0:02

This is Alec Baldwin and you're

0:05

listening to Here's the thing. Rock

0:09

Star is the wrong word by

0:11

definition, but classical

0:14

star doesn't quite get at Long

0:16

Long's place in the pantheon. He's

0:21

a serious pianist playing

0:23

serious repertoire with a flare.

0:26

Here it's a Schubert fantasy

0:28

in front of a sold out, crowded Carnegie

0:31

Hall. Once

0:36

tempted to say he's one part Glenn

0:38

Gould, one part Van Clyburne,

0:42

but the truth is he's Long Long.

0:46

He and his signature Beaufon, were

0:49

the obvious choice to open the Beijing

0:51

Olympics, watched by four billion

0:53

people, and

0:57

for President Obama to invite to

0:59

play at the intimate White House

1:01

dinner for the President of China.

1:08

Long Long takes an obvious joy

1:10

in his art and his fame, but

1:13

both are hard won. A

1:16

musical prodigy, he was the son of two

1:18

talented artists forced to

1:20

abandon their dreams by the Cultural

1:23

Revolution. Just

1:25

a few years after he won a national

1:28

competition at the age of five, his

1:30

father abandoned everything else in

1:32

his life to focus on his son's

1:34

talent. They

1:42

moved together to Beijing. Long

1:45

Long won so many contests

1:47

that he was offered a spot by the Curtis

1:49

Institute of Music in Philadelphia. His

1:52

father moved with him to America

1:54

too. All that vicarious

1:57

ambition took its toll on their bond,

2:00

but over the years it returned.

2:02

We're very close. Our conversation

2:05

was taped in front of a live audience

2:08

at w n YCS Green Space.

2:11

We're really much better than when I was

2:13

a nine year much better. It was not in the

2:15

same level. Yeah, we were really and

2:17

it's getting closer somehow because

2:19

we are not living together. So in a way,

2:21

you know, these tents makes beauty,

2:24

right, So so that's that's how exactly

2:26

happened. In his

2:29

mind, he must have a kind of a mixed

2:31

feeling, the euphoria of you having

2:33

made it to the degree you've made

2:35

it, and at the same time he's not around

2:37

you. I know that if I was your dad, I'm obsessed

2:39

with my kids. And if I was like

2:42

your dad and I was instrumental and influential

2:44

in helping you become what you became, then

2:47

all of a sudden you were like, Okay, Dad, I got this,

2:49

and you're gonna move out on your own. I'd be like, wait,

2:51

no. You know, if you were my

2:53

son, I want to live with you forever. So

2:58

I mean, he, um, where is to do with

3:00

himself? And I think you're not living together? He's

3:02

actually uh, he's helping me a lot in China

3:05

back home, and then he's also teaching

3:08

a lot. He liked to helping

3:11

the next generation of musicians

3:13

and uh, and he himself was a musician. Yeah,

3:15

he played the are Who the Chinese valnin um

3:17

so um that was his um

3:20

using some like circus bans. He was

3:23

in an Air Force ban. But yeah, before

3:25

I was in a circus ban. Yeah. Yeah.

3:27

But the instrument itself is very beautiful.

3:30

It's like one of the most charming

3:32

instruments from Asia, and it's very

3:34

tasteful. It has a really beautiful

3:36

taste and and it's also an instrument

3:38

always makes you cry somehow Yeah

3:43

yeah, so so sometimes,

3:46

I mean, my father made me cry this different

3:48

reason. You

3:51

weren't crying because he broke out what is it called again?

3:54

Are Who? Are Who? Yeah? Are

3:56

Who? Yeah? More like that. Yeah,

3:58

I'll get my Chinese produced eventually,

4:01

but maybe by the time we're done. But but

4:03

but then you

4:05

your country, your native country is very driven

4:08

by competitions and international

4:10

competitions. They put a tremendous emphasis on that. Correct,

4:12

absolutely the best way to make career.

4:16

We're meaning the competitions and

4:18

which is the truth, especially

4:22

during that time, because otherwise nobody

4:24

will discover you, you know, in

4:26

a way. So we we have to go

4:28

out for international competitions and

4:30

to win prizes. So being

4:33

number one, it's kind of became a motto

4:35

in my early career. And

4:38

then how farst um after

4:40

I landed here, I had this teacher,

4:43

great pianist, Gary Graffman, who

4:46

who's also quite different compared to

4:48

the other academic professors

4:51

because he is so into,

4:53

you know, a real career rather than

4:55

a short term being you know, a

4:57

price winner. So he discoursed

5:00

me to do competitions and I was like,

5:03

wow, really did he say? Why? Yeah?

