Press

With his spiky hairstyle, bold wardrobe and flashy playing, 25-year-old pianist Lang Lang sometimes seems more like a rock star than a classical musician. Since breaking into the classical scene almost a decade ago, Mr. Lang, who was born in China and is based in Beijing, has become a crossover star. He is one of the bestselling young artists in the genre, and is even working on a project with Adidas. His hectic schedule includes a U.S.

Spread-eagle across the cover of his latest CD in a pair of outrageously checked trousers, his face - under a thatch of spiky gelled hair - gazing into the sky, Lang Lang is clearly not your average classical piano virtuoso.

The flamboyant young Chinese soloist is the hottest sensation on the classical music scene and he does not mind who knows it. But after years of delighting audiences and infuriating critics, Lang Lang is keen to reveal the musician behind the showman.

No one in classical music is as hot as Lang Lang, the remarkable Chinese pianist whose procession from astounding prodigy to star during his years at Curtis Institute had Philadelphia audiences embracing him like a rock icon...

Aged just 25, Lang Lang's talent at the keyboard has taken him from humble Manchurian origins to global stardom. Michael Church meets classical music's coolest poster boy

Chicago has loomed large in the fast-moving, phenomenal career of the young pianist Lang Lang. His major-league career was launched in 1999, when, as a 17-year- old conservatory student, he subbed at the last minute for an ailing Andre Watts at Ravinia's annual gala. Christoph Eschenbach, Ravinia's music director at the time, took the impressionable virtuoso under his wing and encouraged the crowd-pleasing showboating that propelled Lang Lang around the world and made him rich but also brought him increasingly critical notices...