The Disney Book

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Fleet-fingered glissandos, scurrying basslines and intricately carved melodies fill the solo piano versions of ‘Whistle While You Work’ ( Snow White, 1937) and the theme to 1991’s Beauty and the Beast. This style of transcription – a ‘reimagining’ of a work – has its roots in the 19th century, when composers such as Liszt created versions of famous operas for the piano, designed to explore the extremities of a pianist’s technique. An equivalent today might be a sampling of an old pop tune in a faster, brighter version – or the TikTok trend of layering new interpretations, brilliantly demonstrated through Nathan Evans’ ‘Wellerman’ video that went viral in 2021. It is this virtuosic approach that appealed to Lang Lang when embarking on his new album The Disney Book. “I wanted something really artistic and pianistic,” he says. Alongside Hough’s fizzing arrangements is a sophisticated Mary Poppins medley by Natalie Tennenbaum and a plaintive version of ‘My Own Home’ ( The Jungle Book) by Thomas Lauderdale. Features Andrea Bocelli, Jon Batiste, Miloš and Gina Alice The album’s first single releasing today is a song beloved by fans and heralded as Walt Disney’s favorite song from“Mary Poppins:” ‘Feed the Birds.’Captured as dawn broke over the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle at the Disneyland Park, the music video captures the magic of Lang Lang’s album and of Walt Disney’s legacy. Watch the magic of that morning unfold and enjoy this beautiful new arrangement of ‘Feed the Birds!’ The inspiration for this album came from Lang Lang’s own personal journey and history with Disney films. Lang Lang shares, “Animation sparked my imagination and transported me to other worlds. The music was a big part of this experience – and led to my life-long love of classical music. There is such a variety of styles in Disney songs; truly, something to inspire everyone. I hope that people of all ages will enjoy this recording and experience the joy that we all felt the first time we saw a Disney film .”

The combination of Lang Lang and Disney demanded and received extravagant musical arrangements. The pianist recalls learning from the experience of making his New York Rhapsody album, in which he often played second fiddle to the recording’s raft of vocalists. “This taught me a huge lesson,” he observes. “Sometimes you make mistakes, especially in a new area which you’ve never explored before. But for The Disney Book, I said to my team, ‘We need to find the best transcribers.’ People like Stephen Hough, Thomas Lauderdale, Natalie Tenenbaum from the Juilliard School of Music, David Hamilton—the best musicians who can make the most amazing arrangements. We built up this army of incredible piano transcribers and then worked really hard to make sure that this album was not going to be like ballroom music.” Music helps you to experience other worlds,” says Lang Lang, “there is such wonderful variety in Disney songs there is something to inspire everyone. This is my heartfelt gift to all generations everywhere.” Sir Stephen Hough, Natalie Tenenbaum and Randy Kerber are also involved as arrangers. The team wanted the arrangements to evoke the sound-worlds of the likes ofof Debussy, Chopin, Liszt and Horowitz, yet still maintain that famous Disney 'magic' feel. Hough comments, “I’ve been a huge admirer of Lang Lang for years and I was delighted to be asked to arrange some Disney songs for him. I loved the challenge of transforming these popular songs, beloved by generations of children and parents, into solo piano pieces, rooted in the classical tradition of the great transcribers of the past.” Many of us remember Saint-Saëns’s famous Carnival of the Animals from childhood. There are a lot of clever ideas underneath all the fun. He’s making a real statement, but in a very humorous way,” says Lang Lang. The pianist was also keen to include some well-known smaller-scale solo/four hands works, among them Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte, the Pavane by Fauré, as well as arrangements like the “Flower Duet” from Delibes’s opera Lakmé. For Debussy’s Petite Suite he is again joined by Gina Alice, who describes playing this evocative work as like “painting a picture”.

More by Lang Lang

The Disney Book is a continuation of Lang Lang’s commitment to music education. Similar to his hugely successful 2019 album Piano Book, a collection of Lang Lang’s favourite pieces as a child which he hoped would motivate young musicians, The Disney Book aims to inspire people of all ages to explore classical music. The recording is a magical gift for all generations and is especially significant for Lang Lang as he recently became a father. He said, “Our son is a year and a half and he loves Disney.” The Disney Book features star guests including Andrea Bocelli, Jon Batiste, Sebastián Yatra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert Ziegler. We had a really big success with Piano Book, which reached a lot of people who were new to classical music after it was released in 2019,” Lang recalls. “So, we began thinking, ‘What can we do to help them take the next step?’ Of course, we could have done a Piano Book Two, but that was not going to make a tremendous difference. Then we began thinking about animation because it had played the biggest part of my life as a kid.”

With this album, Lang Lang presents a treasure trove of musical discoveries: Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2, recorded with a stellar cast, the Gewandhausorchester and Andris Nelsons, is for Lang Lang a true romantic masterpiece that rivals the greats like Rachmaninoff or Liszt. By pairing it with Carnival of the Animals, a whimsical menagerie that has captivated young hearts for generations, Lang Lang continues his heartfelt wish to promote the love of classical music to kids and it also gives him a chance to collaborate with his wife, pianist Gina Alice. Complementing these works with hidden gems – unearthed solo compositions by five female French composers as well as beloved French classics – has created a feast for the ears, promising a captivating experience.

The Disney Book features star guests including Andrea Bocelli performing ‘You’ll Be in My Heart’ from Tarzan; singer-songwriter and pianist Jon Batiste with ‘It’s All Right’ from his Oscar-winning Soul score; Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra with ‘Dos Oruguitas from Encanto as well as guitarist Miloš, Chinese erhu player Guo Gan, Lang Lang’s wife Gina Alice, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert Ziegler.