Lang Lang’s Autobiography Explores His Journey as a Pianist

I have seen Chinese pianist Lang Lang perform a few times prior to coming to terms with who he is as of this year. I remember him performing at the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2008, accompanied by a young girl, as they were surrounded by a sea of people dressed in lit up green suits. Perhaps people may better remember him in recent time for performing in Pharrell William’s haunting rendition of his hit song, “Happy,” at last year’s Grammy Awards.

But it wasn’t until earlier this year, when I saw him name listed a few times for some of songs on the score for the film “Kung Fu Panda 3” did I finally develop curiosity for who this man is. There’s a video of him on YouTube recording his piano playing for the score, before an audience made up of composer Hans Zimmer, co-director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, and other members of the crew. He played thoughtfully and delicately when the songs called for it, and then enthusiastically when it was appropriate. My curiosity deepened and so I proceeded to learn more about him online, and when I learned that he had published an autobiography in 2008, I decided to get my hands on it.