The Canary Islands Music Festival has managed to "sign" Lang Lang, one of the most acclaimed pianists in the world, for its 38th edition. The musician, who has received numerous awards and is listened to by millions of television viewers around the world through various global events, will perform in January in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, thus completing a program already notable for its high concentration of top-tier international soloists.
Lang Lang's concert has just been confirmed by the festival director, Jorge Perdigón, who has described the pianist as 'one of the most relevant and impactful musicians in classical music today'. The concerts will be on January 27 at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and on the 30th at the Tenerife Auditorium, where he will perform Schumann's 'Arabesque in C major' and Bach's Goldberg Variations. Tickets will be available in the coming days.
Lang Lang is a prominent figure in contemporary classical music: as a pianist, educator, and philanthropist, he has become one of the most influential and committed ambassadors of the arts in the 21st century. He is a master of communication through music. He is equally happy playing for billions of viewers at the opening of the Beijing Olympics and playing alone for children in public schools.
Hailed by the New York Times as "the hottest artist on the classical music planet," Lang Lang plays sold-out concerts around the world. He collaborates regularly with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim, and Christoph Eschenbach, and with the world's leading orchestras. Lang Lang is known for breaking the mold and venturing into diverse musical worlds. His performances at the Grammy Awards with Metallica, Pharrell Williams, and jazz legend Herbie Hancock were watched by millions of viewers.
For approximately a decade, Lang Lang has contributed to music education worldwide. In 2008, he established the Lang Lang International Music Foundation with the aim of nurturing top pianists of the future, advocating for music education at the forefront of technology, and building a young audience through live musical experiences. In 2013, Lang Lang was designated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as a Messenger of Peace focused on global education.
Lang Lang began playing the piano at the age of three and gave his first public recital before the age of five. He entered the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing at the age of nine and won First Prize at the Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians at 13. He later went to Philadelphia to study with the legendary pianist Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music. He was 17 years old when his big break came, replacing André Watts at the Gala of the Century, playing Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach: he became an overnight sensation and invitations began to pour in.
Lang Lang's boundless drive to attract new audiences to classical music has earned him enormous recognition: he received the Crystal Award in 2010 in Davos and was chosen as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. He has also received honorary doctorates from the Royal College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and New York University. In December 2011, he was honored with the highest award given by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and received the highest civilian honors in Germany (Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) and France (Medal of the Order of Arts and Letters).
In 2016, Lang Lang was invited to the Vatican to perform for Pope Francis. He has also played for many other international figures, including presidents and heads of state from various nations.