Lang Lang to Perform for Earthquake Relief; May 2008
For Immediate Release
SUPERSTAR CHINESE PIANIST LANG LANG TO PERFORM WITH THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA, LED BY CONDUCTOR CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH, IN HISTORIC CONCERT ON JUNE 2ND IN BEIJING TO SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN CHINA
NATIONALLY TELEVISED LIVE CONCERT EVENT COMMEMORATES THE 35TH ANNIVERSAY OF THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA’S MOMENTOUS 1973 VISIT TO CHINA
CONCERT WILL RAISE FUNDS TO REBUILD DEVASTATED SCHOOL SYSTEM IN CHINA’S SICHUAN PROVINCE
May 30, 2008 — New York, NY — On June 2nd, 2008, superstar Chinese pianist Lang Lang will perform a very special concert in Beijing with the world-famous Philadelphia Orchestra, led by its music director Christoph Eschenbach, to support the rebuilding of the school system in China’s Sichuan Province following the massive earthquake that devastated the region on May 12th.
This landmark concert event, which will be nationally televised throughout China, commemorates the 35th anniversary of the Orchestra’s historic 1973 visit to the People’s Republic. The two-week tour, engineered by then-President Richard Nixon, signaled the thawing of U.S. and Chinese diplomatic relations and marked the end of the Cold War. That visit was the first time an American orchestra had performed in China and paved the way for further cultural exchanges between the two countries in the decades to come.
Now, 35 years later, Lang Lang and the Philadelphia Orchestra will perform in one of the same venues the Orchestra visited back then, The Min Zu Theater, and present one of the same programs, which will include Beethoven’s Overture to Egmont and Symphony No. 6, as well as the Yellow River Piano Concerto (the national piano concerto of China) and the traditional piece Moon Reflections.
In addition to making a personal donation to earthquake relief efforts, Lang Lang has already participated in several events that have raised more than three million dollars in aid to the affected region, including concerts in Beijing and Qingdao. He is also associated with the Chinese mineral water company, 5100 Tibet Spring, which has donated 1.8 million dollars worth of fresh spring water to the relief effort.
Lang Lang and the members of the Philadelphia Orchestra will waive their fees for this performance, which will air live on CCTV (the China Central Television network) on June 2nd. Viewers will be able to call in during the broadcast to pledge donations that will help build a new earthquake-proof school in Sichuan. All funds donated will be distributed to the China Youth Development Foundation, a Chinese non-profit organization that has been building earthquake-proof schools in rural Chinese cities since 1989.
