Born in China, Lang Lang moved to the United States in 1997 in order to study at the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia. His career was jump-started in 1999, when he stepped in for an ailing Andr_ Watts at the Ravinia Festival and gave an acclaimed performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto. He has since appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras and made a series of bestselling recordings; most recently, he recorded Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Mariinsky (Kirov) Orchestra.