Kurt Elling Featured in Live From Lincoln Center: Lang Lang’s New York Rhapsody

On November 25, 2016, Live From Lincoln Center on PBS television presented the internationally acclaimed pianist Lang Lang and his love letter to New York, the city he considers his adoptive home, set to the music that helped make this city so famous.
This very special one-night only concert was performed at Lincoln Center on May 3, 2016.

Embracing a wide range of styles and voices to capture New York's magic, Lang Lang's New York Rhapsody featured music from Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Danny Elfman to Lou Reed, Alicia Keys, and Don Henley, including a rare performance of the original 1924 jazz band arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Joining Lang Lang in an intimate evening of duets were celebrated artists Rufus Wainwright, Kurt Elling, Suzanne Vega, Regina Spektor, Andra Day, Lindsey Stirling, Sean Jones, Jerry Douglas, and Lisa Fischer, with a 30-piece orchestra under the musical direction by David Lai.

Kurt Elling's superb performance of Don Henley's “New York Minute” was one of the evening's highlights.

Watch Kurt and Lang Lang perform “New York Minute” here:

The pianist Lang Lang has been hailed as one of the greatest classical performers of our time – an artist whose virtuosity and passion are matched by his consummate sense of showmanship. Lang Lang's New York Rhapsody is the complex portrait of a city in transition, delivered in words and music by artists who have been touched by its unsettling magic.

Watch the full Live From Lincoln Center concert video with bonus interviews here.

Live From Lincoln Center: Lang Lang's New York Rhapsody is also available on DVD.

In the lead up to Live From Lincoln Center broadcast, PBS released a series of short videos featuring Lang Lang's special guests. In his video, Kurt Elling talks about jazz spots in Greenwich Village and performs “Billie's Bounce” with pianist Bill Charlap at Mezzrow.

Watch it here.

(Unfortunately PBS has not made this short video available in all countries – our apologies!)