I recently read the pianist Lang Lang’s autobiography Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story, c. 2008 Spiegel & Grau.

I have heard some of Lang Lang’s recordings on CD, and watched him on YouTube,  and one day hope to hear him live.  He is a phenomenal performer, with so much passion for playing the piano.

I admire Lang Lang’s drive to succeed, despite growing up in Shenyang (an industrial city in northern China), with limited access to the great piano teachers of his country. His father sacrificed his career (he quit his job as a police officer) to be Lang Lang’s chaperone when he and Lang Lang moved to Beijing to study at the Conservatory.

To make a long story short, Lang Lang competed in many international competitions, and after winning was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, United States. He is now an international sensation, playing to sold out audiences around the world with world famous orchestras.