The Lunar New Year celebrations are pretty much done, but Chinese piano virtuoso, Lang Lang, gave all of us a wonderful start for The Year of the Dragon. New York classical music station, WQXR hosted a special Lunar New Year performance of Lang Lang and the Quintessenso Children's Choir of Mongolia to kick off their China in New York music series.
Classical musicians are often seen as über serious, stuffy and humorless people who are deeply entrenched in their craft. Make no mistake that Lang Lang is deadly serious about his craft, but he's a 30 year old guy who is a kid at heart. He often cites Franz Liszt as his musical hero. Why? He watched an old Tom and Jerry cartoon that featured the music of Liszt as a child. Ever since then, he delve into Liszt's repertoire, along with the works of Beethoven, Chopin and others. Classical music aficionados either love him or hate him. The haters are not thrilled with his overly flashy showmanship. Fellow pianist, Earl Wind, once crowned him as, "the J. Lo of piano." The lovers are dazzled with Lang's ability in having his fingers literally fly across the keyboards with speed, accuracy and unbridled passion. Love him or hate him, you can't deny the fact Lang loves doing what he do best.
The "Lang Lang Effect" is a big influence among Chinese children. Many of them are following their musical hero's footsteps by enrolling on music programs at school. One thing can be said about Lang Lang: he loves giving back to the kids every chance he can get. He launched the Lang Lang International Music Foundation to nurture and financially support young musical talents. UNICEF also appointed Lang Lang as their International Goodwill Ambassador in 2011.
He treated the studio audience to several piano pieces, but he brought the Quintessenso Children's Choir of Mongolia to sing traditional Mongolian folk songs. Although the choir has performed in many parts of Asia, this was their debut in the United States. The chorus consisted 37 members, aged five through twelve. There were eleven members for the WQXR audience. Each member was dressed in their traditional Mongolian costume. The children represent the five nomadic grassland tribes of Oroqen, Ewenke, Daghur, Buryat and Baehu. Their performance beamed with joy, resonance and cultural pride. Lang Lang observes quietly from the sidelines as the children sang. You can sense he's like a big brother to these kids. He even made sure one of the boy's hat was in place when they bowed after their performance.
He stated in his interview with WQXR's David Garland, he owes a debt of gratitude to Franz Liszt because he was the first classical composer/performer to have an agent. It's because of Lizst he feels that he is able to not only to perform, but also make a living as a musician. By giving back to the next generation of musicians, he aims to continue the legacy that Liszt left behind.
You can also check out my set of photos of Lang Lang and the Quintessenso Children's Choir of Mongolia here!
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