Lang Lang regards Goldberg Variations project as ‘a dream come true’

Lang Lang calls his recording of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations “a dream-come-true moment.”

Propelled by a lifelong passion for one of the most challenging works in the classical repertoire, the superstar pianist waited more than two decades before tackling the project. The disc, released in September 2020 by Deutsche Grammophon, represents a milestone in an already stellar career.

“I would say performing and recording the Goldberg Variations leads me into the next level of piano playing,” said Lang Lang, who is touring with the work and will appear Oct. 8 in a Symphony Center Presents recital. “I’m now 38, and while that’s not old, I think the time was right for a new stage in my artistic development,” he said. “I’ve moved into new terrain with the Goldberg Variations and really immersed myself fully in this project."

To promote the disc, Lang Lang recorded a special video introduction at historic Temple Dongjingyuan in Beijing. The site of the old imperial printing house and a former Buddhist shrine, the temple has ben meticulously renovated in recent years. In this video (embedded below) he performs extracts from the Goldberg Variations and talks about the intense personal connection he feels to Bach’s music.

“My goal as an artist is to keep becoming more self-aware and more knowledgeable, as well as to keep offering inspiration to others,” he said. "It’s an ongoing process, but this project has taken me a little further along the path.”

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