Yangcheng Evening News reporter Ai Xiuyu

  On September 16, the famous pianist Lang Lang's new album "Lang Lang's Disney" was released simultaneously worldwide.

  Released by Deutsche Grammophon in collaboration with Disney Music Group, the album is of great significance to Lang Lang, not only as his first album since his promotion to his father, but also as a major milestone for Lang Lang. When he was in his prime, he was able to look back on the way he grew up with classical music because of cartoons.

  Recently, Lang Lang, who is in California, USA, and his wife, Gina Alice, shared the planning and production story of the new album with the Yangcheng Evening News and other media through video connection, as well as the influence and experience of music on himself and the younger generation.

  talk about origin

  Cartoons watched in childhood stimulate the imagination of music

  "I am an out-and-out animation fan, and I have loved watching cartoons since I was a child. When I was 2 and a half years old, I was attracted by the "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" played by Tom Cat in the cartoon "Tom and Jerry". It is also the classical music in the cartoon that brought me to know music and entered the magical world of music." Talking about the original intention of creating this album, Lang Lang recalled his original fate with Disney: "I participated in the After winning the gold medal at the 2nd Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition held in Japan, one of the rewards was to go to Tokyo Disneyland. There, I heard "Little World" for the first time, this melody It stayed with me all day and for a long time afterwards."

  And Lang Lang's wife, young pianist Gina Alice, also has a lot of fate with Disney.

Gina said that she was very honored to sing the Chinese promotion song "River of Memories" of "Frozen 2", and this time she can interpret the theme song "Wish to the Stars", the theme song of "Pinocchio" in her husband's new album. version, I am very happy: "I am very happy to have the opportunity to record a song that I have loved since I was a child, and tell the story of Pinocchio in a different language, which is also a very special experience for me."

  Lang Lang believes that almost everyone will have several impressive animation works in their childhood, and the music in the works also accompanies the growth marks of everyone's life, which is of extraordinary significance.

As such, he says: "Animation sparked my imagination and transported me to another world. Music was a big part of the experience and contributed to my lifelong love of classical music. Disney's music is diverse, There's something for everyone to get inspired by. I hope people of all ages will enjoy this record and relive the joy of seeing those beautiful animated characters for the first time."

  talk about production

  In the form of classical arrangement, give full play to the performance of the piano

  Thanks to Lang Lang's influence in the international music scene, "Lang Lang's Disney" attracted a number of international music stars to join the recording, and Andrea Bocelli sang the theme song "You Are in My Heart" for "Tarzan", Singer-songwriter and pianist Jonathan Baptiste reprised his Oscar-winning song "It's Okay," and Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastian Yatra added the Oscar-nominated song "Two Caterpillars" from "Full House" " was moved back to the audience again.

In addition, classical guitar player Milosh Karadagli, Chinese erhu player Kokang and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra also participated.

  On the track, "Small World", as the opening work of the album, tells the audience straight to the point that music is a common language for all human beings. We can gain happiness and energy from music, and regain innocence and fun.

The remaining 26 carefully selected classic melodies not only cover the history of Disney animation spanning more than 80 years, but also cover the most popular animation theme songs, such as "Frozen" theme song "Let It Be", "Aladdin" theme Song "New World" etc.

The movie "Mulan" adapted from a Chinese story is not only full of oriental temperament and romance, but also the theme song "Reflection" is one of Disney's golden songs. This time, the version in Lang Lang's album invited the erhu performer Gugan to play on the piano. In the grand performance with the orchestra, the heroine is depicted with oriental tones.

  What makes this album unique is that the arrangement and presentation are entirely centered on the piano, with world-class arrangers such as Sir Stephen Hoff, Natalie Tenenbaum and Randy Kerber maintaining the While the melody itself is charming, it uses a more imaginative and delicate arrangement to add new colors to the music.

In the interview, Lang Lang was very grateful for and liked the adaptations tailored by the masters, allowing him to interpret the musical story more freely when performing: "If these songs are not adapted well, they will become background music or elevators. Music, this is what I am particularly afraid of. Therefore, we must find a clear direction of effort. Disney's music has a strong meaning of magic and fantasy, so when we arrange melody, orchestration, sound coordination, and rhythm, we all pursue certain We need to express the feeling of fantasy and magic, and we must highlight the piano and give full play to the performance of the piano. When we are arranging, we will also try to pay tribute to a composer with a certain piece. For example, "Xiao Fei" Elephant" theme song "Baby Mine", it is more appropriate to interpret it in the style of Debussy."

  Lang Lang said frankly that although the idea of ​​adaptation is clear, it is not necessarily a good idea to do it well: "It's really hard to write, so the whole team kept writing, and it took three and a half years to finish recording this album. This is really what I encountered. The biggest challenge. Sometimes I really don’t know how to write it down, so I overthrow it all and start over, but I am quite satisfied with the final result, and I feel that my efforts were not in vain.”

