Life Lessons From Lang Lang—Part Seven (July 25, 2025)

From left to right: Lang Lang’s Eight Golden Rules for Studying the Piano; for each of the interpretations, please notice how the pianist performing Beethoven’s “Rage Over a Lost Penny” tells its story in a very different way: Dora Deliyska; Olga Scheps; Evgeny Kissen.

RULE NO. 7: Look At the Whole Picture

Lang Lang believes that as a pianist studies a piece she should not only look at the notes, but also find out the story behind them.  Music compositions are a lot like novels in the sense that the melodies are characters that operate alone, and then “converse” with other melodies. There are also quiet moments followed by large climaxes, as well as plots with a beginning, middle, and end.  This is why it is so important to look at a work not only as a musical piece, but also one that tells a story.  He says that one has to imagine a work existing on a multimedia screen in order to understand the themes and main melodies, as well as the different voices that “speak” in the work, while also drawing an emotional picture of all that is happening.

In addition, one has to be multi-functional, which is something I also believe to be true in the sense that it is necessary to not only be a musician, but also part detective, and part storyteller in order for the piece to come alive.  It’s very similar to when parents read a bedtime story to their children and they change their voices to represent different characters, or make their voices louder or softer to emphasize various aspects of the plot. This is what makes for truly great—and exciting—performances.

Notice the many changes of mood as the melody continues to be repeated in these performances of Beethoven’s “Range Over a Lost Penny.” Each pianist tells the story somewhat differently.

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