2019中国大运河国际钢琴艺术节暨郎朗杯钢琴大赛，5月在杭州市拱墅区运河天地广场举行。在主会场，由杭州歌剧舞剧院带来的开场舞蹈《遇上大运河》燃起了全场观众的热情，赢得一片热烈的掌声。随后，通过视频连线对6个分会场进行巡礼，两名小钢琴手演奏四手联弹《彩云追月》，郎朗先生携手8位钢琴大师登台并做介绍。

        “通过今天的艺术节和钢琴大赛，我相信浙江和杭州文化的国际知名度会大幅度提升，中国运河的知名度会大幅度提升，我会在未来日子里向世界更好地宣传浙江、宣传杭州，为浙江和杭州的高端艺术发展和钢琴的教学培训作出自己的努力！希望在不远的将来，浙江和杭州的钢琴家能走向世界舞台！”郎朗在致辞中这样表示，随后他为现场观众表演钢琴独奏《致爱丽丝》。

        作为2019中国大运河国际钢琴艺术节的重头项目，“寻找爱丽丝·郎朗音乐分享会”除了与到场的琴童合奏，郎朗还重点聊到了自己刚推出的新专辑《钢琴书》：“这些曲目很容易听懂，可以说接受门槛为零，不管你是什么年龄，从事什么行业，拥有什么背景，我敢保证你都能听懂。我也希望，这些作品能激励每位弹琴的学生。”

        一身浅灰色西装，一件白衬衫，亮相的郎朗瘦了不少，从侧面看，以前标志性的双下巴都消失了。看来，之前微博上流传的“郎朗每天跑10公里健身”的消息并非空穴来风。

        人瘦了，精神了，让本来就健谈的郎朗话匣子打得更开了。

        有年轻观众问，之前网上流传着一段视频，是周杰伦教郎朗弹钢琴，“这是真的吗？”

        郎朗笑着回怼一句，“等着，我到时候教他唱歌剧！”

        也有人对郎朗工作之余的生活很好奇，“据说钢琴家唱歌都不太行，你平时去KTV唱得最多的一首歌是什么？”

        “我大概两年才去一次KTV，然后基本上就是喝着西瓜汁帮人点歌，算半个服务员吧。”

        而郎朗在微信上各种面目的表情包，也是绕不开的话题。郎朗承认，跟一些朋友聊天的时候，“他们经常冷不丁发来我的GIF”，最经典的就是弹肖邦时歪着脖子瞪着眼的销魂样，“通常这种时候，我都会说这个人不是我，绝不承认……”

        今年3月29日，郎朗刚刚发行了自己回归环球唱片后的首张专辑《钢琴书》，这也是他近3年来首张全新录音室专辑。

        从曲目看，《钢琴书》有点像万花筒，收录了古今中外许多经典曲目。郎朗说，很多都是自己小时候特别喜欢的曲子。

        比如，有琴童必弹的钢琴小品，像巴赫的《前奏曲》、贝多芬的《致爱丽丝》、莫扎特的《小星星变奏曲》、车尔尼的《299练习曲》；也有文艺青年最爱的电影剧集主题，像坂本龙一的《圣诞快乐，劳伦斯先生》、马克斯·里希特的《启程》、杨·提尔森的《天使爱美丽》，更有妇孺皆知的世界民谣《茉莉花》《阿里郎》《绿袖子》等。

        或许有些人会觉得惊讶，《钢琴书》里的曲目一点不高深，看起来是那么“亲民朴实”。确实，它们都是被弹奏多年，陪伴了一代又一代钢琴爱好者的经典曲目，对于郎朗来说，这也是自己带给广大琴童的礼物。

        郎朗说，自己小时候学弹这些世界经典曲目时，很少有现成能听的“范本”，“我只能去偷听邻居是怎么弹的，然后默默记下来。”这也是他录制《钢琴书》的初衷，希望学琴的孩子们有更多标准的作品能听。

        新专辑《钢琴书》的录制地点也非常有意思，分为了两个地方，一个是位于伦敦的世界顶级录音棚阿比路，另一个则是位于北京的国家大剧院。“我游历了不同国家，在旅行中潜移默化感受美妙的旋律，希望新专辑也能尽量结合多元化和经典性。”郎朗说。

（部分图片由新华社提供）

Lang Lang in Hangzhou

At the music instruction and sharing session themed “Looking for Alice”, one of the highlights of the 2019 China Grand Canal International Piano Festival, held recently in Hangzhou, Lang Lang shared the joy of music by playing together with little musicians, and took the opportunity to introduce his new album, , released on March 29 as the first project marking his return to Universal Music Group (UMG). “The album’s 41 pieces, starting with , are within the grasp of most players. Whether you’re a budding student, an adult learner, or simply passionate about piano music, regardless of one’s family and social background,  is utterly charming and inspiring,” Lang Lang revealed.

The festival was launched in January, 2019, serving as a platform for young pianists to compete and learn. From May 5 to 11, the semifinalists and the finalists competed and a master class, a master concert, and the closing ceremony took place in Hangzhou.

For all aspiring piano learners in Hangzhou, it was indeed a treat to have a chance to meet an artist of the stature of Lang Lang. Lang Lang showed up on the stage in neat, white shirt and grey suit, obviously having lost weight from his daily workout. He was chatty, friendly and responsive, as he always is, trying his best to make everyone happy by answering whatever questions asked.

“What’s your comment about the video that shows you actually learned from Jay Chou about piano playing?” someone in the audience challenged, jokingly.

“Someday I will teach him some basics about opera singing. You wait and see!” Lang Lang counteracted.

“People say that pianists are notoriously clumsy at singing. What’s your favorite song when you go to one of those KTV places?”

“Talking about karaoke, I always wind up being a waiter, getting fresh fruit plates and drinks for my friends and enjoying watching the singing show.”

The popular, multi-award winning pianist who has thrilled audiences around the world is also well known for his signature performing style. His comically exaggerated, fierce-looking face while he is playing piano on the stage has brought his fans enormous fun.

“Whenever my friends send me pictures like that, which they never get tired of doing when we are Wechatting, I’d say ‘No, that’s not me!’”.

His fans had to wait for three years to see Lang Lang’s comeback in the recording studio. It’s easy to forget that the hugely talented Lang Lang was once a beginner.  takes him back to pieces that first inspired him to become a musician. The album is like a kaleidoscope. Many listeners might recognize music from their own piano journey, from Beethoven’s  to Chopin’s , Bach’s , Cloude Debussy’s  and Felix Mendelssohn’s . There are less familiar pieces, too—wonderful additions to anyone’s repertoire, such as Ryuichi Sakamoto’s  (Arr. for Piano), Max Richter’s  and Yann Tiersen’s . The selection of pieces makes the album truly approachable for children and beginners.

“Each piece in the album is timeless, and the album is a gift I want to make for all piano enthusiasts. It is important for piano learners to have something that can be called ‘the standard’ to refer to, so that they don’t waste time and energy by taking a roundabout course. When I was a little child practicing for hours day by day and dreaming to become a great pianist, there wasn’t much I could actually listen to. I still remember quite clearly that in those days, sometimes I had to sneak out and prick up my ears just to listen to my neighbor playing and take down notes.”

The new album was recorded in two places. One is Abbey Road Studios, the most famous recording studio in the world and a global music icon that has been innovating music since 1931. The other is the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

“I have been traveling a lot and to many countries. The immersion in different cultures adds a great deal to my musical enjoyment, which is also what I want to convey through this album,” Lang Lang said.