Keys to Friendship

ZHANG HUI

Piano maestro Lang Langbuilds a bridge between Chinaand France with his music.

ON the night of May 6， 2024，French President EmmanuelMacron and hiswife Brigitte Macron helda welcome banquet for ChinesePresident Xi Jinping and his wifePeng Liyuan at the Elysee Palacein Paris. At the banquet， Chinesevirtuoso pianist Lang Lang playedthe piano version of the popularChinese folk song Jasmine Flower ，after which together with theElysee Palace band， he presentedcompositions by French piano guruCharles-Camille Saint-Sa?ns.

“The pieces were carefully cho-sen. Jasmine Flower is a householdname in China， and Saint-Sa?nss Carnival of the Animalsis lively and merry， resonatingwith the theme of the 60th anniversaryof the establishmentof diplomatic relations betweenChina and France，” Lang Langtold China Today . In a Weibo postafter the performance he wrote：“This is an unforgettable night.This is a beautiful night. WishChina-France friendship （would）last forever.” His excitement waspalpable.

It was not Langs first visit tothe Elysee Palace. As an envoy ofChina-France cultural friendship，Lang has been seen there frequentlyin recent years as he hasdedicated himself to consolidatingthe friendship between the Chineseand French through music.

What is behind Lang Langsabiding fondness for France？What did he talk about withthe two presidents at the ElyseePalace？ What is his plan for thisyear as envoy of China-Francecultural friendship？ With thewidespread application of artificialintelligence （AI）， will he applythe technology in music？ ChinaToday talked with Lang Lang foranswers to these questions in anexclusive interview.

Bonding with France

In the run-up to the 60th anniversaryof the establishmentof diplomatic relations betweenChina and France， Lang Langattended a welcome ceremonyfor Chinese passengers held atthe Charles de Gaulle Airport inParis on December 5， 2023. Hewas awarded the title “envoy ofChina-France cultural friendship”at the ceremony.

Later， Lang was invited tothe Elysee Palace where he wasreceived by President Macronand the French first lady. Macronshowed Lang around and discussedChinese music with him.Lang performed Bachs GoldbergVariations for the couple. Hisdeft handling of the emotionsand timbre gave a unique life toeach piece， Macron said in praiseof Langs performance. It is notsomething you can acquire frommere practice， it is a gift youare born with， the president enthused.

Lang Lang shared an insightwith China Today into the significanceof the recent welcomebanquet for President Xi and hiswife. “President Macron was veryhappy and very excited，” Lang indicated.“He said it was a meaningfulmoment for both Chinaand France， and hoped that theChina-France friendship wouldgrow even better.”

Lang also got a chance to talkwith President Xi. “PresidentXi praised me for my efforts topromote Chinese culture in theinternational community and encouragedme to continue them，”he said.

France is no stranger to Langs music. He has played there on manyoccasions. In 2013， he was the onlyAsian musician invited to play inParis for the Bastille Day celebrations，making him the first pianistto perform in front of the EiffelTower. In the same year， he wasawarded the Order of Arts and Lettersby the French government.

In 2015， Lang was once againinvited to the Bastille Day celebrations.This time he played GeorgeGershwins Rhapsody in Blue withthe National Orchestra of France.“As a Chinese pianist， I hope theglobal audience can hear our Chinesepeoples expression and passionfor the arts from my music，”Lang said.

In 2019， he was conferred a specialaward at the Victoire de la MusiqueClassique ceremony in Parisin recognition of his work for twodecades. He was the first Chinese towin the accolade.

In March 2024， Lang released hisnew album Lang Lang-Saint-Sa?ns ，which plays the masterpieces ofFrench composer Saint-Sa?ns suchas the Carnival of the Animals andPiano Concerto No.2 . “The albumalso collects works of five Frenchfemale composers， who are rarelyknown among Chinese， but incrediblyfascinating. While playing thepieces， I felt like my soul was out ofmy body. I was on cloud nine，” Langtold China Today .

The Piano and AI

In todays age of hi-tech， AI is anincreasingly used tool to processand even generate texts， photosand videos. Some are also using thetechnology to compose music. Recently，Lang was featured in a shortmusical video promoting the use ofAI in musical creation co-producedwith Aliyun， Alibabas cloud servicearm.

“Put in some notes and melodies，an AI tool will automaticallygenerate a complete score. It is apowerful function. The video wasshot to showcase the power of AIin artistic creation，” said WangYucheng， director of the video coproducedwith Aliyun.

“That was the first time I combinedAI with piano playing. Imglad to try that，” Lang said. “Aliyunspowerful algorithm enables us toeasily explore new musical genreand creations. I have a lot of ideas.AI can help me turn my ideas intopart of my music，” Lang said.

Wang said the short video wasshot at the Normal School of Musicof Paris （?cole Normale de Musiquede Paris， ENMP）. It is a Chinese-French co-production， made to tellthe French about China and Chineseart and record the friendshipbetween the two countries on thespecial occasion of 60 years of theirdiplomatic ties.

When the school knew that Langwas coming， it gave the productionteam the most fabulous roomfor shooting. The president of theENMP accompanied the cameracrew and many students turnedup to ask for autographs and selfieswith Lang. When the shootingended， a crowd of people came tosee Lang off even though it was aholiday.

A Bridge of Friendship

In a French TV program in 2019，former French President Fran?oisHollande revealed that he was afan of Lang Lang， and had readLangs autobiography Journey of aThousand Miles： My Story . Hollandesaid it was marvelous how Langsparents raised him to be a world-renowned pianist.

In France， Lang is very popular.The pianist said he was honoredto be favored by the French andshared his thoughts on the probablereasons：

“First， I think French peoplelike Asian culture， particularlyChinese culture， very much. Theyare kind to and even admi reChinese artists. Second， Frenchpeople love emotionally subtleand gentle expressions of art. Itsa kind of hazy feeling. And Chineseartists also like this kind offeeling. Therefore， I pay special attentionto this in my music. Apartfrom melodies and rhythms， I tryto deliver the emotions and feelingsof the works.”

Although the piano is a Westernmusical instrument， Lang thinksit can fully and perfectly renderthe artistic meaning and structureof Chinese music and express theChinese character of perseverance，tenacity and fortitude.

peace

“I thinkthe pianorenderingalso representstheChineseaspirationandnationalcharacterofpursuingand safeguardingpeace.”

“Take the piano concerto TheYellow River ， for example，” he said.“If it were not the piano， you wouldfind no other musical instrumentto generate that kind of power. So， Ithink the piano rendering also representsthe Chinese aspiration andnational characteristic of pursuingand safeguarding peace.”

This year， he will stage performanceswith leading European orchestras，including the Orchestre deParis， National Orchestra of France，and German orchestra StaatskapelleDresden. In late May， Lang willkick off his France tour， with concertsscheduled in places like Lyons，Bordeaux， Cannes and Paris. “I loveto perform in Europe， a continentof cultural profundity. It has manysimilarities with China as both areancient civilizations and the peoplelove classical music，” he said.

Meanwhi le， Lang has beenpromoting Chinese music whiletouring Europe. “I play one pieceof Chinese music at each concert.This has been a tradition of mine，not just for this year. I hope China-Europe relations could get betterand better，” he said.

In addition， Lang has also beendevoted to enhancing culturalexchanges between youngsters inChina and Europe. The Lang LangInternational Music Foundation hasorganized Chinese cultural experiencetours， bringing children fromEurope to China and taking themto places like Beijing and Shandong.“We are working to create a musiccamp program， connecting Chinesekids with their European counterpartsthrough music，” Lang said.