Culture

Lang Lang enchants Ithra Theater with exclusive Disney spectacular

10 Dec 2023

Ithra or the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture.

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

World-renowned pianist Lang Lang performed an exclusive Disney-themed musical at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Saudi Arabia on December 7; it was part of a series of 10 global shows worldwide and the only one in the Middle East. Over 2,000 people experienced the show – some at Ithra Theater, yet others in Ithra’s lush gardens, where they gathered to watch the live-streamed performance. Lang, according to reports, captivated the audience by bringing to life the enchanting worlds of Disney’s beloved animated films such as Frozen, Beauty and the Beast and Encanto.

“His performance offered a captivating and immersive experience, making the magical stories come alive through visual and symphonic finesse.” “It’s wonderful to be here in this amazing venue sharing such music and moments,” the musician told the audience. “I find it fascinating to see the wide-reaching impact of Disney’s music and films around the world.” Lang performed at the Ithra stage, accompanied by the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, conducted by Edwin Outwater.

The concert featured a distinguished lineup of international artists, including Gina Alice from Germany, Spain’s Pablo Garcia-Lopez, Plinio Fernandes from Brazil, Guo Gan representing the People’s Republic of China, and Saudi Arabia’s own Loulwa Al-Sharif. The Beethoven Academy Orchestra is one of Poland’s leading symphony orchestras. It is made up of music aficionados, including some of the most outstanding students and graduates of European higher musical education institutions.

Group picture of the orchestra that accompanied Lang Lang.

Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, Alice began playing piano at the age of four, performing in public for the first time at the age of eight and giving her first solo recital at 15. Following graduation from the Hamburg University of Music, she has collaborated with a number of orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Shenyang Symphony Orchestra and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. Garcia-Lopez is a Spanish tenor and a star of the European opera and concert stages.

He has been praised for the “decisive beauty of his light-lyric timbre, his unquestionable musicality and communicability.” Fernandes fuses classical guitar traditions with Brazilian folk music. Gan is the world’s first Chinese national folk musician’s recipient, and the world’s first Chinese erhu performer to win the award. Erhu is a fiddle, sometimes known as the “Chinese violin”. Al-Sharif is a jazz singer.

Lang is a Chinese pianist who has performed with major orchestras around the world and appeared at many leading concert halls. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and many of the top American orchestras. A Chicago Tribune music critic called him “the biggest, most exciting young keyboard talent I have encountered in many a year of attending piano recitals.”

Lang Lang at the performance.

Lang is considered by many as one of the most accomplished classical musicians of modern times. His peers hold him in high regard. Conductor Jahja Ling has remarked that “Lang Lang is special because of his total mastery of the piano ... He has the flair and great communicative power.” It has been noted that Lang successfully straddles two worlds — that of being a classical prodigy and a rock-like “superstar” — a phenomenon summed up by The Times (London) journalist Emma Pomfret, who wrote: “I can think of no other classical artist who has achieved Lang Lang’s broad appeal without dumbing down.”Like him or not, Lang has become one of those artists whose career thrives and prospers even outside the boundaries of critical approval.

The pianist once said bemusedly: “You get many good reviews from the beginning. And then the critics start criticising you. It’s strange. The things they liked you for first — unique, fresh — they say is great. And then later they say you’re too fresh, too unique. But they’re the same thing!” His autobiography, Journey of a Thousand Miles, has been published in many languages, and was released in 2008. Delacorte Press also released a version of the autobiography specifically for younger readers, titled Playing with Flying Keys.

Lang has played for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, President Hu Jintao, President Horst Kohler, Prince Charles (now Charles III), then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, President Nocolas Sarkozy, and Polish President Lech Kaczynski. In 2013, he was chosen by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace — a role Lang said was more important than his music, because it could help improve the lives of children around the world through education.

Since opening its doors in 2018, Ithra Theater has established itself as one of Saudi Arabia’s premier theatre programme and venue for cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary productions. It is geared to local, regional, and international audiences. The King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra) is a creative and interactive public space for workshops, performances, events, exhibitions and experiences. It champions diversity, celebrating creativity and encouraging collaboration with the objective of energising Saudi Arabia’s knowledge economy.

It is Saudi Aramco’s most ambitious CSR initiative and the largest cultural contribution to the Kingdom. Through a series of programmes and initiatives, it creates experiences that bring together culture, innovation and knowledge and are designed to appeal to everyone. Ithra’s components include the Idea Lab, Library, Theater, Museum, Cinema, Great Hall, Energy Exhibit, Children’s Museum and Knowledge Tower.