5:05

He said, then you're too crazy about being

5:07

number one and you're not really

5:09

focused on what you should be, you know, learning

5:11

the repertoire and too he said, do you

5:14

want to become a great musician or

5:16

you want to just win? And

5:19

I said, oh, I said, is that not the

5:21

same? I said, what was the difference? I said,

5:23

if I don't win a prize, how I'm going to become

5:25

a great musician. He said, Oh,

5:28

okay, that's the wrong understanding

5:30

you have, and especially his wife,

5:32

you know, Naomi. Every

5:35

time I go to library in uh

5:37

In Curtis and then uh I started

5:40

looking over the competition forms

5:42

like Monk Clyburn, Chopin, Shakhovsky,

5:45

and I take it out and then I'm

5:47

thinking to feel the form, right, And I

5:50

saw Naomi next to me, Hey, what are you doing? Bad

5:52

boy? H shouldn't

5:54

you just working on your broms second piano

5:56

concerto rather than, you know, feeling

5:59

the form? Try to be crazy number

6:01

one. Somehow, I was like, okay,

6:03

let me go back to when

6:05

you're when you when you when you're young, you won your

6:07

first competition when you were five? Correct, Yeah,

6:09

I mean that's that's what what I was kind of election.

6:12

Yeah, I was like, kind of a professional competition

6:16

person. You know, I'm very competitive. If I

6:18

see you, let's let's do a commodation now anyway

6:20

I see you, Yeah, let's do it. I'm not gonna bother you

6:22

with our compo. You're the winner.

6:25

Let's skip to that.

6:27

But but but what fascinates

6:29

me is the emotion

6:31

and the feeling behind that

6:34

kind of work. When you're five years

6:36

old, if you can recall, are

6:39

you sitting at a piano and it's

6:41

pressure, and it's tense, and

6:44

it's like you have to pass a test because it's a competition

6:47

and you're and and there's there's a kind of a tight

6:49

feeling you have where you want or are you

6:51

enjoying yourself when you're five years old?

6:54

Um. One thing good about competition

6:56

is that it's kind of pushes you

6:59

to play better than you're normally

7:01

does because you you try to

7:04

play without round notes, you try

7:06

to be concentrate on

7:09

what you do. But also,

7:11

in the same time, if you are too

7:13

serious about competition, you lose your

7:15

soul in a way that you are afraid

7:18

to do something wrong. And as

7:20

you know in art, sometimes when

7:23

you really do something unique, you are

7:25

actually not really on the page,

7:27

you're actually doing something but that that is

7:29

a really great moment. So

7:32

so in a way, it's

7:34

it's hard to say, you know, it's hard to say, but I

7:37

kind of enjoyed it because

7:40

sometimes I lose. Sometimes I win is

7:43

encouraging me to do better. UM, And actually

7:45

I learn more than UM

7:48

than just playing because I see others

7:50

playing and I'm like, wow, they're good.

7:53

I need to catch up, you know. So so this

7:55

is a good, good vibe. It's funny

7:57

to see you, of all people, and you watching

8:00

other five year old kid playing and you're like, damn,

8:02

he's good. I

8:05

couldn't do that when I was let's have a competition,

8:07

you would be right. Now you're

8:10

challenging everyone to a duel at the piano.

8:12

Now what was missing in your childhood? What

8:15

did you wish you had? More of the video games?

8:17

Uh more, more sports?

8:20

Uh more? Free

8:23

free time, free time? Yeah

8:25

yeah, yeah, but now I mean at

8:27

eight thirty six, I can have more

8:30

free times you might want. So it's in

8:32

the end, it's kind of okay. Postponed it. Yeah

8:34

yeah, yeah, yeah, postponed it. Yeah,

8:37

but but in a way that I

8:39

wish that I may have a little bit more

8:42

more fun time, you know, to maybe

8:44

less pressure. I would say, yeah,

8:46

yeah, did your dad say I'm

8:48

sorry that it was so tough and I'm so off.

8:51

He never apolished, so I think the best action

8:54

he was like, oh yeah, let yourself handle

8:57

your stuff, and I'm not going to handle it anymore.

8:59

I think that's that's the the way that

9:01

he has the management onto

9:03

you right right right, and now he's cheerless off.

9:05

My mom said, older, important concert

9:07

you are going, and then you have a nice photo. He

9:10

likes to have some nice photos. You know, your mother is doing

9:12

a lot of traveling with your father. So what's your

9:15

mother's answering with all the travel? Just one martini is

9:17

what her program is. She does

9:19

come in handy for somethingle if she has this

9:21

natural some kind of a

9:24

you know, she's just never get

9:26

tired. She's incredible. I think

9:28

I got some of my energy from her. Her eyes

9:30

are always like this. Yeah. But

9:33

before she started traveling with me, she

9:35

always sleep really early, like already

9:38

you know, I'm very healthy, right. But then she

9:40

now traveled with me far fall

9:42

a few years already, and now she's like, never

9:45

sleep before three,

9:47

three or two at least. But she looks

9:49

better than before. So

9:52

I think it's the music therapy, you know. I think,

9:55

you know, she's just everywhere, like every

9:57

time I play something, you better crumpting.

