Audi 2006 Annual Report Download - page 116

That evening, Lang Lang made an extraordi-
nary impression upon me. I felt the force that he
radiated despite his youth, a boundless energy.
He had already cast off all youthful lack of so-
phistication; his technique was flawless. I myself
spent my childhood in a musical environment.
My mother, a professor of composition, had in-
troduced me to the world of the piano. Virtually
every child on the campus of the conservatoire
where we lived at that time learned to play an
instrument. I had experienced at first hand the
travails of piano exercises and the difficulties of
piano techniques. Technical perfection is the
indispensable basis, but what effort it takes to
achieve it! There is a very graphic Chinese
proverb that goes: “It takes more than one day’s
frost to make ice three cubits thick”. But tech-
nique alone will not help you reach the higher
echelons of piano-playing. More than merely
mastering rhythm, tempi, beats, versatility and
tension, it takes feeling and understanding, the
ability to interpret and get beneath the skin of
a work, and the knack of picking up the com-
poser’s style. The analogy could be drawn with
an athlete: to make it to the Olympics you need
top-class technique, but inner constitution and
the ability to concentrate on the decisive mo-
ment are ultimately what make all the difference.
In other words, self-belief, resolve and mental
strength are more decisive than physical
prowess. I would even go so far as to assert that
making the leap to the top depends to some
degree on fate, and is by no means a chance
affair.
Striking a balance between
feeling and reason
Accomplished virtuosity: the Chinese pianist Lang Lang has
taken concert-halls worldwide by storm. Impeccable technique
and sensitive interpretation are the hallmarks of this
official Audi ambassador, who always travels to his concerts
in a car sporting the four rings. Text Xiao Hui Wang
>>
Lang Lang, inter -
national star
After his breakthrough
at the Ravinia Festival in
Chicago in 1999, Lang
Lang went on to become
one of the most success-
ful pianists in the world.
The 24 year old started to
learn the piano at the age
of three, first of all in his
home city of Shenyang
in Northeast China. He
embarked upon his stud-
ies at the Conservatoire
in Beijing at the age of
nine, before moving
to the Curtis Institute of
Music in Philadelphia.
His tours have included
concerts starring Daniel
Barenboim, James Levine
and Lorin Maazel.
Tension and versatility:
Lang Lang at his
much-acclaimed perform-
ance during the Audi
Summer Concerts.
CULTURE: AMBASSADOR LANG LANG
PHOTOS: AUDI
114 AUDI 2006 ANNUAL REPORT
Imet Lang Lang for the first time in 2003 – at a
concert in Shanghai’s Grand Theatre, where I
was a guest of the Deputy Minister of Culture
Wu Qidi. Before the concert started, I got into
conversation with an elderly gentlemen in the
next seat, who was accompanied by a grand-
daughter who must have been about five or six
years old. During the concert he kept whispering
in the girl’s ear, all very seriously and patiently.
To my surprise, they both vanished after the
interval and their seats were instead filled by a
young couple who explained to me that tickets
had been too expensive for all the family to
come, so they had decided to share the concert.
The entire family was unanimous in the view that
the little girl ought to become a pianist.
Boundless energy
A popular dream in China today, but what
prospects does someone have of becoming the
next Lang Lang? After giving a lecture at the
Academy of Arts in Taipei, I was asked by stu-
dents plagued with self-doubt whether – assum-
ing someone had the necessary passion for art –
it would be possible to become a successful artist
by sheer graft. How much of an artist’s career
success depended on talent, and how much on
hard work? “60 percent talent and 30 percent
hard work” was my answer. Introduce into the
equation the ability to meld knowledge and rea-
son with feeling and passion – plus a little bit of
downright good luck. All the graft in the world
will not be enough to transform an untalented
person into a maestro, but equally a great artist
cannot rely on their natural gifts alone.