Lang Lang is a rarity. He is a classical-music superstar who counts Alicia Keys, Andra Day and Herbie Hancock among his collaborators. The famous Chinese pianist’s albums often stay on the charts for months, and he’s an in-demand performer all over the globe.
Lang Lang’s 2019 marriage to Gina Alice Redlinger took place at the Palace of Versailles, complete with an 8-foot-tall wedding cake and fireworks. Guests included John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, British royals Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Chinese ambassador to France and philanthropist Elizabeth Segerstrom.
Despite a busy tour in Europe, the San Diego-bound Lang Lang recently took time for a wide-ranging Zoom conversation. The pianist had performed that night with mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli in Monaco and spoke minutes after receiving a post-concert massage.
Among the topics discussed were “Saint-Saëns,” Lang Lang’s just-released double-album honoring the beloved composer, the pianist’s high-profile collaborators and the musical impact that “Tom and Jerry” cartoons had on him as a child. Lang Lang is committed to introducing classical music to children all over the world.
He will perform Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with the San Diego Symphony on Friday at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. Also on the program is the French composer’s “Carnival of the Animals.” Joining him for that playful work will be his wife, fellow pianist Redlinger, whose stage name is Gina Alice.
“We share the same piano so it’s very easy to rehearse,” Lang Lang said with a smile. “There’s an intimate connection between us, musically and personally. I think when you’re playing chamber music together, you have to be very close friends to make the music work naturally.”
The orchestra will be led by Dutch conductor Otto Tausk, currently music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. The concert will begin with a piece titled 365 by composer Joey Roukens, also from Holland, and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite.
“The Saint-Saëns’ concerto is so virtuosic!” Lang Lang said. “It’s like a combination of Liszt and Schumann, with spectacular technique and beautiful emotions. It requires light control of the keyboard and has organ-style dimensions.
“It’s not played as often as piano concertos by Rachmaninoff or Tchaikovsky. A lot of people don’t know about it, but it’s really the best romantic concerto.”
A Grammy Award nominee, Lang Lang, 41, has been featured on the awards show telecast four times, including a 2020 mega-performance with a slew of stars. His other Grammy collaborators included Pharrell Williams, Metallica and jazz keyboard great Hancock.
Since that 2008 collaboration with Hancock, which was Lang Lang’s first Grammy performance, the two re-teamed several times and forged a strong friendship.
“Herbie taught me how to improvise,” he said. “I’ve improved over the years. But, of course, I cannot do what Herbie can. Compared to myself, I’ve improved a lot. But what Herbie can do is out of this world!”
In December 2023, Lang Lang improvised with keyboardist/singer Alicia Keys. In a commercial for HennessyParadis cognac, they played on two pianos set on a high-desert plateau in Utah. Filming the video was quite an experience.
“Like I do for Herbie, I have a lot of respect for Alicia,” he said. “She asked me to play her composition and add input on top of those notes. It was really magical. And the scenery was beautiful.”
In 2022, Lang Lang released an album of Disney classics called “The Disney Book.” A year later, he did a concert film recapping the record’s songs.
Lang Lang had a challenging childhood in Shanghai and Beijing. One bright spot for the piano prodigy was cartoons, which often used classical music in their scores. He especially remembers the “Tom and Jerry” cartoon that featured Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
“Today’s cartoons are less classical than when I was a kid, and that’s why it’s important for me to work with Disney,” said Lang Lang, who has a 3-year-old son with Redlinger. “We need to keep the classical tradition in Disney animation and to develop classical-music listeners from the new generation, which is also one of my goals.”
He founded the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in 2008 to help reach that goal. Among other projects, the foundation has established piano labs in schools in China and the U.S., including at San Diego’s High Tech Elementary Explorer school at Liberty Station.
Its “Keys of Inspiration” program provides 20 to 30 state-of-the-art pianos, music curriculum and supplemental training for teachers. Lang Lang visits and performs at these schools whenever he can.
“They always ask for songs from Disney,” he said with a chuckle. “The biggest hit in schools right now is ‘We Don’t Talk about Bruno’ from ‘Encanto.’
“It’s so important to put music back in the curriculum. Unfortunately, schools cut music and art. The kids who learn music in school are better in everything else,” he said.
It’s Lang Lang’s first appearance at the Rady Shell, but he has a long history with the symphony. His debut with the symphony was in 2008, and he has performed with the orchestra at least 10 times since. Lang Lang counts many of the symphony musicians as friends.
“I especially like to go to two places in San Diego,” he said. “I really like La Jolla and its beautiful coastlines. And Coronado is also beautiful. I’ve had some nice dinners there. It’s really relaxing.
“I like to get out to nature in San Diego. It’s just so nice to be there.”
San Diego Symphony: Lang Lang at the Bay
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 222 Marina Park Way, Downtown
Tickets: $35-$220
Phone: (619) 235-0804
Online: sandiegosymphony.org
Wood is a freelance writer.
