Injured pianist Lang Lang 'borrows' protégé's hand for performance

Lang Lang: The pianist, one of the most recognised classical musicians in the world, asked his protégé for a hand while he suffers from an injury to his left arm

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Sean Morrison @seanmorrison_

5 October 2017

Injured pianist Lang Lang was given a helping hand by his protégé to avoid missing his concert in New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall.

The Chinese-born pianist, one of the world’s most recognisable classical musicians, was opening the concert hall’s season by playing George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

He was forced to cancel several months of back-to-back concerts while he recovers from an inflammation in his left arm.

But he discovered an innovative way to avoid missing the prestigious event on Wednesday, by inviting his 14-year-old protégé Maxim Lando to play the left hand.

He was also joined on a second piano by 76-year-old jazz star Chick Corea.

The unusual five-hand, three-person arrangement was accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by French Canadian conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin, who is set to become the music director of the Metropolitan Opera in 2020.

Rhapsody in Blue premiered in 1924 and is one of the most popular 20th century compositions from the US. It infuses jazz and Western classical.

Gershwin wrote the composition in versions for both one and two pianos.

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