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Andrea Bocelli, Lang Lang, Jon Batiste and More Team Up for Album Celebrating 100 Years of Disney

Andrea Bocelli, Lang Lang, Jon Batiste and More Team Up for Album Celebrating 100 Years of Disney
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LONDON (CelebrityAccess) – Piano phenom Lang Lang has announced details of a new album that will celebrate 100 years of The Walt Disney Company. The album, The Disney Book, is set to be released on September 16th via Deutsche Grammophon in partnership with Disney Music Group (DMG). The album will feature Lang Lang reimaging Disney classics on the piano with some of the world’s leading artists and arrangers.

With recording sessions taking place in London, New York, Shanghai, and Paris, The Disney Book traces the history of music in Disney films from the 1920s to the present day. Lang Lang explains: “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 album’s first single, released Friday (June 24) is “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins – which Walt Disney himself declared to be his favorite Disney melody. Lang Lang’s version of “Feed the Birds” features an accompanying video, shot as dawn broke over Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park in California, which made Lang Lang the first classical pianist to ever play there.

Lang Lang has long been inspired by Disney music. He says, “When I was thirteen, I visited Tokyo Disneyland; it was the first time I had heard “It’s a Small World,” and the melody stayed with me all day and long afterward.” In 2016 Lang Lang was performing at the grand opening of the Shanghai Disney Resort with a unique rendition of “Let It Go” from Frozen.

The Disney Book features new versions of songs from Pinocchio and The Jungle Book to Frozen and Encanto, along with several collaborators. Andrea Bocelli provides vocals for “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan; singer-songwriter and pianist Jon Batiste revisits his Oscar-winning Soul score with “It’s All Right”; and Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra performs the Oscar-nominated song “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto. There are also guest appearances from guitarist Miloš, Chinese erhu player Guo Gan, and Lang Lang’s wife Gina Alice, plus the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Robert Ziegler.

The Disney Book is a continuation of Lang Lang’s commitment to music education. Much like his successful 2019 album Piano Book, which brought together some of Lang Lang’s favorite pieces as a way to encourage budding young musicians, The Disney Book aims to inspire people of all ages to explore classical music. It is a heartfelt gift to all generations and especially meaningful to Lang Lang, having recently become a father himself.

The album will be available in all digital formats as well as several physical versions including standard, deluxe and limited editions. It will also be accompanied by several live dates at major international venues including the UK and US.

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