US President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama receives his medal and certificate from Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland in Oslo.
If there was a Nobel Prize for Music, Chinese pianist Lang Lang would probably get one.
The talented 27-year-old musician is widely acclaimed as one of the world's best piano players. He was also listed by Time magazine recently as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. And People magazine said he was one of the 100 sexiest men on the planet in 2008.
But there is no such thing as a Nobel Prize for Music, so the Chinese superstar had to settle for the next best thing this week: Being invited to play at the Nobel Prize Concert in Stockholm.
He took part in the event in 2007 and he was back again this year to perform not only at the Nobel Prize Concert tonight but also at yesterday's black-tie Nobel Prize Ceremony in Oslo where US President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Lang Lang selected Chopin's solo Etude Op.10 No 3 in E major, also known as Tristesse, as the piece he would play before Obama delivered his acceptance speech.
"I chose this piece because it is a very peaceful piece, a melodic tone poem that is consistent with the message of the peace prize," Lang Lang told China Daily in Beijing on Monday before he headed for Oslo.
"I really hope that the message can be sent out to the world through Chopin's music.
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