyncedI start to share some of the musical thoughts
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Not Synced- not just talking about food and movies
[laughter] -
Not Syncedbut to share a little bit of feelings towards, to the music I play.
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Not SyncedAnd then, I share some of my favorite links of the great musicians performing
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Not Syncedand you know, to try to inspire some fans to listen.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Yeah. Very good, thank you. Alright.
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Not SyncedYou've got microphones over there, so if you have questions,
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Not Syncedplease go to a microphone and we'll .... up and knock you down with Lang Lang.
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Not Synced[Q1 from the audience] Hi [name ?] [Inaudible]
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Not SyncedI'm a father: I've got a 5-year old and a 2-year old (38:41)
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Not Syncedand for better or worse, my kids are into popular music.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon (?)] Good for you]
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Not Synced[Q1] Yes. And I'm wondering -
[laughter] -
Not SyncedSo making them sit down and listen to better music, to classical music,
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Not Syncedis a little help
[Lang Lang] Than you very much [laughs] -
Not Synced[Q1] It is a little heavy-handed.
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Not SyncedI was wondering, what have you found that really works with kids, to get them engaged
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Not Syncedand interested in new kinds of music, in particular, classical music.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah. There are a few compositors which I felt quite - who could have a real good connection to kids.
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Not SyncedOne is Tchaikovsky - piece like Nutcracker or Swan's Lake (?) and -
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Not Syncedand Mozart - Mozart is probably the best composer to, I mean really (?) inspire the kds.
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Not SyncedAnd Chopin, also, I would say: very melodic.
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Not SyncedAh, but you wouldn't start with [inaudible] Wagner's Ring cycle, right? [laughter]
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Not SyncedThat's a little hard, yeah.
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Not SyncedSo, good luck! May there is some new - maybe Lady Gaga comes out there. [laughter]
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Not Synced[Q2] Quick question, along those lines. I have a 4- and a 6-year old
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Not Syncedand they like
[Lang Lang] [inaudible: very tiring?] -
Not Synced- they start and stop things, especially my 6-year old daughter.
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Not SyncedShe's interested now in piano.
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Not SyncedHow do I get that going, keep that going, you know, get her -
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Not Syncedbecause I imagine little doggy challenges along the way.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] First, get a good teacher. That's very important.
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Not SyncedAnd - very important, if you have time, please take her to kids' events,
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Not Syncedyou know, kids' concerts. I'm told (?) Carnegie does a lot of these things
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Not Syncedand Lincoln Center or - take her to some of the concerts that other kids perform.
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Not SyncedBecause for me, it was the same.
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Not SyncedThe reason I started linking performance when I was very young is because all my friends were musicians
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Not Syncedand they were actually playing something, and we can actually play together,
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Not Syncedlike two pianos, or three pianos, or violin, playing a trio, a little trio.
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Not SyncedAnd music is like a language: we need a communication,
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Not Syncedwe need to use our language, you know:
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Not Syncedif you learn a new language, you could only use it.
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Not SyncedYou're not interested and you forget about it.
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Not SyncedSo, you know, this communication is very important.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] I know there is at least one more question, it's just - yeah
-
Not Synced[Q3] [inaudible]
[Spurgeon] I'll repeat it. -
Not Synced[Q3] [inaudible]
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] Yes, so the question was, did you - what are your plans for your next recordings.
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Not SyncedAnd are you - will you - Bach, specifically.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah. I mean, I love Bach. When I was a kid, I played Bach's work every week (?)
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Not Syncedand I tried to memorize a work by Bach every week to train my brain, you know.
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Not SyncedBy the way, after that, you can remember every cell phone number you own (?) [laughter]
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Not SyncedAnd really, Bach is - really, now - really challenging, but incredible.
-
Not SyncedCertainly, I would love to record the "Goldberg Variations",
-
Not Syncedcertainly I would do more classic repertoire records,
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Not Syncedbut it needs to be balanced.
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Not SyncedSo this year and last year I did all of the romantics,
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Not Syncedand then next year will be contemporary, and then you know -
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Not Syncedso, I'm trying to balance the recordings.
-
Not SyncedThanks for bringing the Goldberg, by the way.
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] You, Sir.
-
Not Synced[Q4] So, there is a lot of talk about - sorry, I'm very tall -
-
Not Syncedthere is a lot of talk about bringing classic music to children and I am in some sense a product of that.
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Not SyncedMy father went way out of his way to play clasic music, he reallly enoyed it -
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Not Syncedand I hated it, as a kid.
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Not SyncedAnd I'm here, so that's obviously no longer the case.
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Not SyncedBut I am - I studied, or at least I was taught classical guitar.
[Lang Lang] Oh? -
Not Synced[Q4] And that lapsed for several years while I went to [inaudible].
-
Not SyncedNow I guess a little absence was worthwhile.
-
Not SyncedBut what advice would you give towards adults who have a musical sensibility,
-
Not Syncedwho have musical appreciation and - I guess in my cast - have or in general cases,
-
Not Synceddo not have some degree of musical training.
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Not SyncedBecause children are taught at a very early age to begin to play classical music,
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Not Syncedor begin music in general.
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Not SyncedIs there any sen- is there any fear that I should have for instance lack of dexterity,
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Not Synced[inaudible] plasticity of mind.
