Lang Lang - The Chopin Album (2012) [Hi-Res]

World-renowned pianist LANG LANG turns to the composer who has accompanied him throughout his career on his new release for Sony Classical, THE CHOPIN ALBUM. The music of Chopin, universally loved for its beauty and communicative power, has long been a dynamic force in Lang Lang's life, propelling him through a number of career-defining experiences. Now, in his 30th-birthday year, Lang Lang records his first album entirely devoted to the great composer's solo piano masterpieces. Chopin "speaks with such a universal voice," says Lang Lang. "I genuinely believe he's a true ambassador for classical music among the great composers. He appeals to everyone."

One of the first pieces Lang Lang learned was the Grande Valse brillante in E-flat major op. 18 (included on this album), and it was Chopin's music that also carried him through a number of career-changing competitions, including Ettlingen (Germany) in 1994 and the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Sendai (Japan) in 1995, when he took First Prize performing Chopin's Second Piano Concerto. And it was with the Chopin Etudes that Lang Lang made his now-renowned Beijing Concert Hall recital at age 14 a performance that led to his studying with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. The Chopin Album includes the second set of Chopin's Etudes (op. 25), the Andante spianato & Grande Polonaise and a selection of shorter works that he has long enjoyed performing, including three Nocturnes and the Waltz op. 64 no. 1, popularly known as the "Minute" Waltz.