10:00

What's on your own? Mother? Uh?

10:03

Is there a piece you play

10:05

that is exceptionally challenging

10:07

to you? Is there one that even you every

10:11

time you play a new piece, whether

10:13

it's a technically easy

10:15

or difficult, there's

10:18

always a new story to tell. And

10:21

somehow it's not all about you

10:23

know, play the note anymore, you know,

10:25

as growing up pianist,

10:28

So more about how to

10:30

bring those music to life

10:32

again, um and into you

10:34

know, a different interpretation. So

10:37

therefore every piece is

10:39

you have to focus and

10:42

in a very different style

10:44

of course. Yeah, but I

10:46

wouldn't say this piece I just

10:48

you know, kind of I don't need to

10:50

care much and it will come out in a great

10:53

way. No way. You have to really focus

10:55

and to concentrate. So that's

10:57

why, like in in this new album, the

11:00

in a book, it's the same thing. There are many pieces

11:02

considered be pretty simple, but

11:04

once you start to read

11:06

look into those pieces and you're like,

11:09

those are master pieces. It's not

11:11

simple. Maybe technically

11:13

simple, but if you want to make

11:15

real, you know, music out

11:17

of it, you have to be focused and to

11:20

play everything in your mind to you

11:22

know, to make it work. Yeah.

11:24

Well, there, of course is my

11:27

first uh slip up here,

11:29

which is that you brought up your book before

11:31

I did, which is no, no, which

11:33

is a bad hosting on my part. I should

11:36

have mentioned that you have your new book out, the piano

11:38

book and the CD which

11:40

I have. And one thing I do,

11:42

which is a silly,

11:45

uh preoccupation, is I go to an

11:47

iTunes or any kind of a download service

11:50

and I look and see the length. So

11:52

it plays the mal or ninth fourth movement,

11:54

the longest and the slowest, the

11:57

most tortured fourth move

12:00

to the mouth. And you do,

12:02

Claire Dulon, you squeeze

12:04

the hell out of that. You really play the very

12:08

long yes, luxuri

12:12

um. And I think, you know,

12:15

after getting a little older,

12:17

I think it's going to be even longer. And I've joked

12:20

I don't know worry. I mean, the other day there's

12:23

the one critic said, you know, from the curb

12:25

duloons, Uh, the

12:27

way I played, I think long Lone places

12:29

Goldberg with a two hour and thirty minutes,

12:32

and I think it's a that's

12:35

kind of a right thing to say. I'm not trying

12:37

to figure out how long I'm gonna play that piece.

12:39

Uh, but you know what, I just

12:41

want to enjoy the moment and I wanted

12:44

to make sure that I

12:47

heard everything from that

12:49

piece. I have another question for you that, of course

12:51

we have a piano here which is just a suggestion

12:54

only don't feel any pressure.

12:56

It's there in case you feel incline.

12:59

That's you. You know. I like this

13:01

way of you know, inviting someone to play.

13:05

Yeah, there's one friend of my um

13:07

it was, you know, the birthday of

13:10

mine, and so he inmited me to his

13:13

house and he said, you know, I know today's

13:15

your birthday. Probably you

13:17

will not play today, but I just want to

13:19

know. It's also my mother's birthday.

13:24

No pressure, So I played Heppy birthday for

13:26

her. Also,

13:30

I heard it was public South and

13:32

there's a like rich lady in London

13:34

always inviting him

13:37

for tea um and but

13:39

he always has something to do. He did not

13:41

have time, and there's a family he came

13:44

and then the ladies like where

13:47

is your chilu? Because

13:49

I was you did not you might my cello today

13:54

Billy Billy Joe did our show and Billy

13:56

said that that everywhere he goes. You

13:59

know, obviously a considerable number of people

14:01

have a piano in their home, and he said

14:03

everywhere he goes, they're like, Billy, do

14:06

you mind just

14:08

one quick tune? And

14:11

and and everywhere he goes it's like we play

14:13

Christmas carols at the Christmas party? Where do

14:15

you find the same thing as true? Our people constantly

14:18

saying, but they do in a different

14:20

way now they say, uh, what

14:22

am traveling? Oh so to you need a

14:24

place to practice

14:26

anytime

14:33

twenty four hours. I

14:35

don't have neighbors. It's okay, it's myself.

14:37

I'm like, okay, I got it. I got

14:39

it. Now before we get to

14:41

some other subjects that I've got a lot of questions.

14:43

Here, would you be gay less with

14:46

some little yeah? I will play

14:48

yeah, I will play a one off

14:50

of the piece from the RICORDI. I

14:53

don't know whish why, but I snyeah,

14:55

they will come to you. M

16:33

m yea,

17:31

thank you, thank you. This

17:35

is the Vaults of Emily from

17:38

the movie Emily. It's

17:40

really nice, nice movie. Yeah, yeah, the

17:44

describe for us how did the piano book come

17:46

about? Whose idea was this? I

17:48

always wanted to do an album like this because

17:51

when I was a kid, I barely

17:54

find um the professional

17:57

musician recording pieces like

18:00

or Unies or Cherney atudes,

18:02

or Clementi so natina or most

18:04

Art so natina, or

18:07

some of the piece which you consider

18:10

be the beginner's piece. Um.

