Surrounded by nearly 100 adoring fans in downtown Beijing, Lang Lang seemed rather happy to talk about dogs than about money, fame and the perks of being a superstar pianist. Early this month, Lang met with fans who lined up for tickets for his first recital at the Great Hall of the People, scheduled on January 17.

The modest 23-year-old US-based Chinese pianist asked whether anybody was born the same year as him in 1982, the Year of the Dog. In fact, 2006 will be the year of the dog again, called "ben ming nian" by Chinese people.

"I love dogs and hope to learn the good virtues of the dog such as loyalty and kindness," laughed the piano prodigy, charming the crowd as he gladly signed their concert tickets.

It seems Lang shares those traits, showing his loyalty and kindness to his fans during his homecoming.

"I would like to come back home often to share music with people here, play for them and talk to kids who are learning the piano," he said. "I prefer to chat with them instead of giving a master class. China is the future of classical music. My friends in the US barely believe it when I tell them some 20 million children are learning classical music."

The star looked easygoing, said hello to everyone, asked them to come up one by one and promised to sign for everybody. It's clear Lang hit it off with his Chinese fans, many young music students aspiring to be an acclaimed pianist like him.

A desire to maintain his ties with his homeland seems to have kept the country-hopping Shenyang native down-to-earth and appreciative of every note of his success. With rave reviews already under his belt, young Lang plans to hit the right tune with audiences by mixing Mozart with guqin in his recitals.

Last week, Lang started his recital tour in China from Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. Fans in 11 cities, including his hometown of Shenyang of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, will see him perform live in the coming weeks.

This is his first recital tour in China since he left Beijing to study in the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in 1997, although he returned occasionally with some world-renowned orchestras like Philadelphia Orchestra and New York Philharmonic and played under the batons of Wolfgang Sawallisch and Lorin Maazel.

Long-time dream

The concert at the Great Hall of the People on January 17 is not Lang's first recital in Beijing, but the venue is special to him.

"The Great Hall of the People is a place of honor for every Chinese. It has been my long-time dream to play there. In 2001, I gave my debut on the stage with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Wolfgang Sawallisch, and now finally comes the recital," he said.

Lang admitted that it is a great challenge to play one piano on a huge stage in a large hall with some 3,000 seats. It is a hall for national conferences rather than a concert hall.

He revealed that some screens would be installed to provide the audience with a full view of him, especially his hands while he is playing.

"It's a pity if you attend a piano recital but only see the pianist's back in a tuxedo," he said. "You must see his hands at work. I wish the multi-media staff could enable the audience in every corner to see my hands."

The program of the China recital tour is based on his latest studio recital album "Memory," which will be released in January. It reflects Lang's journey from child prodigy to international pianist in his own right. The works by Mozart, Chopin and Schumann shaped his experience as a budding musician in China.

The pianist will also play three Chinese works in each concert: the folk music "Autumn Moon over the Smooth Lake (Pinghu Qiuyue)," highlights of the ballet suite "Yu Mei Ren" composed by Wu Zuqiang and Du Mingxin and the revolutionary piece "Days of Liberation (Fanshen de Rizi)" scored by Chu Wanghua.

Meanwhile, he is working with some Chinese artists of traditional instruments such as guqin (seven-stringed plucked instrument), xiao (vertical bamboo flute) and xun (oval earthen wind instrument with six holes) to make some crossover music. In late January, the label Universe will shoot the DVD for these new works at the Forbidden City.

Musical legend

Embodying a rare combination of exceptional skill and natural charisma, Lang is a genuine musical legend in the making. He has the youthful resiliency that takes to navigate the world's major concert halls and biggest-name orchestras while maintaining a level of performance that consistently earns rave reviews.

Born in 1982 in Shenyang, Lang Lang put his fingers on the keyboard at the age of three, made his "professional" debut at five, entered the prestigious China Central Music Conservatory in Beijing at nine, and won first prizes at the Fourth International Young Pianists Competition in Germany and at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition when he was 13.

His breakthrough performance occurred when he replaced an indisposed Andre Watts at the Ravinia Festival's "Gala of the Century," playing the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Critics and the public were falling over themselves with words of praise: calling his performance "stunning" and "brilliant."

Since then, his career took off, performing with all big five American orchestras. He made successful Carnegie Hall and BBC Proms debuts in 2001. His Deutsche Grammophon recording with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, released in 2003, won wide acclaim.

Busy schedule

At 23, he lives with a tight schedule, flying to perform from one country to another. But outside of music, he just likes to hang out like other regular twentysomethings.

"I like playing ping-pong, watching movies, visiting museums, hanging out with friends and dancing in the disco, though I really have not much time for these," he said.

Musically his idol is Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein, but he said his personal role models are Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods because "both have such great discipline," and in the game they play "so natural, dedicated and talented."

In 2006, he will have a lot in his plate with plans to perform in around 140 concerts throughout the world, including recitals in the United States and Europe.

But the most exciting one should be playing to three billion viewers at the opening of the World Cup in Germany. Believe it or not, Lang Lang's interpretation of Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No 2" is expected to drive the packed Munich Alliance Arena crazy on June 9.

(China Daily December 30, 2005)