[On Stage] Lang Lang "I Have Loved French Music Since Childhood... I Want to Share Its Charm"

World-renowned pianist Lang Lang from China released his new album "Saint-Sa?ns," filled exclusively with pieces by French composers, on the 5th. Lang Lang, who is currently staying in Berlin, Germany, said at an online press conference held on the 8th to commemorate the release of "Saint-Sa?ns" that he has loved French pieces since he was young and wanted to share the charm of French music.

The "Saint-Sa?ns" album consists of two discs. The first disc contains only two pieces by Camille Saint-Sa?ns (1835?1921): "The Carnival of the Animals" and "Piano Concerto No. 2." The second disc features works by various composers such as Maurice Ravel (1875?1937), Claude Debussy (1862?1918), Gabriel Faur? (1845?1924), and L?o Delibes (1836?1891). Included are Ravel's "Pavane for a Dead Princess," Debussy's "Petite Suite," Faur?'s "Requiem" with the 7th movement "In paradisum," "Pavane," and Delibes' opera "Lakm?" featuring the "Flower Duet." Saint-Sa?ns' "6 ?tudes" are also on the second disc. Additionally, the album includes pieces by five French female composers: Louise Farrenc (1804?1875), M?lanie Bonis (1858?1937), Germaine Tailleferre (1892?1983), Lili Boulanger (1893?1918), and Charlotte Sohy (1897?1955).

There are ten French composers in total. Lang Lang said that French music has various charms and that he wanted to create an album made up of French pieces.

"French music is, first of all, very soft. It has a characteristic of flowing continuously like water. You could say it resembles nature. Therefore, you can see the twilight or the colors that nature holds. Moreover, there is an emotion unique to French music, such as a yearning for love."

Lang Lang (left) and his wife, Korean-German pianist Gina Alice. Alice participated as the second pianist on Lang Lang's new album "Saint-Sa?ns."
[Photo by Universal Music]

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Lang Lang also mentioned that French music has an oriental feel and can be especially attractive to Asians. While performing the first piece "En bateau" from Debussy's Petite Suite, he said, "I think Debussy's 'En bateau' has a feeling similar to Korean or Chinese music."

Despite these charms, Lang Lang expressed regret that French music is not performed as often as German or Russian music. "There seems to be a tendency to think of French pieces as something artistic or like film music. Because of this, pianists tend not to perform works by French composers. I hope there will be changes in this situation."

The album recording was done with the German Gewandhaus Orchestra.

"Many of Saint-Sa?ns' pieces were premiered by the Gewandhaus. When it comes to Saint-Sa?ns' works, you could say the Gewandhaus holds authenticity. The Gewandhaus Orchestra's string performance is especially beautiful. Therefore, the performance is very rich and deep. I think the richness of the strings worked very well when played together with the organ."

This year, the Summer Olympics will be held in Paris, the capital of France, starting from July 26. Lang Lang is planning a large-scale tour in France and said he wants to promote French music further through the Olympics.

He is also scheduled to hold a solo recital in Korea on November 30. He mentioned Fr?d?ric Chopin's (1810?1849) mazurkas and Robert Schumann's (1810?1856) Kreisleriana, stating that he plans to perform very new pieces.

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