On site | Lang Lang's piano lesson

The heavy rain is approaching, and the small music hall of Shanghai Conservatory of Music Affiliated Middle School has not been so crowded and lively for a long time. On the noon of September 12th, children wearing white school uniforms filled all the seats on the first and second floors early on, with childish faces on their faces. The corridor was also crowded with people, and outside the door stood a girl with a cello on her back, looking forward to it.

Lang Lang is here.

The car drove into the school gate of Dongping Road with hanging skyflowers. As soon as Lang Lang got off the car, he was surrounded by enthusiastic children. Professor Chen Weiling and Director of Piano Department at Shangyin Affiliated Middle School hurriedly strolled around the campus with Lang Lang, and the children followed along. With a history of 72 years, Shangyin Affiliated Middle School is known as the "cradle of musicians", where talented young people emerge one after another. In the piano room, the sound of the piano came in waves, and on the playground, the boys were sweating profusely, reminding Lang Lang of his childhood as a piano player.

"It's very similar to when we were young. Every piano room is full, and the basketball court is also full of people, which is equally important. To become a musician, you need very good mental and physical strength. Solos are played in different places for two days, and sometimes it's really tiring and not good. How can you play the piano well?" Lang Lang said.

Lang Lang arrived at the campus, and the children excitedly gathered around him

At two o'clock in the afternoon, as soon as Lang Lang stepped onto the stage of the small concert hall, the audience was boiling. He wore a fashionable and sophisticated blue suit, but his class was very down-to-earth. He is a natural comedian, and the sense of humor that comes with Northeastern people makes the children in the audience laugh again and again. When it comes to excitement, he needs to use both hands and feet, and his eyebrows are also dancing. He can easily make an emoji by taking a photo.

In this piano master class, four students from Shangyin Affiliated Middle School performed on stage, namely Li Zhehao, Wang Zhiquan, Yang Yutian, and Chen Shuhan. These teenagers have all won the International Youth Piano Competition Grand Prize this year. Each student has 25 minutes to interact with Lang Lang, and they have played works such as Liszt's Super Etude No. 5 "Ghost Fire" and Balakirev's "Islamam".

Lang Lang said, "Most of today's songs are quite flashy and challenging. The music is abstract, without a standard answer, and all roads lead to Rome. I just hope to give them some suggestions for diversified treatment, stimulate their personality and creativity."

Stepping onto the stage of the small concert hall, Lang Lang compares the hearts of the children

Learn to "save electricity"

At the beginning of the master class, Lang Lang recognized a little boy in the audience - Wu Yifan, a second year student at Shangyin Affiliated Middle School. Wu Yifan smiled shyly. Originally, a few days ago, Lang Lang listened to Wu Yifan play a piece of "Ghost Fire" during a master class in Hangzhou.

In March of this year, 14-year-old Wu Yifan won the grand prize at the first Rachmaninov International Youth Piano Competition, and in June, he won the runner up at the third Van Cleben International Youth Piano Competition in the United States. "At a young age, his' Ghost Fire 'is extremely good, which shocked me!"

Lang Lang's Master Course

The four young people who took the stage this time, who were also young and had won gold and silver in international competitions, have rich stage and competition experience. Lang Lang praised the children's performance endlessly, but also taught them how to "restrain" and "be thrifty" based on his own growth experience. He demonstrated while explaining, adept at metaphors, with a series of golden sentences:

"Don't run out of bullets as soon as you go on stage."

"Now playing the piano in 'power saving mode'"

"You play too fast, it's a chronic suicidal behavior."

"Playing the piano is like playing checkers, you need to figure out how to walk these few steps."

"Your goal is not to play clearly, but to play the imagination behind the notes."

……

In Lang Lang's view, the children at Shangyin Affiliated Middle School are all "children who win at the starting line.". "Shanghai embraces a wide range of cultures, blending Chinese and Western cultures. Studying classical music here has provided unique cultural and environmental advantages in China."

Lang Lang was intoxicated by the sound of his students playing the piano

Lang Lang recalled his youth, not only focusing on the piano, but also extensively exploring beyond it. "When I was their age, I was reading works of Shakespeare and classical Chinese literature. In addition, life experiences were also important, but life experiences and practicing time are always contradictory. How to balance them is also the challenge they will face next."

In Chen Weiling's view, the preciousness of Master Lang's class lies in not only focusing on specific technical aspects of music scores, but also guiding children on how to make music come from the heart and showcase individuality. "Lang Lang has amazing piano skills, with each note resembling a perfect sculpture. However, at the same time, his music transcends skill and is a communication between people's hearts. His star like temperament, passion for music, and attitude towards life are all infecting children."

