Chopin/Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

Amazon.com This sonically in-your-face recording is a bit heavy-handed and lead-footed, particularly in the Liszt. There is no doubt that Yundi Li is the real thing – a terrific virtuoso who can cool his tone down for quieter moments while keeping acres of strength in reserve for the showy, fast passages – but something goes wrong here and these performances are not particularly enjoyable. The most successful moments are in the middle of the Chopin, where his holding back is almost vocal, with long phrases kept interesting enough to make us hear them anew. But there's also a lot of blurring, some due to the recording and some due, I think, to Li’s overuse of the pedal. His reading also feels as if the Liszt is a series of separate chunks; the parts do not flow organically into one another and we feel he's underlining too many "special" moments. In other words, it's probably as flashy as Liszt might have played it, but the overall effect is lacking in shading. The emotions are huge here, and while one is dazzled by the technique, it's an exhausting experience. Martha Argerich's coupling of these two concerti under Claudio Abbado on DG is magnificent – go for it instead of this. --Robert Levine About the Artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Li Yundi (born October 7, 1982) is a well-known young classical pianist. He is also popularly known by the Western iteration of his name, Yundi Li. Born in Chongqing, China, Li is most well known for being the youngest pianist to win the prestigious International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition at the age of 18. Li currently resides in Hannover, Germany, where he studies with his teacher Arie Vardi at the Hannover Conservatory of Music Li first began to learn the accordion at the young age of four. Only one year later, he won the top prize at the Chongqing Children's Accordion Competition. Li began studying piano at the age of seven. Two years later, he began to study with Dan Zhao Yi, one of China's most renowned piano teachers. Li's ambition was to become a professional pianist. In 1994, he entered the junior high school associated with the Sichuan Music Academy. Li has received top awards at various competitions. In 1995, he was awarded first place at the Stravinksy International Youth Competition. In 1998, he won the 1998 South Missouri International Youth Piano Competition. The next year, he took Third Prize at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition of Utrecht, as well as being a major winner in the China International Piano Competition. He also won first place at the Gina Bachauer Young Artists International Piano Competition. In October 2000, Li participated in the 14th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. He was the first participant to be awarded First Prize in 15 years, and at 18 years of age, the youngest winner in the competition's history. Li is also the competition's first Chinese winner. Li was given a Polonaise award by the Chopin Society for his performance at the competition. Li's debut in the United States took place in June 2003 at Carnegie Hall, as part of Steinway and Sons' 150th Anniversary Gala. His United States concerto debut took place the next month, when he performed Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1. He was also honoured at a special reception at the home of the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, where he performed for various officials of the US State Department. Currently, Li's performance programmes and records consist exclusively of works by Chopin and Liszt. His second recording of Liszt for Deutsche Grammophon, whom he still--as of 2006--exclusively records for, was released in August 2003 named "Best CD of the Year" by the New York Times. His third recording, comprising Chopin's four Scherzi and three Impromptus, was released in late 2004. Recently, he has also given a recital in the renowned Wiener Musikverein, performing works by Mozart, Scarlatti, Schumann, and Liszt. In November 2006, he emigrated to Hong Kong under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the first batch of people to do so under the scheme.
ASIN: B000KP61ZI
VSKU: DBV.B000KP61ZI.A
Condition: Acceptable
Author/Artist:Yundi Li
Binding: Audio cd
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Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case will show wear, and may be in library packaging. Ships fast!