MUMBAI: This fall, movie theater audiences will experience an incredible evening of music with internationally acclaimed pianist Lang Lang in a special in-theater concert event featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Charles Dutoit on Saturday, October 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. MT/ 8:00 p.m. PT (tape delay). Broadcast live to movie theaters across the country, Lang Lang Live on Franz Liszt’s 200th Birthday is the first live, classical music cinema event headlined by a solo artist. During this Fathom concert event, Lang Lang will mark the 200th birthday of his hero, piano virtuoso and innovative composer Franz Liszt, performing Liszt’s famed Piano Concerto No.1, as well as some of the most famous, virtuosic and poetic solo pieces written for the piano. The event will also feature special footage shot at this summer’s iTunes Festival, including behind the scenes interviews, commentary and exclusive musical performances. A re-broadcast of the event is scheduled for Monday, October 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. MT/ 8:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets for Lang Lang Live on Franz Liszt’s 200th Birthday are available now at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com . For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom website (theaters and participants are subject to change).
Heralded as the “hottest artist on the classical music planet” by The New York Times, 29-year-old Lang Lang has played sold out recitals and concerts in every major city in the world. In 2008, more than four billion people viewed Lang Lang’s performance in Beijing’s opening ceremony for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, where he was seen as a symbol of the youth and the future of China. This status has inspired more than 40 million Chinese children to learn to play classical piano — a phenomenon coined by The Today Show as “the Lang Lang effect.”
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“The cinemacast is a first-class opportunity to bring Liszt’s music to audiences throughout the country with contemporary technology,” said Lang Lang. “I look forward to playing with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Maestro Charles Dutoit and celebrating this special birthday with music aficionados nationally.”
Presented by NCM Fathom and SONY Classical, Lang Lang Live on Franz Liszt’s 200th Birthday will be broadcast live in high-definition in nearly 270 select U.S. movie theaters through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network — North America’s largest cinema broadcast network.
Lang Lang has had an extraordinary relationship with Franz Liszt since his first encounter with classical music at the age of two, when he was captivated by Tom and Jerry’s version of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. Lang Lang’s new album Liszt — My Piano Hero, available on October 4, pays tribute to the life and music of Franz Liszt. One of the most eagerly anticipated classical releases of the year, the album features the composer’s Piano Concerto No.1, which Lang Lang recorded with Valery Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic. A companion DVD, Liszt Now!, will be released later in the year.
“The Liszt piano concertos and sonatas are some of the finest pieces of classical music ever composed,” said Dan Diamond, senior vice president of Fathom. “With Lang Lang’s performance of this music on such a special occasion, this in-theater event will truly build a bridge between the music’s legendary past and its very bright future.”
