Click Here To Purchase Lang Lang: Playing With Flying Keys  

Author: Lang Lang, with Michael French

ISBN: 9780385735780

Publisher: A Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers

Click Here To Purchase Lang Lang: Playing With Flying Keys

In his extremely reader friendly format, internationally celebrated Chinese pianist, Lang Lang with the help of well-known author Michael French candidly discusses his young life and his gruelling voyage to success on the global stage.

Written for young readers ages 9 and up, Lang Lang: Playing with Flying Keys is more than a simple memoir, but rather a vivid and emotional portrait of a child prodigy who believes that making music is like breathing and who cannot fathom life without music.

As we discover, Lang Lang began his musical career at the age of three and today at twenty-six he has performed with some of the most renowned orchestras in the world.

As Lang Lang explains, “maybe it all started with Monkey King and my belief in this supernatural gifts, or my father’s pat on the back before I marched onstage, or the 0Chinese belief that certain colors, such as red, or the Chinese numbers, such as 8888, brought power and good fortune. I was an artist who knew that talent alone would never help me realize my dreams. Luck, timing, and connections were up to the gods.”

Lang Lang always wanted to be number one and for the most part he had been successful in winning many prestigious piano competitions in China and elsewhere. However, he certainly did not live a normal child’s life as he was compelled to practice several hours a day and obey a father who was a very stern and unyielding disciplinarian.

As for his mother, she unfortunately was obliged to live in a different city than Lang Lang and her husband in order to support her family and to enable her son to receive the best possible musical training.

Lang Lang’s first huge break when one day he had received a letter from Gary Graffman, the famous concert pianist who had been a child prodigy. Graffman had also been a student of Vladimir Horowitz and was serving as president of the esteemed Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Lang Lang was invited to submit an application to the school and if accepted he would receive a full scholarship along with free room and board. Lang Lang was triumphant and he and his father spent the next few years in Philadelphia.

According to a press release I received, Lang Lang’s natural talent and harrowing story has already captivated young fans all over the world. As he mentions in the final few pages of his memoir, my goal is to “make classical music known to all young children around the world, to make classical music cool!”

Today, as his way of giving something back to society, Lang Lang has established The Lang Lang International Music Foundation with the objective of supporting education for musical training providing scholarships for young people from all over the globe.

Among the many triumphs of this memoir, none surpasses its attestation to how sacrifice, passion, hard work and discipline can go a long way in achieving one’s goals.

To watch some of Lang Lang's performances CLICK HERE 

Click Here To Purchase Lang Lang: Playing With Flying Keys  

The above review was contributed by: The Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com, Norm Goldman, B.A. LL.L, Retired Title Attorney: Norm is also a travel writer and together with his artist wife, Lily, the couple meld Norm's words with Lily's art. To check out their travel site click on Sketchandtravel.com   Click here to view Norm’s Reviews & Interviews.