Lang Lang performs in the master class

Learn to "lose"

Lang Lang became famous at the age of 17, and his career was in sync with the rapid development of Chinese classical music. He is the idol of millions of Chinese piano children and the goal of becoming a successful child for their parents. He is not only a world-class pianist, but also a superstar with extremely high commercial value. He crossed over with pop stars and rock singers and appeared on popular variety shows.

At the beginning of their career, many people are not optimistic about Lang Lang. He often hears the statement that Lang Lang will definitely be famous for only five years and will be ruined in five years. Faced with questioning, Lang Lang could only "fight". "You have to play better than foreigners, and not better, much better. I won't have any so-called 'concession' or any slight relaxation on stage. Every concert is like a decisive battle."

Faced with today's Qin Tong, Lang Lang believes that we should learn how to "win" and also learn how to "lose". When he was a child in school, Lang Lang didn't always achieve the best grades and often encountered setbacks. His eyes are always fixed on those who play better than him, always relentlessly chasing after them.

Lang Lang's Master Course

"When I was a child, I never thought I was a genius. I knew I had strength, but I knew there were many people in the world who were better than me." Lang Lang believed that having good opponents was a happy thing, and knowing that I had the ability to catch up was also a happy thing. "A stronger opponent will create a stronger you, it will stimulate your fighting spirit, keep you curious, and constantly improve yourself in practice."

In the master class, Yang Yutian performed Meitner's "Forgotten Melody Volume 2", which is full of drama, technical challenges, and artistic space. Chen Shuhan performed Kapstein's Variations, a jazz style work that surprised his familiar teachers and friends.

Lang Lang encourages students to learn more new songs. He said that when he was a child, he always practiced new pieces. After learning a Beethoven concerto, he would learn Brahms in a month, and then study works from the Russian school in another month. "As long as you keep learning, there is no time for complacency. Only those who play a song every day will be complacent because they can no longer find their direction. The more you learn, the more you can discover your shortcomings and walk more steadily."

After class, Yang Yutian lined up with her classmates to take a photo with Lang Lang, and even took out her cherished records to ask Lang Lang for his signature. She said, "I really enjoy Lang Lang's master class, which is humorous and has good interaction with the audience. His love for music has permeated, encouraging and infecting me to move forward better on the path of music."

Lang Lang's Master Course

Learn to run long distances

The world of classical music is a fiercely competitive and cruel world, with obstacles in the front and pursuers in the back. Lang Lang said, "You may stand out today and be caught up by newcomers the next day. There is also a very annoying thing, which is that those masters will never retire."

A few months ago, at the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria, Lang Lang celebrated the 80th birthday of pianist and conductor Barenboim with great masters such as conductor Zubin Metta, pianist Agrich, soprano Bartoli, and tenor Domingo.

"Although Barenboim is 80 years old, she instantly turns into a young person on stage. Agrich is 82 years old this year, but her hands, which look like she is only 30 or 40 years old, shocked me greatly. So, these masters are still on stage. What reason do people like us have to be 'crazy'? We can only be honest, calm, and play one game after another."

Lang Lang hopes to still be on stage when he is in his 80s. "Of course, it's not just about playing the wrong notes all the time but also going on stage. I hope I can maintain a high level of skill, and the music should be more mature than it is now."

Wu Xueting, Secretary of the Party Branch of Shangyin Affiliated Middle School, awarded Lang Lang the certificate of "Visiting Professor of Shangyin Affiliated Middle School"

However, the path of music is like a marathon, and more important than explosive power is endurance, which is non-stop walking and perseverance. Lang Lang believes that the most important factor in going further is to continuously love art. "Many successful musicians, when they reach a certain level, start playing with other things. They no longer pursue art itself, so they will disappear into the vast ocean of art."

In Chen Weiling's view, everyone has a Langlang in their heart. "He has achieved many things that predecessors could not have achieved. He has infected the world with his passion and unparalleled piano skills, crossing different ethnicities and cultures. His existence represents four words - 'dreams come true' for every piano child. I hope he can inspire and awaken these things in children, making our students become infectious young artists and bloom on stage."

Lang Lang's Live Performance of "Gothenburg Variations" Fragment

At the end of the master class, Chen Weiling invited Lang Lang to play a piece for everyone, and the audience was once again excited. Lang Lang sat in front of the piano, playing the theme and several variations from Bach's "Gothenburg Variations", and the children held their breath and focused.

Will the next "Lang Lang" be born among them?