Early life
Lang Lang was born in
Shenyang,
Liaoning,
China. His father Lang Guoren is a descendant of the
Manchu Niohuru family, which brought forth a long line of
Qing Empresses. The elder Lang is also a musician, who plays the traditional Chinese stringed instrument
erhu.
[1] At the age of two, Lang watched the
Tom and Jerry episode
The Cat Concerto which features the
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by
Franz Liszt. According to Lang, this first contact with Western music is what motivated him to learn the
piano.
[2][3]
He began piano lessons with Professor Zhu Ya-Fen at age three. At the
age of five, he won first place at the Shenyang Piano Competition and
performed his first public recital.
[4]