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Not SyncedWhat advice would you give to us adults who want to begin to hopefully - with a lag -
-
Not Syncedreach the kind of level you're operating on? [laugher]
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Well you - you're getting deep with this.
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Not SyncedWell ah - adult, yeah. I mean there's a app called Magic Piano, which I co-produced.
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Not SyncedI mean, if you feel it difficult to play the real piano, try that. [laughter]
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Not SyncedIt'll be easier to play because somehow, it plays by itself.
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Not SyncedAh, and - yeah, you can certainly buy a piano, which has a kind of a high tech disk
-
Not Syncedand then you just push a - whoever's Chopin, whoever's Tchaikovsky,
-
Not Syncedwhoever's Beethoven
-
Not Syncedand somehow - and then, you know, you can, maybe start to see the positions on the piano
-
Not Syncedand try to follow it.
-
Not SyncedBut again: I really - I'm really welcoming adults actually learning an instrument.
-
Not SyncedAnd especially - you had a musical training before, right?
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Not SyncedSo for you, it would be very easy, actually, to pick it up again, you know,
-
Not Syncedthe great work you did before (45:02)
-
Not Syncedand maybe now learn do it (?) you will feel more comfortable,
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Not Syncedmaybe you will like it more than when you were a kid.
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Not SyncedAnd also, you know, classical guitar is pretty cool,
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Not Syncedand I'm sure, as, you know, while you're playing, you'll get some new dates or something.
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Not Synced[laughter] I mean, that's very important, you know, I know some of my friends who studied
-
Not Synced- adults - who study piano. I say: "Why are you doing it?" "Oh, I try to impress the girls." [laughter]
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Not SyncedSo, I mean, I know lots of those people.
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Not SyncedSo, it is a good encouragement, right, so -
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Not Synced[Spurgeon] The choice of instrument can be important for that too.
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Not SyncedYou'll get more dates with a guitar, probably, than with an accordion. [laughter]
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Not SyncedJust a thought.
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Not Synced[Lang Lang] Guitar is very popular these days, you know,
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Not Syncedit's probably one of the instruments I can think of, more popular than piano, it's probably guitar.
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Not SyncedI would like to learn it, actually - guitar - if - maybe I should learn some classical guitar skills from you.
-
Not Synced[Q4] I'd love to give you a lesson.
[laughter] -
Not Synced[Lang Lang] I got new lessons [inaudible].
[Q4] [inaudible] a teacher. -
Not Synced[Q4 and Lang Lang] Thank you.
-
Not Synced[Spurgeon] Yes, Sir.
-
Not Synced[Q5] I wanted to ask, when you memorize a piece, is it only technical
-
Not Syncedor do you also memorize, like, how you feel,
-
Not Syncedis it like, before you start playing, do you have to get into the emotion of that piece,
-
Not Syncedor is it just the music getting you there, when you hear it?
-
Not Synced[Lang Lang] Yeah - that's, that's - yeah.
-
Not SyncedFirst, sometimes I hear a great music in my ear, whether - any type of music:
-
Not SyncedI'm just trying to get memorized the melodies first.
-
Not SyncedAnd I want to somehow play on the pianos.
-
Not SyncedBut some work, I know it for many years
-
Not Syncedand it doesn't mean that you start to love those - repertoire right away.
-
Not SyncedSome pieces take a few years to digest and then you are like "Wow! I should do it!"
-
Not SyncedAnd so, first comes to - the general stuff, you know, you read a score after you know,
-
Not Syncedyou read it like in this piece you want to learn.
-
Not SyncedSo you learn it from the score and you play, simply, by their - just play by your right hand
-
Not Syncedor putting it together like this.
-
Not SyncedAnd after that, you are trying to - analyzing the piece
-
Not Syncedand using everything you learned from the past, you know,
-
Not Syncedand your head will be like a multimedia screen, trying to take a lot of elements
-
Not Syncedand trying to put those things inside of the music.
-
Not SyncedBecause the most important thing is not the note, it's this thing behind the note,
-
Not Syncedthe meaning behind the note.
-
Not SyncedSo, the more meaning - meanings you're getting, is better for the first work session.
-
Not SyncedAnd then later, you're just trying to balance the right ones.
-
Not SyncedAnd you will know the right ones when you're ready.
-
Not SyncedIn the beginning, you don't really know, so you try lots of things,
-
Not Syncedand then later you will know, wow, this one will not work,
-
Not Syncedbecause this is maybe defeating the style of -
-
Not Syncedand then later, after you really understand the dynamics of the score,
-
Not Syncedyou start to recreate things.
-
Not SyncedAnd then, you play for several of your teachers, or your colleagues
-
Not Syncedand you get more ideas.
-
Not SyncedAnd then, you start looking into this work again, and then you start performance.
-
Not SyncedAnd when you perform, every day, every time, you should try different things.
-
Not SyncedAnd after a year, I think you can - you're ready for recording.
-
Not Synced[Spurgeon laughs]
[Q5] Thank you. -
Not Synced[Lang Lang] Lots of alternatives (?) (48:59)
- Title:
- Artists at Google: Lang Lang | "The Chopin Album"
- Description:
-
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" |