  Talk about the original intention

  Music cannot be "hidden", it needs to interact deeply with the public

  On January 28, 2021, Lang Lang officially announced that his wife Gina Alice had a child.

"Lang Lang's Disney" is the first album released by Lang Lang after he became a father. This is not only a musical gift for children, but also a musical gift for everyone, especially the younger generation.

"Music is one of the most important parts of our family, and our baby has also shown a strong interest in music. He is one of the earliest and probably the youngest listeners of my new album." Lang Lang hopes The experience and positive energy gained from music in childhood are also passed on to the younger generation of listeners: "I am very fortunate that I received formal music education and guidance since I was a child, which has allowed me to go further and further on the road of pursuing the ideal of music. Now , I would like to share these gains with more people, such as face-to-face communication with piano children in master classes, and continuous release of new music works and concerts."

  In addition to their continuous efforts in the music business, Lang Lang and Gina also pay great attention to and attach great importance to public welfare.

Over the years, they have not only held charity concerts many times, but also helped impoverished youths' piano dreams by donating pianos, teaching materials, and music classrooms.

  Lang Lang said frankly: "My dream has always been to follow the path of Vladimir Horowitz, Leonard Bernstein and Pavarotti (in-depth interaction with the public), not that Kind of a 'just hide yourself with the piano' route. For me, 'enjoying yourself' is as important as 'sharing the music with others'. So why am I doing this new album? Because it allows me to Have a closer connection with everyone.”

  Finally, Lang Lang also emphasized that playing the piano must not only play one form, but must convey music with heart and emotion: "Music only has form and does not function as a bridge, it must be heart to heart, soul to soul, and music to music. This is very important, and this is what I have been adhering to when I promote and popularize music. Therefore, whether I am performing live, doing master classes or recording, I hope to respect the music itself, and express my personal emotions and ideas. pass it on."

  Q&A

  "Compared with 15 years ago, the appreciation level of domestic audiences has increased too much"

  Q: Let me ask a real technical question. Many piano children have trouble reading and noting music. Do you have any skills or tricks to share with you?

  Lang Lang: Then I will share something affordable with you.

I'm very fast in notation, and my trick is that my head can't stop, it must run as fast as a computer.

You have to stare at every measure, it's a lot of eyesight, so my eyes are very short-sighted, but the eyes must be fixed on the music score like a radar!

Then the hands must be very familiar with the keyboard. When the brain, eyes and hands are completely connected, you can keep up with the fast music speed.

Don't relax!

When reading music, be sure to activate your brain engine!

  Q: Do you have any personal experience with the changes in Chinese audiences' appreciation of classical music in recent years?

Interested in experimenting with new forms of audience interaction during your performance?

  Lang Lang: To be honest, if you play it well, everyone can understand it without any deliberate form;

Of course, sometimes you can put a little more thought into the track.

Recently, something very shocking happened to me—last year, when I started the tour of "The Goldberg Variations", I thought that it would be over after playing in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Worrying that this hypnotic song will make everyone fall asleep, there will be a snoring.

After I went to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, I tried it out in Guiyang. Not only did no one fall asleep, but everyone listened to it, so I went to my hometown of Shenyang and other cities.

I think the appreciation level of our domestic audience is really high, and the Goldberg Variations can be played in first-, second-, and third-tier cities, which is very remarkable.

15 years ago I thought it was impossible, and now I have toured this song in more than 20 cities in the country, it can be described as incredible.

  Q: The recording cycle of "Long Lang's Disney" is very long. What is the special feeling of recording such a globally produced album in the context of the epidemic?

  Lang Lang: It’s really not easy. We have been working on this album since the end of 2019. After the epidemic, it was really difficult and it was difficult to meet each other. Moreover, we have a European team and a North American team.

But there are also advantages. I can calm down and do this. If there is no epidemic, most of my energy is probably spent on researching how to prepare for the concert. Now the whole team has time to research endlessly online. Discussion, I also practice endlessly.

  Q: In the future, what other cooperation plans do the couple have?

  Gina: We will definitely work together more in the future. In fact, we are preparing for Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals together. We had our first rehearsal a few days ago.

I think the couple is very happy to be able to make music together, because there will be interactive inspiration, which will allow us to enhance our common language and have a feeling of "breathing together".

I think it's an amazing process and I really enjoy it.

  Lang Lang: Yes, let’s just preview my next album by the way. I will record Saint-Saëns’ Second Piano Concerto, which is also a concerto I like very much. I will play with a very famous European orchestra. Cooperation.

The album will also have Carnival of the Animals with Gina and I.