Lang Lang's New Album Presents French Classics And Rarities

Classical favourites, revelatory discoveries and two large-scale works by Saint-Saëns make up the fantastic selection of French music on Chinese pianist Lang Lang’s latest recording. Released today on 2 CDs, 2 LPs and digitally, Lang Lang – Saint-Saëns sees the artist join forces with his wife, pianist Gina Alice, the Gewandhausorchester and conductor Andris Nelsons. At the heart of the album are the magical Carnival of the Animals, Saint-Saëns’s “Grand Zoological Fantasy” for two pianos and orchestra, and the same composer’s virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 2. Also included are a dozen works for solo piano or piano four hands – a blend of Belle Époque favourites and neglected gems by female French composers.

Lang Lang’s decision to open the album with a work that has enchanted generations of young listeners and introduced millions to classical music reflects his mission to attract children to the genre. “Many of us remember Saint-Saëns’s famous Carnival of the Animals from childhood. There are a lot of clever ideas underneath all the fun. He’s making a real statement, but in a very humorous way,” says the pianist. “And of course it was wonderful to record it with my wife, Gina Alice.”

The artists’ reading of “Aquarium” is already available digitally, complete with performance video, as is the piano four hands arrangement of “The Swan” in which Lang Lang plays both parts, while “Fossils” comes out today alongside the album, again with a video. A filmed version of the full work from the Gewandhaus stage, with Andris Nelsons, Gina Alice and Lang Lang, is available to watch on STAGE+.

As an added treat, we are delighted to present a digital-only version of Carnival of the Animals which includes readings of the much-loved comic verses written to accompany each movement of the work by American poet Ogden Nash (1902–1971). First voiced by Noël Coward on a recording issued in 1950, Nash’s poems are here narrated by comedian and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.

The second orchestral work on the album, Saint-Saëns’s Second Piano Concerto is, according to Lang Lang, a “magnificent but underrated Romantic masterpiece”. As part of his Saint-Saëns project, a film of the work made live in concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus will be broadcast on ARTE on 24 March 2024 and will be available to watch internationally on DG’s audio and video streaming platform STAGE+ on World Piano Day on 28 March.

Lang Lang – Saint Saëns also shines light on music by five female French composers largely overlooked until recent years. The pianist performs D’un jardin clair by Lili Boulanger (1893–1918); Valse lente by Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983); “La toute petite s’endort” from Miocheries by Mélanie-Hélène Bonis (1858–1937); Étude No. 10 by Louise Farrenc (1804–1875); and “Romance sans paroles” from Quatre pièces romantiques Op. 30 by Charlotte Sohy (1897–1955).

Alongside these rarities, he has chosen a series of other smaller-scale works by more familiar French names. Among these are Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte; Fauré’s Pavane; and Debussy’s Petite Suite, a duet with Gina Alice.

Lang Lang continues to perform Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2 this season, with forthcoming dates in Berlin (Staatsoper, 11 March; Philharmonie, 12 March), San Diego (12 April), Cleveland, Ohio (2/4 May) and Paris (12 June). He and Gina Alice play Carnival of the Animals in Paris on 14 June and in Wiesbaden as part of the Rheingau Musik Festival on 21 July, when the programme will feature both Carnival and the Second Piano Concerto.