Lang Lang will make his New Zealand recital debut, 12 years after the Chinese pianist first played in the country with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Edo de Waart.
The concert at Aukland’s Civic Theatre on 12 June will include Chopin’s Scherzos as well as Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons. It comes at the end of a tour that has taken him from Chicago to Australasia via China.
‘People underestimate it because they think it’s for children,’ said Lang Lang on The Seasons, in an interview with New Zealand Herald. ‘It is very much for adults, even though I played it as a kid when I was six or seven.’
He will share the stage with the winners of the New Zealand Youth Piano Competition, who will each give a short performance.
Known for his charismatic and energetic performance style, Lang Lang has played a number of notable concerts, including at the 2006 FIFA World Cup opening, the 2008 Olympic Opening, and with both with Pharrell Williams and Metallica at the Grammy Awards.