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Superstar pianist Lang Lang will release not one, but two recording of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations<\/em>, with a streaming event live from Beijing on the release date of September 4. The unique double release on Deutsche Grammophon includes a live version captured during a single take from the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and a studio version of the same work.<\/p>\n To mark the official release, Lang Lang will be streaming a live event on his YouTube channel, including a performance of excerpts from the recordings, along with a Q&A session. In a release, Lang Lang is calling it his most personal project yet, and the \u201cculmination of a 20-year journey\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m now 38 and, while that\u2019s not old, I think the time was right for a new stage in my artistic development,\u201d he says in a media release. \u201cI\u2019ve moved into new terrain with the Goldberg Variations<\/em> and really immersed myself fully in this project. My goal as an artist is to keep becoming more self-aware and more knowledgeable, as well as to keep offering inspiration to others. It\u2019s an ongoing process, but this project has taken me a little further along the path.\u201d<\/p>\n The Goldberg Variations<\/em> have played a unique role in Lang Lang’s career and development as an artist. It was the work he played for memory for conductor and pianist Christoph Eschenbach at the tender age of 17. Over time, he looked for the advice of Bach experts like harpsichordist and early keyboard specialist Andreas Staier to help develop his relationship with the monumental work.<\/p>\n It was in January 2020, just before going into the studio, that he performed the Goldberg Variations<\/em> at the Thomaskirche, an experience that Lang Lang felt profoundly. The result was an unusual opportunity to record and release both versions.<\/p>\n \u201cPlaying in the Thomaskirche, where Bach is buried, was unbelievably emotional for me,\u201d he says in the release. \u201cI\u2019ve never felt as close to a composer as I did during that recital. The live version is very spontaneous, whereas in the studio version my playing is different \u2013 very considered and reflective. In a concert situation you experience the 100-minute work as a whole. In the studio you can focus on individual details and nuances, and of course that can affect the musical experience quite substantially.\u201d<\/p>\n The Aria is already available on Lang Lang\u2019s YouTube channel.<\/p>\n