FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LANG LANG Dragon Songs
China Philharmonic Orchestra / Long Yu
Fan Wei, Ji Wei and Zhang Jiali

Lang Lang takes his audience on an exploration of the music of his native China
in both sight and sound.

Release Date: January 9th, 2007

Preview "Dragon Songs" at
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/eplayer/eplayer.htms?ID=langlang-dragonsongs

NEW YORK, NY - International piano phenomenon Lang Lang is undeniably one of the
most riveting young piano talents performing on the classical music scene. An
exuberant, extroverted and exhilarating performer, Lang Lang is also one of the
most talked about pianists of his generation. On January 9th, 2007, Deutsche
Grammophon will release Lang Lang's second studio album. Entitled Dragon Songs,
this recording departs from the western music of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Mozart
and Liszt for which he is most known to take Lang Lang's audience on a
groundbreaking journey through "his" China in this documentary film on DVD and
soundtrack album.

Teaming up with fellow Chinese musicians, Lang Lang returned to the place of his
early studies, the Beijing Conservatory to record an album of all-Chinese music
- as much to pay homage to the rich musical tradition of his home country as to
build bridges for Western music lovers to experience these traditions. The
central work on this recording is the Yellow River Concerto, a large-scale,
highly virtuosic piano concerto with colorful sound scales. The balance of the
CD is made up of miniature pieces for piano solo and with chamber pieces, each
combining the piano with traditional Chinese instruments.

Though all the pieces were written in the early 20th century, most of them are
based on much older sources, merging traditional Chinese melodies and idioms
with the Western classical music tradition - the result is music of astonishing
beauty and ease that will strongly appeal to a broad audience
The accompanying DVD features a full-length documentary offering a fascinating
look behind the scenes of Lang Lang's latest China tour, from the privacy of his
parents' flat (where Lang Lang revisits his very first piano), to a Lang family
lunch and a visit to the local temple, to his successful master classes and
stage performances. Additionally this DVD includes a concert of the piano solo
and chamber music pieces from the CD, all filmed during the recording sessions
in Beijing.

Lang Lang explains why, after firmly establishing himself as a classical
soloist, he is determined to make his rich and colorful Chinese musical heritage
more widely known:

"I grew up in a family of musicians - my father is an erhu (two-string violin)
player, and my grandfather played the Chinese flute and a Chinese lute called
the pipa. Whenever my relatives got together, we would have family concerts,
with me at the piano - I tried playing the Chinese violin, but I was hopeless! I
did a lot of mixing of traditions when I was a kid, and that's what I've tried
to do on this album. I hope it will open a door to Chinese culture and music for
my audience. These melodies are heard all over China: I've known them since I
was a baby. My mother would sing them, my father would play them. They were like
fairytales for me."

Lang Lang has taken to playing traditional Chinese music as encores at his
concerts, and the reaction of the audiences all over the world has been
overwhelming. "They really love it and feel a connection with it." The titles of
these Dragon Songs - Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake, At Night on the Lake beneath
the Maple Bridge - conjure up the world of ancient Chinese art and nature.

In recent years, there has been a huge rise of interest in Chinese culture, a
phenomenon that will continue to build up to the Peking Olympics in 2008 - with
this project Lang Lang makes himself the perfect ambassador between the Chinese
and Western worlds, a mission that is very close to his heart.

Lang Lang will be touring extensively throughout the United States during the
spring of 2007. Included among his engagements in this country are recital
dates in California, New York and Boston in which the Chinese music from this
recording will play a significant part. Lang Lang also hopes to include
selections from Dragon Songs in his appearances with the orchestras of Chicago,
Los Angeles, Vienna, Houston, Washington (National) and New York (complete list
of dates below).

For additional press information on Dragon Songs (including cover, photos, bio
and more): http://press.deutschegrammophon.com/langlang-dragonsongs

LANG LANG ON TOUR 2006/2007

January 10-13, 2007 Chicago Symphony Center Chopin: Piano Concerto no. 1
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conductor:
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos

January 14, 2007 Chicago Symphony Center Schubert: Piano Quintet D 667
Chicago Symphony Chamber
Musicians
January 16, 2007 San Francisco, Davies Symphony Hall Recital
January 18, 2007 Saratoga, McAffee Center Recital
January 19, 2007 Davis, Jackson Hall Recital
January 21, 2007 San Diego, Copley Symphony Hall Recital
January 28, 2007 Boston, Symphony Hall Recital

February 5, 2007 Fresno, Saroyan Theatre Ravel: Piano Concerto
Liszt: Piano Concerto no. 1
Fresno Philharmonic
Conductor: Theodore Kuchar

February 8-11 Los Angeles Walt Disney Concert Hall Chopin: Piano Concerto no. 1
2007 Los Angeles Philharmonic Conductor: Vassily Sinaisky

March 3, 2007 New York, Carnegie Hall Bartók: Piano Concerto no. 2
Wiener Philharmoniker
Conductor: Daniel Barenboim

May 9, 2007 Houston, Jones Hall Chopin: Andante spianato and
Grande; Polonaise brillante
Liszt: Piano Concerto no. 1
Houston Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Hans Graf

May 17-19, 2007 Washington, Kennedy Center Higdon: Piano Concerto
(world premiere)
National Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin

June 7-9,12, 2007 New York, Avery Fisher Hall Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 5
New York Philharmonic
Conductor: Riccardo Muti

Contact: cinemediapromo@...

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]