18:12

But those are the pieces I love the most

18:15

when I was a kid. And then those those are my

18:17

best friend. And sometimes

18:19

it's not best friends. Sometimes after

18:21

a lot of practice, become my worst

18:24

friend. Uh. Sometimes sometimes

18:26

I want to kill them. Yeah, but

18:28

in the end of the day, you know, those are the

18:30

brand and butter made UH

18:33

pianist to grow. Um So,

18:35

so therefore I wanted to, you know, to record

18:38

something which can be appreciated

18:41

by every person

18:43

who loves piano. Um. So that's

18:45

why we called the album the Piano

18:47

Album. Yeah, and this is for Deutsche

18:51

and then it's it's already in release because I have it

18:53

on my phone. I don't thank you,

18:55

thank you? What was worth it? Believe thanks?

18:58

I I hope it's brings some something nice feelings.

19:00

And I don't don't always count the minute,

19:02

please yeah that

19:10

five second? Now, Now,

19:12

when you when you when

19:15

you when you're leaving uh

19:18

very shortly in the next few days to

19:20

go on a tour, and you're

19:22

you're gonna have a um

19:25

You're going to Rome

19:27

and then you're going on to Korea

19:31

Pacific. So for now, when you go on

19:33

these trips, the first thing that comes to mind is

19:35

that you know you grew up in uh,

19:39

communist China, and

19:42

of course Americans have their own you

19:44

know, um unreliable

19:46

images of China and what

19:48

what goes on in China. I don't think they're quite

19:50

sure. But for me,

19:53

what I'm curious about is how did the cultural revolution

19:55

in China impact your parents. When there's

19:57

an impact on your mom, I think

19:59

that the revolution, of course this is from

20:01

their their generation. I wasn't there, but

20:04

it certainly gave them incredible

20:09

um kind of I

20:12

mean openness to

20:14

to the next generation. They want their kid,

20:16

you know, to to uh to be a

20:19

citizen of the world. And

20:21

they you know, in a way that because

20:23

they kind of missed ten years

20:25

of time to not connected

20:28

to to the world. Um and so

20:30

so in a way that that's why my generation

20:33

of Chinese kids, um

20:36

and not kids anymore. Um. UM,

20:38

we are very you know trying to

20:41

you know, learn piano and to

20:43

to get connected to the world of

20:46

course being Chinese, but also a

20:49

world citizen. UM. So of like the

20:51

our mission is bridging the

20:54

culture together. UM.

20:56

This is your home now in New York, New

20:59

York home. Move to New York in two thousand

21:01

seven, after UM

21:04

ten years in Philadelphia, um

21:07

since ninety seven and Curtis,

21:09

Yeah, I was studying there, um and

21:11

then I was waiting to earn more

21:13

money to for the department here.

21:17

So how's that going. Yeah, it

21:19

worked since two thousand seven, So that's that's why I

21:21

moved here. And

21:23

uh, when I came to America

21:26

in ninety six, I was just

21:29

fourteen and and I

21:31

thought New York is such a a CD

21:34

with the whole world behind.

21:37

So I always wanted to to come here to

21:39

uh, you know, to be part of this.

21:43

Um. I mean because the cultural scene here

21:45

is obviously very real. New York as a cultural

21:47

capital like other great cities, but

21:49

but maybe not as much as other cities.

21:52

There was no in

21:55

Paris. I mean I actually do have a

21:58

new home in Paris fully six, so I

22:02

mean sold a few records, so it

22:04

would be like Beijing, New York on Paris.

22:07

Like my yeah, but new sounds

22:09

like the perfect triangle New York, Beijing, Paris.

22:13

But but but but so when you when

22:15

you travel the world, are there

22:17

halls that you play in or their people

22:20

that you play, ensembles that you play

22:22

with that you really get excited about? Like, what are

22:24

among your favorite spaces to perform

22:26

it. I know that the acoustics are very

22:29

much of an issue because being on the board of the Philharmonic

22:31

and they're gonna be dynamiting David

22:34

Geffen Hall very shortly in the next year or two to

22:36

be dull of Geffen Hall. What's the space that when you perform

22:38

you just love the sound of that space? Um.

22:41

I mean there are many beautiful

22:43

holes in the world. Um. And of course

22:45

you have Carnegie Hall. Here have Boston

22:48

Symphony Hall, it's really amazing sound.

