Even someone who is so talented to be regarded as the "hottest artist on the classical music planet" by the New York Times experienced rejection at least once in his life.
In an interview with Marc Myers of The Wall Street Journal, internationally renowned pianist Lang Lang, 34, said that he was rejected as a student by an angry and impatient teacher who told him he did not have the talent. He was in Beijing to study piano and was only 11 years old.
Being dropped by his teacher affected Lang so much that he stopped playing for months. His father, who encouraged him to play the piano at the very early age of two, was agitated to see him disheartened.
Good thing that one day he was urged by his classmates in the public school to play for them, and at that particular moment while he was touching the piano keys, producing so beautiful a sound, he realized that deep in his heart he really loves making music through the piano.
And so Lang decided he should not stop, and the rest is history.
With the encouragement and help of a former teacher in his hometown Shenyang, he found a new teacher in the conservatory in Beijing and was accepted.
At the age of 15, he flew to the U.S. to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Today, Lang is an inspiration not only to the Chinese but to all the world as well. He has made a name in the classical music industry, setting foot on remarkable stages and international scenes such as the 2014 World Cup concert in Rio, the 56th and 57th GRAMMY Award, the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Last Night of the Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall and the Liszt 200th birthday concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Charles Dutoit.
He also has been given a number of distinctions. He was included in Time 100, the Time Magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and in the 250 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum.
He received the 2010 Crystal Award in Davos, an Honorary Doctorate of Music from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales at the Royal College of Music, an Honorary Doctorate in Musical Arts at the Manhattan School of Music and an Honorary Doctor Degree in Fine Arts from New York University.
Lang not only inspires with his achievements but also with his passion in bringing music into the lives of children through his work. He does this with help from the United Nations and his own Lang Lang International Music Foundation.
Lang spends most of his time in New York City which he considers his adoptive home. He had just released his latest album New York Rhapsody and was recently named as NY's first Cultural Tourism Ambassador.