琴声“郎朗”
With his spiky hairstyle, bold wardrobe and flashy playing, 25-year-old pianist Lang Lang sometimes seems more like a rock star than a classical musician. Since breaking into the classical scene almost a decade ago, China-born Mr. Lang, who is based in Beijing, has become a crossover star. He is one of the bestselling young artists in the genre, and is even working on a project with Adidas. His hectic schedule includes a U.S. concert tour next month, an autobiography, 'Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story,' due out in July, and an appearance at the Summer Olympics in Beijing this August. He just released his latest CD, 'The Magic of Lang Lang,' and spoke with The Wall Street Journal from Los Angeles.
Q: Some people criticize you as a technical lightweight, and also something of a showboat.
A: I have many things to improve, I know that. For a musician, the most important thing is technique; technique serves music. As for performing, if you have a personal style, that should stay, no matter whether it's dramatic or poetic, that's who you are. I think I will never change that.
Q: Are there other players you admire?
A: Vladimir Horowitz, Martha Argerich. I was very fortunate, my former teacher was Gary Graffman, a pupil of Horowitz. I got a lot of this great Russian tradition from him, learning the Rachmaninoff Third, the Rachmaninoff Second, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Shostakovich. He also showed me I can have a personal style. Martha Argerich: Her Chopin is great. I think Argerich has such a unique personality, she makes music always interesting, always different, always creative. This is the type of pianist I like: You listen to it, you know what their signatures are.
Q: At the Grammy awards, you played Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue.' Do you like American music?
A: I love Gershwin. Gershwin was a very serious musician. I love Copland, I've heard lots of Duke Ellington, I really like American music. It has a different approach (from classical). It's more natural. You can make more rubatos and have more freedom. Also the mood is normally quite simple, not so complicated.
Q: You accompany singer Andrea Bocelli on a song on your new record. Are there other singers you would consider working with as an accompanist?
A: Yesterday, I met Barbra Streisand. I would love to do a project with her. People like Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, I really like a lot. I just recorded with Placido Domingo. Our album is coming out in May in America. Later, I'm going to work with Cecilia Bartoli, the most inspirational female singer in the world, in my opinion.
Q: You have played some 20th-century music in concert. Do you have any favorite 20th-century composers?
A: Bartok is my favorite. Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Ravel I like -- Gershwin of course -- Ligeti, some of his pieces are cool, very sophisticated. And then also Messiaen. He has some really beautiful, magical stuff.
Q: Are there any Chinese composers who have expressed an interest in writing for you?
A: Tan Dun is writing a piano concerto for me. In April, we will have the world premiere at Lincoln Center.
Q: Tell us about a piece or two on the new album. Your style goes from Liszt to Rachmaninoff to Mozart and Haydn.
A: I wanted to do something here for a young generation. I do the Mozart 'Piano Sonata in C Major.' Mozart is the most delicate, most elegant composer I think I ever played. He has this incredible personality. He shows five or six different personalities in two bars. Like his opera, he's also very dramatic, in a very subtle way. It's not very obvious. You need to listen very carefully.