22:51

Um. And you have the Music Faraye

22:54

Concert House in Vienna, um and

22:56

U. And one of the very

22:59

beautiful look um, like this

23:01

beautiful look is the Royal Arbort Hall in

23:03

London. Maybe the sound

23:05

is not great, but it looks great, you know

23:09

e sometimes that come to you know, for TVD

23:11

recording, you know, live streaming. Nice

23:15

place. Yeah, and uh,

23:17

but it's a really interesting because for pianists

23:19

were normally play on

23:22

the side, right, so so we never

23:24

really look into audience somehow. I mean,

23:26

if you want you do like this right and

23:29

then but in the Royal Arbort Hall it's

23:32

a round right, so everywhere's audien.

23:34

So first time I felt really

23:37

nervous when I start playing Mozart, you

23:40

know, so delicate, and then I see someone

23:42

sweeping at me. I

23:45

was like, oh, this is only downside. I was playing

23:47

the round House, you know, and

23:50

I'm thinking about cellist every day, you

23:52

know, playing like wow,

23:54

that's that's tough. I

23:57

move with you with Manhattan School of Music. I told you about

23:59

this story. We're in Central Park

24:01

and you're playing Rhapsody in Blue

24:04

and you're there with the Philharmonic with Alan. It's

24:06

the concert in the Park and where that's

24:08

obviously where the reverse you'd be facing the other way,

24:10

and you're playing the piano and you get to this the

24:13

most tender and the most beautiful,

24:15

the most gorgeous moment in that

24:18

soft piano part of Rhapso and Blue.

24:20

And you get to the end of the keyboard and you took

24:22

this nano second to look at the audience.

24:24

Of course I'm projecting here. And you get to the end of the piano

24:27

and you look at the You're like, you

24:29

really love me, You're

24:31

really crazy about me. When I do this,

24:34

When I do this to this piano, you go crazy,

24:36

don't you. I know you do like,

24:43

yeah, it's me. Yeah, with you and

24:45

I said that your mother, and your mother goes exactly.

24:47

That's him. That's what he does.

25:01

The great pianist Long Long. He

25:07

took his first lesson when he was just three

25:09

years old. You know who else got

25:11

his start at three? It Sack Proman

25:15

playing on a toy violin in

25:17

his bedroom. I love the sound of the violin.

25:19

I heard it on the radio and

25:22

I said, that's what I want to do. Simple,

25:24

that's what I want to do. And there's no explanation.

25:27

You know, everybody has a different thing

25:29

that grabs their imagination. And

25:32

the violent sound was that, and I think it

25:34

was fitz So he was pretty good for

25:36

grabbing the imagination. You

25:39

know, my

25:41

full interview with its perman can

25:44

be found. And here's the thing, dot Org

25:47

long Long on music that moves him

25:49

coming up. Yeah,

26:39

I'm Alec Baldwin and you're listening to here's

26:42

the thing. Long Long had barely

26:44

hit puberty when he and his

26:46

father landed in Philadelphia from

26:48

Shenyang. The Curtis Institute

26:51

of Music awarded Long Long of full

26:53

scholarship. But teenagers

26:55

still need a high school education.

26:58

I still remember my first day in Phildelphia

27:00

in high school and I went into

27:03

the class and they say, and so introduce

27:05

yourself, and I said, yeah, I'm

27:07

I'm playing piano. I come here

27:09

to to study classical

27:12

music. And everybody looks at me. It's

27:14

like they're seeing an alien. What a

27:16

s a Mozart? You know Mozart? I

27:19

say, I heard about that guy. Yeah,

27:21

he's dead for many years. Right,

27:24

I'm like, wow, this is something you know, I've been in a

27:26

bubble. Oh. By the way, I also

27:28

record Chopstick, you

27:30

know, but I did not know that piece in China. I

27:32

did not know Chopstick. I know Chopstick,

27:34

you know. But so so

27:37

they so, you know, so they find

27:39

me that jug my career would be over. Right. So

27:44

so one day where you might them backstage

27:47

offended off our course for there's a piano. They

27:49

were in the rehearsal for two minutes

27:52

and they cannot stand anymore. That they

27:54

all came out because they just couldn't

27:56

listen to symphony. And and they said,

27:58

look, if there's a piano there, can you play

28:00

chap stick? And and I

28:02

also, yeah, so I don't. I don't really

28:04

know. And then but they showed me and I started.

28:07

But from that moment on, we became really

28:09

good friends. It's also you know, this culture class

28:12

is kind of you know, we went through that

28:14

that point, um, and then I realized,

28:16

you know, one day I should help my friend

28:19

and classmate to have a bit of uh,

28:21

you know, music inspirations

28:24

in the school. So therefore, ten

28:26

years ago we found it that the

28:28

non non international Music Foundation in New

28:31

York and now we have almost

28:33

sixty schools. And I also

28:35

want to thank thank you. But

28:40

I also I want to have this opportunity to thank

28:43

alk because from the first

28:45

time when we played concert, Alec

28:48

was the host already and then in every

28:51

every fund reasing time he's

28:53

always there and he's also

28:55

U you know, don't hard to you

28:59

thank you know, we really appreciate your help.

