CHINESE piano sensation Lang Lang will have concerts in London this month – the latest stop on his whirlwind rise to fame.

The 26-year-old Shenyang native has already achieved more than most musicians twice his age. He performed at last summer's Olympic opening ceremony and has toured the world performing in front of large audiences.

Now Lang is keen to help inspire a group of budding musicians. After all, at 26, he's already an old hand. “The problem is the image of our work. Kids think that we are very boring people, that we are like a robot, and are very arrogant. Actually, we're not. We're normal people,” he told the Financial Times.

Lang is determined to pass on the gift of music to youngsters, and knows that his more fashionable image can help. Far from being the normal classical musician, Lang has rock star appeal. Adidas has a Lang trainer and young people can watch his performances on Youtube.com. In many respects Lang is more like a pop star than a classical pianist.

He has used this appeal to help generate greater interest in his art form. He started the Lang Lang Foundation, which promotes music education in the US, Europe and China, and regularly donates money to musical causes.

He hopes to mentor young musicians in the same way he received help from teachers when he was young. Lang notes that a love of classical music must be received when young.

“You can't expect someone who has never listened to classical music to suddenly start listening to it when he is 30 years old,” he said.

Currently, over 30 million Chinese are trying to learn to play the piano. This huge figure must be credited, at least in part, to Lang's influence. And it won't be long before the next piano prodigy emerges from the masses.

來源：21世紀英語報