直立的发型、大胆的衣着以及华丽的表演，现年25岁的钢琴家郎朗有时候看上去不像一位古典音乐家，倒更像一位摇滚明星。自10年前首次亮相国际古典音乐舞台后，出生于中国的郎朗已经成为了跨界音乐明星。他是流派音乐中最受追捧的年轻艺术家之一，他甚至还与阿迪达斯(Adidas)就一个项目进行着合作。他的时间表更是满满当当：下月将在美国进行巡回演出，他的自传《千里之行：我的故事》(Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story)也将于7月面市，此外他还将在8月的北京夏季奥运会上亮相。最近，他刚推出了新唱片《郎朗的魔力》(The Magic of Lang Lang)。近日他在洛杉矶接受了《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)记者的采访。
《华尔街日报》（以下简称WSJ）：一些人批评你技术不足、爱摆花架子。
郎朗：我知道我有很多不足。对于音乐家来说，最重要的就是技术；但技术也是为音乐服务的。从表演方面来说，如果你有个人风格，就应该保持，不论它是像戏剧那样跌荡起伏或是如诗歌般纾缓，那就是你自己。我想我不会改变这一点的。
WSJ：有哪些演奏家是你所钦佩的？
郎朗：弗拉基米尔•霍洛维茨(Vladimir Horowitz)和玛尔塔•阿格丽希(Martha Argerich)。我非常幸运，曾师从格拉夫曼(Gary Graffman)，他是霍洛维茨的学生。我从他那里学到了不少很棒的俄罗斯音乐传统，学习了拉赫曼尼诺夫第三钢琴协奏曲(Rachmaninoff Third)以及第二协奏曲、斯克里亚宾(Scriabin)、普罗科菲耶夫(Prokofiev)以及肖斯塔科维奇(Shostakovich)。他还让我明白，我可以拥有自己的风格。阿格丽希：她的萧邦太棒了。在我看来阿格丽希拥有如此独特的个性，她总能让音乐充满乐趣、与众不同、而且充满新意。我喜欢这样的钢琴家：你一听，就知道谁在弹。
WSJ：在格莱美颁奖礼上，你演奏了格士温(Gershwin)的《蓝色狂想曲》 (Rhapsody in Blue)。你喜欢美国音乐吗？
郎朗：我喜爱格士温的作品。格士温是一位非常严肃的音乐家。我也喜欢科普兰(Copland)。我还听过很多艾灵顿(Duke Ellington)的作品。我真的很喜欢美国音乐。它采用了（与古典音乐）不同的表达方式，更加自然流畅。你可以有更多的节奏变化，演奏更加自由。而且乐曲通常也比较简单，没那么复杂。
WSJ：在新唱片中，你和歌手安德烈•波切利(Andrea Bocelli)合录了一个曲子。你还考虑与其他歌手进行合作、为他们伴奏吗？
郎朗：昨天我和芭芭拉•史翠珊(Barbra Streisand)见面。我想和她合作一次。我也特别喜欢诺拉•琼斯(Norah Jones)和艾莉西亚•凯斯(Alicia Keys)这样的歌手。我刚与普拉西多•多明戈(Placido Domingo)录制了歌曲，我们的唱片将在5月登陆美国。此后，我将和塞西丽亚•巴托莉(Cecilia Bartoli)进行合作。在我看来，她是全球最能给人带来灵感的女歌手。
WSJ：你在音乐会上演奏了一些20世纪的音乐。在20世纪的作曲家中，你最喜欢谁？
郎朗：最喜欢巴托克(Bartok)。我也喜欢德彪西(Debussy)、拉赫曼尼诺夫(Rachmaninoff)及拉威尔(Ravel)。当然还有温士格。李格提(Ligeti)我也喜欢，他的一些作品很酷，非常精致。还有梅西昂(Messiaen)。他写了一些真正美妙的作品。
WSJ：有没有中国作曲家有意为你谱曲？
郎朗：谭盾正在为我写一个钢琴协奏曲。今年4月，我们将在林肯中心(Lincoln Center)进行全球首演。
WSJ：说说新唱片吧。你从李斯特(Liszt)、拉赫曼尼诺夫一直弹到莫扎特、海顿(Haydn)。
郎朗：我想在这张唱片中为年轻一代做些事情，比如我演奏了莫扎特C大调奏鸣曲(Piano Sonata in C Major)。我认为在我所演奏的所有作曲家的作品中，莫扎特是最细致、最优雅的一位作曲家。他的个性令人难以置信。他可以在两小节中展现五种或六种不同的个性。就如同他的歌剧，他以一种非常微妙的方式展示了极具戏剧性的一面。但这并不容易把握，你需要非常仔细地聆听。