29:01

And so the foundation has been in existence for how long

29:03

now ten years? Ten years? Yeah,

29:07

and sixty schools in the US around the world.

29:10

Yeah, how would you say, I

29:12

mean to the extent that this is possible because I'm always

29:15

quick to to undervalue

29:17

or under emphasize the

29:20

American experience, if you will. But you are

29:23

a prodigy, obviously, and it's not Gonnam dead

29:25

at the piano since you're five years old, how

29:27

much would you say, the United

29:29

States, and your experience of living United States

29:32

helped to crystallize some of your talents. Um.

29:36

I was very lucky. I had this best

29:38

teacher in the world, Barack Graffman Curtis.

29:41

Yeah, Curtis. He

29:43

basically became a

29:46

lifetime mentor to me. Um.

29:48

And so because this is

29:50

quite important, there are many schools, many

29:53

different teachers. You need to

29:55

find someone who's having

29:59

a you know, green college, but also fits

30:02

your style. And in the way Gary

30:04

is that absolutely the right one because he

30:07

taught me so much about different culture

30:09

because you know, learning piano, this is not just

30:12

playing the note. You have to learn

30:14

the culture, and you have to learn the history.

30:16

You need to learn their culture,

30:19

roots, folk music, and

30:22

somehow you're learning the culture of the

30:24

world and you really need to dig

30:26

into it. Um. And then I think

30:28

in the US it's a it's a really

30:31

um. You have so many different neighborhood

30:33

you know, if you want to find more European neighborhood

30:36

like German Town, you're under the French quarter

30:38

um or you know, so you always

30:41

find people from different culture and they

30:43

can share you know, their their culture

30:45

with you. Uh. And and I

30:47

still remember the first few years

30:49

it was very difficult for me to understand the culture.

30:52

And then uh Gary found a

30:54

wonderful teacher who taught me Shakespeare.

30:57

Um. Then you know, after reading a

31:00

few of the books, that I starting

31:02

to understand the Western classic

31:05

music. You know, the readationship

31:07

between you know, the music

31:09

to the art theme you know, to the novels.

31:12

You know too, you have to have the surroundings.

31:15

And then of course not

31:17

only US is important. You

31:19

also need to go to Europe because this is

31:22

some of some of the greatest

31:24

composers, like going to Moscow and our

31:26

Saint Petersburg, going to Vienna, going

31:29

to Berlin, Hamburg, Paris

31:32

and our Madrid. You know, to

31:34

get into the European culture.

31:38

What does a conductor have to offer you these

31:40

days at your level? Um, when

31:43

I was a teenager, I

31:45

had many great

31:48

life experience with you know, conductors

31:51

like salalish Uh, Laura

31:53

Mazell Uh and they're like my

31:56

grandfather, you know, they're like a totally

31:58

different generation and from a totally

32:01

different time. And so they told

32:03

me how to understand payto and how

32:06

to understand Brahms, how to understand

32:08

you know in a way that it's hard to explain

32:11

in the schools, but this is like face

32:14

to face. They show you the feeling,

32:16

you know, like they basically

32:20

even though sometimes they don't

32:22

sing really well, they can really show

32:24

what they want. And those

32:26

are kind of life experiences. And this is

32:28

something that I'm so treading

32:31

because some of those masters already passed

32:33

away and I still have a beautiful

32:35

memories of my first time meetings

32:37

about it or Mozelle.

32:40

Um. And this is just tremendous

32:42

experience for me. Name if you can't a couple

32:44

of kind of conductors who you really love

32:47

working, Yeah, absolutely, uh, Costavo

32:49

do them. He's my great buddy.

32:51

I love him. We just played yes, I mean

32:53

before yesterday in l a um

32:56

and then pay to the number

32:58

two. Yeah. And also

33:00

I love the new conductor

33:02

of Burning Pharmonic uh, Careo

33:05

Patriinko, which is going

33:07

to be starting with Burning

33:09

Field this season. Um and uh

33:12

and of course I love to be meta.

33:15

He showed me all the tricks what Harvest

33:17

did with him the Rachmano third Concerto.

