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Lang Lang — Piano Book

Renowned for his exceptional technique, pianist Lang Lang is able to astound audiences by dashing off the most virtuosic of piano concertos as if they were finger exercises. His Piano Book album, however, is based on an unusual concept for a major recording project. It features many of the short pieces in the classical repertoire which are tackled by almost all aspiring pianists in order to gradually improve their skills. Lang Lang combines these miniatures with other works from all over the world, known and loved in their respective cultures for their simple, touching melodies. The result is an immensely personal album – one whose main aim is to convey the joy of playing the piano, but which also encourages greater respect for the interpretative complexity of seemingly easy pieces.

For Lang Lang, Piano Book represented a return to his roots, to the days when, as a little boy, he would practise the piano but with no access to recordings of his favourite pieces because they simply didn’t exist – the great pianists would never consider such repertoire because of its lack of technical challenges.

Lang Lang with his piano teacher Zhu Yafen

Having reached the height of his profession, Lang Lang was keen to devote his full artistic attention to these “lightweight” pieces. Deutsche Grammophon needed no convincing, as his innovative approach tied in perfectly with the label’s commitment to bringing classical music to children and young people. An updated classic, Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood, featuring star guest narrators and offering extra games and videos via an accompanying app, is a perfect example of this drive to engage younger listeners.

Photographer Gregor Hohenberg had taken a huge number of pictures for Piano Book early on, creating shots of Lang Lang standing next to a grand piano, having fun with his sheet music or simply captured in motion – all great photos that show us different aspects of the artist’s personality.

The cover, however, had to reflect the album title – and that was proving to be a challenge. Some time-consuming creative detours were taken, and the stress levels of all involved rose daily as the wait for a coherent design went on. The release date was fast approaching and postponing was out of the question, as Lang Lang had already allotted dates in his packed schedule for recitals and interviews to present his new recording to a global audience – first and foremost, the album launch in Paris:

Am 14. Februar 2019 präsentierte Lang Lang sein Album "Piano Book" exklusiv während eines Launch Events auf der Pariser Seine und gab eine musikalische Kostprobe passend zum Valentinstag.

The decisive breakthrough came from art director Dirk Rudolph. It suddenly occurred to him to create a visual blend of the two components of the title – a piano and a book – the piano lid opening like the front cover of a book, to reveal the crisp new pages within. He instantly photographed a book he happened to have in his studio, incorporated the image digitally into one of a piano and sent it as a screenshot to Oliver Kreyssig, the creative manager coordinating the project. This simple yet visually and conceptually striking idea was enthusiastically received.

Dirk Rudolph deliberately chose not to create a digital simulation of a book. As he recalls: “Only the fanned-out pages of a brand-new, unread book produced that wonderful sensation of drawing you in to embark on the voyage of discovery within the covers.” So assistants got to work in the studio, taking endless analogue photos of new books for days, until the desired image had been achieved and could be merged with that of the piano, using Photoshop. At last, once the final touch of a red ribbon bookmark had been digitally added, the cover – a metaphorical representation of Lang Lang’s original aim for this album – was complete.

Sometimes the simplest things are the most difficult – and vice versa. This is certainly true of the story behind this cover, making it the perfect visual equivalent to Lang Lang’s mission to refresh the way we listen to, play and interpret supposedly simple, familiar pieces, so that we fall in love with them all over again.