Lang Lang

He takes pop-star poses but possesses a virtuosity that is unequalled in this world. He can run his fingers on a piano in front of billions of people without flinching and wait 20 years to finally dare to take up Bach again. He is praised by critics but takes the time to listen to those who criticize him. For the genius Lang Lang is like that. An explosive mix of talent and questioning that has restored classical music to its former glory and put it back at the top of the charts.

His story is that of a boy prodigy born in China, a pure product of the one-child policy and over-trained since childhood by parents who saw their own careers reduced to ashes by the Cultural Revolution. But it is also that of a workaholic who only presents his work if he is sure he has reached perfection. And for this reason, he withdraws from the spotlight, surrounding himself with renowned pianists and conductors including Christoph EschenBach and Daniel Barenböim.

Daniel Barenböim regularly says that he plays "like a cat with twelve fingers". Fast, precise and delicate, the notes spurt out in a tremor or a whisper that always sounds right. And which delights the greats of this world, from Barack Obama to Pope Francis, through Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the general public. In some years, Lang Lang gives more than 130 concerts for him all over the world.

For his exploit is also there! Famous throughout the world and erected as a demi-God in his own country, he makes people rediscover classical music and the works that are dear to him, from Tchaikovsky to Beethoven, by giving it back the place it had gradually been forgotten. That of linking peoples by provoking universal emotions.