33:20

And also when I played chopin number

33:23

one, he said, this, honest not good

33:25

enough. I said, I said, so, so what

33:27

do you think? He said? Yeah, I play with his other room

33:29

in style. He did not play like this. Show

33:33

me my star showed me and he said, I don't

33:35

know how to do that, but he did like this

33:40

are you still learning? So

33:44

here's the thing. You know, sometimes you you

33:46

go to a master class and um,

33:49

you learn a lot of things in

33:52

that class, and then afterwards

33:55

it helps you a little bit, you

33:57

know, for a few more weeks. If

34:00

someone's really good, real

34:03

master, you will hear a

34:05

master class and that class will carry

34:08

at least another ten years. And every time

34:10

you think about, you know what he

34:13

or she told you, And then that

34:16

class is not just about how

34:18

to make music, but it's it's

34:20

a really the way how are you going to

34:22

think about music and

34:25

how you connect with your personality

34:27

you know, to the composers, and

34:30

how are you breading your imagination

34:32

into the music, and how are you going to

34:35

develop your next ten

34:37

years? So they basically make

34:41

you think much more

34:43

than who you are. Few musicians

34:46

can really do that, and it really brings

34:48

you to think much deeper and

34:51

to think about in a very

34:53

different concept. Um and

34:56

I still remember working with the Maesro, Nicholas

34:59

Hannon, core um Mozart

35:03

and of course I played

35:06

many times motar concertos, but

35:09

that lesson I played,

35:12

Um, he showed me something that I had

35:14

never seen. Mozart

35:16

can be described or

35:18

interpreted in that way, and

35:21

that changed the whole time. You You you basically

35:23

think, oh my god, what I did was wrong,

35:26

you know, and I'm gonna relearn

35:28

everything. So so you know, some musicians

35:30

have that power to really restart

35:34

your thinking of everything. Yeah,

35:36

are you gonna tell us what he said about Mozart?

35:40

These people love class or is that a secret? That an

35:42

industry secret? Nothing? I mean, I think

35:44

I play a little bit of now would be the

35:46

perfect time for that. It's yeah,

35:48

it's a little bit hard to to describe

35:51

because it's you don't need to describe it. You

35:53

can just do it. I play

35:55

two variations from the

35:58

Twink of Twinkle variation, right, and

38:10

let's take a couple more. Um the uh, was

38:13

there a moment in your life? I mean, I know I asked

38:15

these sappy questions, but it

38:18

was there a moment in your life when you said, I

38:20

really am pretty good at this? Like when did you realize

38:23

you were becoming the person that you became?

38:26

It happened few times, Yeah,

38:28

because because like you know, it happens, and

38:31

then you think you're now god enough. You know. It's

38:34

kind of like that. So when I was nige,

38:36

I thought, I really don't have tenant

38:39

and I thought I'm going to give up. Um.

38:43

And then somehow why why,

38:46

I mean, what was going on in your life?

38:48

That happened? When I had I had a professor

38:51

who did not like me, and then she

38:53

fired me. Uh, and I

38:56

thought, I'm so bad. I got fired

38:58

human, you know, can't you imagine this? Really?

39:01

And she told me that you you will never become

39:04

a pianist. So yeah, yeah,

39:06

so you call her before every concert?

39:10

No, I I got ring out. No.

39:13

I get so scared because every time when

39:15

I'm making audition in the conservatory,

39:18

she's sitting first roll because she's the professor,

39:20

you know. So I had so many nightmares

39:23

because of you know, her

39:26

her encouragement. Um.

39:28

Anyway, so but but then I am

39:31

and then, uh, the first time I thought I'm

39:33

pretty good. It's that I when I won the international

39:36

competition at the age of twelve in Germany,

39:38

and I thought, wow, I actually can play some

39:41

good sound. Yeah. Um.

39:43

And then and then I

39:46

had a horrible time at school again,

39:48

like I did not do well, and I'm like, okay,

39:50

I'm not good enough. And then when

39:53

I came to America in

39:55

the beginning, I was so confident. In the first

39:58

months, I'm like, wow, I'm pretty good. And

40:00

then you know, there are many great students at

40:02

Curtis. They play so well, uh, and

40:05

I'm like, I'm not good enough.

40:07

And then I have no concerts,

40:10

you know, for for like three years

40:12

almost because nobody

40:15

have the confidence to take a fifteen

40:18

year old boy, you know, to play Beethoven

40:21

concertos or or Tchaikovsky. It's

40:23

kind of like too young, you know. So I still

40:25

remember my early days audition, you know, from

40:27

Philadelphia taking the the

40:30

Greyhound boss um like

40:33

twelve dollar or something like yeah yeah,

40:35

and then came to uh him

40:39

to Times Square and then running into

40:41

auditions, and then afterwards the

40:43

conductors like yeah so

40:45

um. So there was a audition

40:48

for Milwauki Symphony. It's

40:50

good, good, good orchestra. And the conductor look

40:52

at me from

40:55

some European country and you played

40:57

really good, But how

40:59

old are you? And I'm a fifteen Oh,

41:02

maybe let's meat another ten years. So

41:05

it did not go so well in the beginning.

41:09

Now, there's a story that

41:11

I read about you going to eat Lincoln

41:14

and you go the German one like in twelve

41:16

one. I was twelve right, and you go to a competition

41:20

first international company for me yea. And

41:23

when you go there, you went to a church, and

41:25

I remember you prayed to Jesus when

41:27

you were in this church. And I'm just wondering,

41:30

and I want to phrase this question the

41:33

right way, which is do you have without

41:35

enumerating them, were discussing them if you don't want to

41:38

specific religious beliefs or like

41:41

many people that I've met in the classics,

41:43

music itself your religion. I think

41:45

certainly music is our religion.

