Chinese pianist Lang Lang performed at a classical music show in the Chicago Cultural Center on Friday evening to ignite youngsters' passion for music.

The music show, entitled "Lang Lang & Friends Live", as part of his efforts to popularize music education, was well received by a full house of young spectators.

Lang Lang, described by The New York Times as "the hottest artist on the classical music planet," has devoted himself to music education over the past 10 years, and established Lang Lang International Music Foundation in 2008.

Through the Foundation's Young Scholar Program, Lang Lang has selected and mentored talented young pianists from all over the world and created opportunities for them to inspire other kids through live classical music performances.

In the Friday show, Lang Lang introduced his three young proteges, Anna Larsen, Charlie Liu and Derek Wang, who performed works by Prokofiev, Chopin, Bach and an original composition by Larsen. Their spectacular performances won rounds of applause.

Ever since the three were selected from a large pool of applicants, they have been enjoying a thrilling ride with Lang Lang, such as performing on Oprah Show and at Carnegie Hall.

Mingyi Liu, father of Charlie Liu, told Xinhua, "Being a Young Scholar really motivated Charlie to work harder."