Lang Lang still on top

Lang Lang has played in some of the world's most celebrated venues, like London's Royal Albert Hall. His two recitals at the venue were recorded in a DVD recently released by Sony Music. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

The darling of China's classical music has a busy year ahead, with many concerts and recordings in the works. Chen Nan reports.

It's 9 pm at a five-star hotel in Beijing. Lang Lang is running late for an interview, but his agent explains that the delay is because he is busy playing the piano. He sat down to practice as soon as he arrived in the capital from Shanghai.

Ten minutes later, he arrives in the hotel room. Dressed casually, the pianist says that despite his tight schedule, he tries to practice two hours every day.

"The biggest challenge as a pianist is not practicing enough. It's important to keep thinking and analyzing in practice," he tells China Daily.

Lang Lang is one of the biggest stars in the world of classical music. He has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic 35 times, the Vienna Philharmonic 36 times and with some top American orchestras more than 100 times. He has also performed with musicians such as jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and heavy-metal band Metallica.

If it can be done, the Chinese pianist has done it, and all he wants to do is continue to break new ground.

On June 14, Lang Lang performed at an event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations at Renmin University of China in Beijing. He also turned 33 on that day.

In 2012, Lang Lang made a promise to himself that he would always spend his birthday playing the piano in a special way.