Carnegie Hall+

Pianist Lang Lang’s illustrious career has made him an international superstar and a Carnegie Hall mainstay. Carnegie Hall+ features notable highlights of his journey, including his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003, along with recent collaborations with artists and ensembles, including Daniel Barenboim and the Munich Philharmonic.

A child prodigy from Northeastern China, Lang Lang was raised by a doting yet strict father who was himself a master of the traditional bowed erhu. After early training at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the 15-year-old musician relocated to Philadelphia in 1997, where he took up advanced study with legendary pianist Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music. Two years later, he made headlines in Illinois as an eleventh-hour replacement for an ailing André Watts at the Ravinia Festival’s Gala of the Century, performing alongside the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach.

Lang Lang’s signature swashbuckling at the keys—his attack, which seemed to detonate new and unknown thrills in every masterwork on which he got his hands—would soon earn him admirers in New York City as well. In 2001 at the age of 18, he made his eagerly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut alongside the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and his rendition of Grieg’s Piano Concerto danced like the wind. “Virtuoso fireworks are only a part of the story,” marveled The New York Times. “In his large hands, this aging warhorse became so compelling that the audience was on its feet shouting before the final notes had died away.” A contemporary recording of Lang Lang’s performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto is available for viewing on Carnegie Hall+, recorded in 2023 with the Munich Philharmonic and conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada.

Two years later, Lang Lang returned to the venue for his first outing there as a solo recitalist. His 2003 program(opens in a new tab), documented by Deutsche Gramophone and also available for streaming on Carnegie Hall+, offered a stunning overview of his many musical gifts. As he made his way through Schubert’s treacherous “Wanderer” Fantasy and Liszt’s tempestuous Réminiscences de Don Juan, he turned in transcendent performances—and kickstarted a dazzling relationship between artist and institution that continues to this day.

“Playing Chinese music in the West is very good for me,” explains Lang Lang in the accompanying documentary about the recital, which includes a poignant rendition of a Chinese folk song alongside his father, Lang Guo-ren. “And it’s good for the exchanging of culture.”

Yet Lang Lang’s musical diplomacy reaches far beyond the bounds of simple geography. Eager to avail themselves of his classical perspective, several pop and rock artists—including Billy Joel (that other “Piano Man”) and Metallica—have lined up to collaborate with him.

At the same time, Lang Lang’s unforgettable showmanship translates well to his other pursuits: As a bona fide celebrity, he has found his name everywhere, from a line of grand pianos by Steinway to sneakers by Adidas. In August 2008, Lang Lang’s artistry reached two billion people in real time, when he premiered an eight-minute concerto at the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

In the years since, Lang Lang has continued to stretch his artistic wings. He has most recently turned his attention to the more intimate and refined terrain of J. S. Bach, Mozart, and Saint-Saëns—a novel direction for the star pianist, and one that has won him renewed praise. With several selections in the Carnegie Hall+ catalog, subscribers now have the rare chance to revisit some of his early magic and see how it set the bar for what was to come.

Photography by Peter Meisel and Marcus Schlaf.