Lang Lang is a Chinese classical pianist from Shenyang, China. Born in 1982, he begins piano studies at the age of three and gives his first public recital by the age of five after winning the Shenyang competition. He enters Beijing’s Central Music Conservatory at nine.

His early competition successes include first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition. At 13, he performs the complete 24 Chopin Études at Beijing Concert Hall. His international breakthrough comes at 17, when he steps in at short notice at the “Gala of the Century” and performs Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Lang Lang appears with major orchestras and venues around the world, and is the first Chinese pianist engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and leading American orchestras. He performs sold-out recitals and concerts in major cities, and appears in open-air concerts in places including Central Park in New York, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Theaterplatz in Dresden and Derby Park in Hamburg.

He also takes part in major televised and ceremonial events. In 2007 he is guest soloist at the Nobel Prize concert in Stockholm. In 2008, he performs at the Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony, at the Grammy Awards with Herbie Hancock, at the opening of the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing with Seiji Ozawa, and in other major public events including the opening concert at Munich’s Olympic Stadium and a performance in front of Schönbrunn Palace for the closing concert of the Euro Cup finals.

Lang Lang’s cultural profile extends beyond performance. In 2004 he is appointed International Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In 2008, the Recording Academy names him Cultural Ambassador to China, and he is later chosen as a worldwide ambassador to the Shanghai Expo. He also becomes the first Ambassador of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra and is added to the World Economic Forum’s list of Young Global Leaders.

He establishes the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in New York in 2008, with support from the Grammys and UNICEF, to support children and young musicians through classical music education and outreach. He gives masterclasses at institutions including the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music and Hanover Conservatory, and holds honorary professorships at top conservatories in China. He also holds residencies in Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Rome and Stockholm.

His public image also includes collaborations and brand partnerships. He performs with Herbie Hancock on a world tour after their Grammy appearance. Steinway creates five versions of the “Lang Lang™ Steinway” for early music education. He serves as a global brand ambassador for Sony Electronics and Audi, represents Aegon’s worldwide financial services, and has performance clothes supplied by Versace.

His recordings appear on Deutsche Grammophon and Sony Classical. His albums enter the classical charts and also reach pop charts. An album of Beethoven’s First and Fourth Piano Concertos with L’Orchestre de Paris and Christoph Eschenbach debuts at number one on the Classical Billboard Chart, and he appears on Billboard’s New Artist chart at the highest position reached by a classical artist. He is nominated for a Grammy in 2007, the first Chinese artist nominated for Best Instrumental Soloist, and receives the Recording Academy’s Presidential Merit Award that same year. He is also featured on the soundtrack of The Painted Veil and The Banquet.

Lang Lang publishes Journey of a Thousand Miles in 2008, with an additional version for younger readers titled Playing with Flying Keys. He also works to raise funds and awareness for earthquake relief in China, including auctioning the red Steinway piano used in his 2008 Central Park concert and donating the proceeds to the American Red Cross China Earthquake Fund. He serves as chairman of the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award Project, sits on Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute Advisory Committee, and is the youngest member of Carnegie Hall’s Artistic Advisory Board.