Lang Lang: 20 facts you never knew

1. Lang Lang at home

More than 40 million Chinese children have been inspired by Lang Lang to learn to play the piano – a phenomenon known as ‘the Lang Lang effect’.

2. Brilliant Lang Lang

The name Lang Lang means ‘brilliance of the sky’.

3. Lang Lang loves tweeting

A huge fan of the internet, Lang Lang writes all of his social media updates himself and then gives them to his team to spread his messages around different platforms.

4. Fifty-two pianos

On 22 May 2011, Lang Lang appeared at London’s Royal Festival Hall with 100 outstanding young British pianists ranging in age from 6 to 23. 52 pianos were required, taking up all of the stage space at the venue.

5. Practice makes perfect

At five years old, Lang Lang practised piano for an hour every morning, 45 minutes each lunchtime and four hours every evening. ‘I enjoy practising,’ he says. ‘If you don’t practise, you don’t make music.’

6. The greatest composer of them all

Lang Lang says, of all composers, Mozart is the one he would have most loved to have met. ‘I cannot figure out how his mind worked – it’s beyond human to me,’ said Lang Lang.

7. Lang Lang edits Wallpaper magazine

In October 2012, Lang Lang was guest editor of Wallpaper magazine. He offered readers an illustrated tour of the halls, auditoria and stadia where he has wowed audiences.

8. Lang Lang in 3D

In 2011, Lang Lang appered in the 3D family film, The Flying Machine, about a mum who takes her two children to see an animated film about a piano, accompanied by a live pianist. As if by magic, the kids get transported inside the cartoon world, where Lang Lang and their mother have to pursue them.

9. An unpromising start

Lang Lang named his childhood piano teacher Professor Angry. While preparing his audition for Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music, Lang Lang was expelled by Professor Angry for ‘lack of talent’.

10. Game on! Lang Lang on video game soundtracks

Lang Lang recorded piano works for the soundtrack to the video game Gran Turismo 5. This included versions of the traditional Londonderry Air, and the third movement from Prokofiev's seventh Piano Sonata.

11. Herbie loves Lang Lang

At the 2008 Grammy Awards, Lang Lang teamed up with jazz legend Herbie Hancock for a performance that was seen by 45 million viewers. Hancock said of Lang Lang, "You hear him play, and he never ceases to touch your heart."

12. Lang Lang Music World

In 2011, Lang Lang Music World was launched in China where children can go to receive lessons and master classes, attend concerts and purchase Lang Lang-branded products.

13. YouTube superstar

Lang Lang holds the title of the first Ambassador of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, a global endeavor devoted to sharing the love of music and celebrating humanity's vast creative diversity. A concert at Sydney Opera House in March 2011 was live streamed to millions of viewers.

14. Selling out the Royal Albert Hall

In 2012 Lang Lang sold out the Royal Albert Hall in a mere 48 hours - the first classical artist to sell out the venue in such a short time.

15. Lang Lang - techno geek

Lang Lang believes embracing technology is the best way for classical music to reach a wider public. At a San Francisco concert in 2010, he surprised the audience by playing Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee on an iPad.

16. Lang Lang's shoes

Lang Lang owns more than 100 pairs of shoes which he shares with his dad who takes the same shoe size.

17. Lang Lang - the trademark

Steinway pianos have created five versions of a ‘Lang Lang™ Steinway’ for young players. It is the first time in the company’s history that it has used a performer’s name on a piano, and his name has become a trademark.