Experiencing Lang Lang is therapy for body and soul. Not only because of the youthful flair that he exudes from every pore, but also because he is completely without fear. He is as undaunted by Beethoven sonatas as he is by Chinese folklore and he plays Disney songs with just as much sparkle as Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which he can, incidentally, perform at lightning speed having repeatedly copied a video recording of legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz as a child. Lang Lang owes his own superstar status to this piano concerto. When he was 17, he stood in for the soloist at the “Gala of the Century”. His performance triggered invitations from the world’s best orchestras – a first for a Chinese pianist – as well as a boom in piano-playing in his home country. Now in his early 40s, Lang Lang is one of the most renowned pianists of our time, an ambassador for music whose influence reaches far beyond the classical music sphere. Speaking on the German World Service, he said, “It doesn’t matter whether it is classical or pop, music is the most powerful art form for bringing people together.”