The famed Chinese pianist releases a second “Piano Book” album of beloved songs for fans and students looking to engage their passions.
By Gary Moskowitz for GRAMMY.com | October 21, 2025
Lang Lang is known worldwide as incomparable, prodigious, and virtuosic in his mastery of the piano — an instrument he began playing in China at age 3. Because he plays with dramatic, physical flair and visible emotion — and often interprets piano works in unconventional ways — the GRAMMY nominee is also considered a rockstar.
Among many other accolades, Lang Lang has performed with Pharell Williams and Metallica, and recorded piano music for video games. He’s released six albums that peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Classical Albums chart, performed at the White House, and at the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing.
But Lang Lang is also an avid piano teacher who aims to get young people excited about classical music through performances, lessons, and workshops through The Lang Lang International Music Foundation, which brings music education curriculum to schools in the U.S., Europe, and China.
In September, Lang Lang was greeted by a roar of applause while performing on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Onstage, Lang Lang demonstrated the same precise skill and playfulness that he teaches his piano students throughout the world: his head leaned in all directions, his fingers furiously bounced across the keys, and his arms stretched out far above the keys. The artist quickly plowed through a medley of songs from his latest album, Piano Book 2.
A follow-up to 2019’s Piano Book, Piano Book 2 compiles short works for piano that Lang Lang hopes will inspire more young people to play the instrument. Book 2 includes iconic classical pieces, works by contemporary film composers, and selections from popular video games and anime.
GRAMMY.com recently spoke over Zoom with Lang Lang, who was in London promoting the new album and doing a series of performances and workshops.
On the new album, you play a range of well-known short pieces by Mozart, Satie, Schubert, and Rachmaninoff. What is it about these composers and these pieces that resonate with pianists and piano lovers?
I think a great piece has a great melody that’s easy to remember. You hear it and know what it is, even if you don’t know exactly what it’s called. These are melodies you feel familiar with and connected to. Plus, these melodies are very joyful to play.
**The album also includes works from film composers like Morricone and from films like La La Land. How did you decide which songs to include?**
We already had the first Piano Book, so we used the same idea, to have similar ideas and styles like that. So we have Beethoven but also a Turkish march, and we also have “Monkey King” gaming music.
This is music from my childhood and teenage years, but new arrangements and also newer melodies that some people are really crazy about. We combined both my favorites from the past and favorites from today.
What’s your connection to video games and anime?
I’m not a very good gamer, but I enjoy listening to music from video games. Animation was a big part of my childhood, and still today I love it. When I was kid I was crazy about animation, comics, and TV. I read anime everyday and loved “Dragon Ball Z” and adventure stories like “The Monkey King.” I also liked Marvel Comics and Disney animation films, but of course my all-time favorite was “Tom and Jerry” cartoons.
Do all of the works in Piano Book 2 have anything in common? Is there a through-line that you can identify?
More obvious melodies; not simple, but easier to remember, that’s the thing. They’re not easier to understand, but easier to connect the timing and rhythms.
It has to have a good sound wave and good shapes that swing and flow, with good balance and good rhythms. These are songs that are easier to sing. If you can sing something, it’s easier to remember. If it’s hard to sing, it’s hard to remember.
You’re an avid piano teacher and your music foundation educates students all over the world. How many piano students would you say you’ve had so far?
A lot. So many I can’t count. We have more than 400,00 students worldwide just in our program keys of inspiration.
What do you enjoy most about teaching piano?
When I was a kid, I was already teaching other kids. We were helping each other. That’s how it started. I also was teaching kids who were not pianists, but played violin or were singers. I liked helping them musically.
Then later I found that I wanted to inspire kids to be passionate about classical music. I was looking at Leonard Bernstein, who inspired so many people to be confident enough to take an instrument. I admired that. When I came to the U.S. in high school, I realized there were no music classes in most schools. It was so hard to believe that kids would not grow up with proper music education. I thought one day, if I had the capability, I should do something about it.
What are some common things that piano students struggle with and how do you teach them to meet those challenges?
I would say technique. Sometimes you need to have proper training and you need a good teacher to lead you in the right situation. But more important is how to release your emotions, how you connect with the instrument as one, and get integrated into the instrument as one. You need to have some good lessons to feel that, to feel that your fingertips and your heart both are connected.
This is something I want to see in a concert. I want to feel the emotions, the passions, the colors, the storytelling, the things behind the notes. I don’t want to see the concert, just hitting the notes, that’s superficial, not grounded in heart and blood. No matter what level you are, you should focus on those things.
How do you accomplish that, exactly?
It depends on the pieces you are playing. But it’s always about finding the right phrasing, the right crescendos and diminuendos to get in and out of the music.
I would tell a 12-year-old that to be confident on stage, to really feel that piece, it needs to be in your body, to be a part of you. When you memorize a piece, you can play by heart, it becomes you. Just be confident, don’t get scared or reserved. Come out, let your soul come out.
Have you ever struggled to teach a student something on the piano?
It’s not difficult for me to extend what I’m trying to achieve on the keyboard. I have the ability to show it in quite an accessible way. Very often, you regularly need one hour to get something, but I will teach it in 15 minutes. I have certain tricks I know how to use. I feel that I get results in quick ways.
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges to becoming exceptional at playing piano?
Piano is actually the easiest, because you can sit there and just make notes. No matter how you play, there are notes. A trombone, for example, is much harder to start with because the notes may not come right away.
The piano is a multidimensional instrument, it’s like you are half of the orchestra. You have to balance everything. It’s like you are a DJ. You have to know the harmony, the theory and counterpoint to balance things right. To bring certain things out, you have to have the years to do that. It makes the piano slightly different.
You credit your own childhood music classes with helping develop your self-confidence and sense of purpose. What is one of your strongest memories of taking piano lessons as a young person?
Once upon a time, I would get very nervous before every competition. I couldn’t sleep well. It was very hard for me to calm down and be patient. I got too excited, too hyped. I expected too much. I wanted to be successful. My teacher always tried to make me more relaxed, and told me not to think too much.
It wasn’t until much later, after doing many more concerts, all of that gradually disappeared. When you want too much as a young kid, it is disbalancing. You have to calm down and not think too much. Many kids struggle with this. They get nervous, and so they leave music. Once you really calm down and only think about the music, everything will work. When you have too many expectations, you always will have a bad day.
Photo: Olaf Heine
