Piano Book

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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Piano Book
Lang Lang (piano)

[ Deutche Grammophon / CD ]

Release Date: Friday 29 March 2019

Lang Lang returns with his brand new solo album 'Piano Book' - a collection of pieces which first inspired him to play the piano and led him on his path to international stardom.

Lang Lang says: "I want to take every music lover on a journey through my favourite piano pieces. I hope to inspire as well as motivate every piano student to remain focused during daily practice, and to play and understand these essential pieces for what they really are: true masterpieces!"

'Piano Book' gathers together many of the miniatures that generations of amateur pianists have grown up with. Lang Lang holds them in the highest regard, believing them to be classics in their own right. He wants to encourage piano students across the world to fully appreciate them.

As well as works by the great composers - such as Beethoven's Für Elise, Debussy's Clair de lune and J.S. Bach's Prelude in C Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier - Lang Lang has included some modern classics that are familiar from TV and movies like Yann Tiersen's La valse d'Amélie, Max Richter's The Departure and Ryuichi Sakamoto's music for Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence. These are pieces Lang Lang has encountered through his work with students all over the world and have became part of his favourite works for piano.

Lang Lang has also chosen pieces which hold particular resonance in specific cultures, such as Sweden's Limu, limu, lima and the popular Chinese Jasmine Flower. He says, "The folk songs from around the world that I encountered on my travels are another reason why this album is of such personal importance. Folk tunes are essential for everyone's cultural identity. Listening to them I started to hear classical music with new ears, realising how profoundly folk songs and dances had influenced so many classical composers. I got to know wonderful music through my trips to many different countries and wanted to present some of this music on my album."

Recorded at London's Abbey Road studios and in Beijing, 'Piano Book' is Lang Lang's very personal playlist for everyone who loves the piano. It's also the fruits of an astonishing career that has taken him from child prodigy to virtuoso at the very top of his profession. Equally happy playing for billions of viewers at the Olympics or just for a few hundred children in the public schools, Lang Lang is a master of communicating through music and his new album is a testament to that.

Tracks:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869
1. Prelude in C Major, BWV 846 2:19

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
2. Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor, WoO 59 "Für Elise" 3:26

Max Richter (1966 - )
3. The Departure 2:31

Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)
Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 67
4. 4. Presto "Spinning Song" 1:49

Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918)
Suite bergamasque, L. 75
5. 3. Clair de lune 6:47
Children's Corner, L. 113
6. 1. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum 2:48

Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849)
24 Préludes, Op. 28, C. 166-189
7. 15. Sostenuto in D-Flat Major, C. 180 "Raindrop" 6:35

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 "Sonata facile"
8. 1. Allegro 4:54
Muzio Clementi (1752 - 1832)
Sonatina No. 1 in C Major, Op. 36
9. 2. Andante 1:32

Carl Czerny (1791 - 1857)
The School of Velocity, Op. 299
10. 1. Presto 0:35

Yann Tiersen (1970 - )
Six Pieces for Piano, Volume 2
11. 4. La Valse d'Amélie 2:50
Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918)
12. Rêverie, L. 68 5:30

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
6 Moments musicaux, Op. 94, D. 780
13. 3. Allegro moderato 2:02

Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)
Lyric Pieces Book III, Op. 43
14. 6. To Spring 3:59

Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856)
Album für die Jugend, Op. 68
Part 1: Für Kleinere
15. 8. Wilder Reiter 0:36

Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963)
Villageoises: Six petites pièces enfantines pour piano, FP 65
Villageoises: Six petites pièces enfantines pour piano
16. 2. Staccato (Pas vite) 0:44

Hu-Wei Huang (1932 - )
17. The Merry Shepherd Boy 1:33

Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952 - )
18. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Arr. for Piano) 5:36

Tekla Badarzewska-Baranowska (1838 - 1861)
19. The Maiden's Prayer, Op. 4 4:26

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
12 Variations in C Major on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265
20. Tema 0:36
21. Variation 1 0:31
22. Variation 2 0:32
23. Variation 3 0:36
24. Variation 4 0:34
25. Variation 5 0:33
26. Variation 6 0:30
27. Variation 7 0:33
28. Variation 8 0:44
29. Variation 9 0:35
30. Variation 10 0:33
31. Variation 11 2:30
32. Variation 12 1:27

Christian Petzold (1677 - 1733)
33. Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 (App. D) 1:41

Watch Beethoven: Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor, WoO 59 "Für Elise"