As a pianist, educator, and philanthropist, Lang Lang has become one of the world’s most influential and committed ambassadors for the arts in the 21st century. Whether playing for millions of viewers at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies 2008 in Beijing and 2026 in Milan or for a few hundred children in public schools, he is a master of communicating through music. He has formed ongoing collaborations with conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim, and Christoph Eschenbach, and performs with all the world’s top orchestras. At the same time, he is known for stepping into different musical worlds and has performed with Metallica, Pharrell Williams, and Herbie Hancock. In 2008, he founded the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, aimed at cultivating the next generation of artists, championing music education at the forefront of technology, and building a young audience through live music experiences. For his educational initiatives, he was named a UN Messenger of Peace by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2013. Lang Lang gave his first public recital before the age of five, and at age nine entered Beijing’s Central Music Conservatory, subsequently studying with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He achieved his international breakthrough at the age of 17 when he stepped in at short notice to perform Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony and Christoph Eschenbach. He holds honorary doctorates from the Royal College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, New York University, Birmingham City University, as well as the Central Music Conservatory in Beijing and has been an honorary fellow of the University of Cambridge’s Homerton College since 2026. Awarded the highest honor by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China in 2011, he has also received Germany’s Cross of Merit and France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.