41:47

But I do believe, uh,

41:50

there's some incredible

41:52

power beyond us. You're getting

41:54

inspired from somewhere, and this is

41:56

not just about our wonderful

41:58

friendship, but there's some someone is helping

42:01

you, that's for sure. And also from the different

42:03

part of my life. You know, there's

42:06

a lot of time I thought I'm not gonna make

42:08

it, but somehow I made it. Strength do

42:11

you listen to any classical music?

42:14

For me? I when

42:16

I'm not performing, I like to listen

42:18

to jazz because somehow you know, the the

42:21

jazz and the jazz musicians

42:23

are really really incredible.

42:26

They can just you know, give anything and

42:28

they make it into a beautiful work, especially

42:31

on the people that I admire like Herbie

42:33

Hancock and Chicorea, you know, those

42:35

my great friends, and also learned so much

42:37

from them. Um. And then the other

42:40

aspect is to to listen to new music,

42:42

you know, just fresh made, whether

42:45

it's on top radio or like E

42:47

d M. You know, just here movies TV.

42:49

And it's also great um

42:52

and uh and also um, I

42:55

think listen to modern symphony or Brahms.

42:57

Symphonies are always you

42:59

know, always very inspiring. You always find

43:02

something new. And somehow, when

43:04

I was a kid, I did not really reflect those

43:06

things into my life. You know, you kind of listen

43:09

to it, you know it's beautiful. But now somehow

43:11

what I'm especially you know, normally when

43:13

you play with orchestra, the second half is the orchestra,

43:16

right, so I always sit in and then when

43:18

I listened to Mother or Problems, it's

43:21

just somehow it's reflecting your life,

43:23

the changes of the harmonies. Somehow,

43:26

it's like it's it's so related

43:28

to us. You're sort of thinking, oh, this is

43:31

one point of my career. What happened

43:33

is like, you know, the turning of the harmonies.

43:36

What is it about

43:38

this music that it touches people that way?

43:40

What is your feeling? Right? Because in classical

43:43

music, especially in the symphonic pieces,

43:45

there's there have so many different layers,

43:48

different layers, and those layers

43:50

are you know, representing our

43:52

emotion um our memories

43:56

and and our kind

43:58

of different aspect of

44:00

culture um and people like Moller.

44:03

He's the reason

44:05

I think with love of his music so much is that because

44:07

he's he has such a mixed of culture

44:09

in his music, and it's somehow

44:13

you know, every one of us is piece

44:15

of that um and

44:18

and also you know, class that's what

44:20

classical music is for. It has a you

44:22

know, it's a very long pieces, very

44:24

long symphonies, and you

44:27

know, it's it's very different when you if you see

44:29

a film at five minutes and

44:31

finishes, if it's a TV so twenty

44:34

minutes, or it's a it's a movie for

44:36

two hours, it's get you into

44:39

a different stage of your heart, of

44:41

your mind as well. And I think

44:43

symphonies are like an opera,

44:46

you know, they can really get in two

44:49

very deep layers of your heart

44:52

and of your senses. Um. And

44:54

another thing is that once you're in the

44:57

concert hall listening to those incredible

44:59

work, is that everything

45:01

else get blocked, everything

45:03

else. So that's why your emotion becomes

45:06

so pure, so genuine. You become

45:09

who you are. And

45:11

so that's why you know, we get tears

45:13

in our eyes because we're so focused

45:16

and we just let music take

45:18

us to when we start, you

45:20

know, our life, the first day of your

45:23

memory. And I think that's ill.

45:27

I was going to ask this question, but I'll just say

45:29

this now, and that is that I was going to say, you

45:32

grew up your whole childhood in China and then

45:34

you've lived here and abroad for years,

45:36

and I was going to ask you, what what have you learned

45:39

that the Chinese people in the American people

45:41

have in common? And I guess what I'm realizing

45:43

is everywhere you go, what people have in common

45:45

is this language of music and absol love

45:48

of music. Like, for example, there

45:50

are a lot of great augurs are

45:52

coming to visit China, I mean, and most

45:54

of those Chinese kids probably never

45:56

heard of those countries before in their

45:59

life. But when they start playing their

46:01

music, we all how that we

46:03

know each other. Um and this is the power,

46:05

This is really the power. Please

46:08

join me in thanking our very special guest, long long,

46:11

Thank you, Long

46:43

long. His most recent album

46:46

of pieces normally reserved for young

46:48

learners is called Piano Book. The

46:53

accompanying hardcover has all

46:55

the sheet music, plus his notes on why

46:57

each piece meant so much to him. But

47:00

up, I'm Alec

47:02

Baldwin and you're listening to here's the Thing.