Lang Lang Performs for the Opening Movie of Gran Turismo 5

The intro music in the Gran Turismo 5 opening cinematic, before My Chemical Romance's "Planetary (GO!)" begins, was performed by the world-famous pianist, Lang Lang.

Lang Lang was born in Shenyang, China. Showing great talent from a young age, he entered Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music at the age of 9, and at the age of 13 he was awarded first place at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians.

He crossed the ocean to the United States in 1997, and attracted great attention when he performed Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1" while filling in for Andre Watts as part of the Chicago Symphony, during the Gala Concert of the Ravinia Music Festival. He was 17 at the time. Since his debut at Carnegie Hall in 2001, he has been performing actively all over the world, collaborating with world-class orchestras like the Boston Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic and others.

In recent years he has performed in the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics, at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, and at the opening of the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. Lang Lang is one of the most talked-about young talent in China and the world today. He plays Prokofiev's War Sonata in the first part of Gran Turismo 5's opening cinematic, set to stunning and powerful imagery. Enjoy the thrilling and passionate 3.5 minute piano performance by Lang Lang when you pick up your copy of Gran Turismo 5.

Comments from Gran Turismo Series Producer, Kazunori Yamauchi

The elements that make up automobiles all originally came from space. And when viewed from space, the footprints that identify the presence of man on Earth are the roads that cut a path through the wilderness. And cars are what speed down those roads. Gran Turismo 5's opening cinematic movie contains these three motifs: elements, cars, roads.

We wanted to visualize the world of cars from a different perspective than the flashy display of cars you would see at a motor show. The War Sonata played by Lang Lang for Gran Turismo 5 gives the footage its rhythm, its tension, and above all else, its power.