Key concert series celebrates pianist Lang Lang

The festivities opened with two major concerts on May 23 and 25 at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre. Lang performed alongside esteemed conductor Lyu Jia and the China NCPA Orchestra, presenting a selection of French classics, such as Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major and Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No 2 in G Minor.

"Reuniting with the China NCPA Orchestra, with whom I've shared many years of friendship, is very exciting. Many of the musicians are actually my classmates, so seeing them again feels very heartwarming," Lang said a day before the May 23 show.

"This time, we chose pieces that people might not associate with my usual repertoire in recent years — for example, Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major. This will be the first time I perform the entire concerto in China. In the past, I've only played the second movement in some places. Now, I'll be performing the whole piece. Also included is Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No 2, which I'm a bit more familiar with — I've performed it often in recent years and recorded it for an album released last year," the pianist says.