BIOGRAPHY
YUNDI BIO
YUNDI, the world-renowned Chinese pianist who engrossed the exquisite tonal techniques, the dynamic tension, and the artistic expression of piano performance.
YUNDI was propelled onto the international stage when he won first prize at the XIV Chopin International Piano Competition in 2000, becoming the first person in 15 years to be awarded this honor. At the age of 18, YUNDI was the youngest and first Chinese winner in the history of the renowned competition. In 2001, YUNDI became the first Chinese pianist signed by Deutsche Grammophon, embarking on his career as an international pianist. With a series of critically acclaimed recordings and performances, he has earned an outstanding reputation in the classical music world, establishing himself as one of the world's leading artists.
YUNDI has released more than twenty recordings worldwide on Warner Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, and EMI Classics featuring works by Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Prokofiev, and Ravel. These albums received enthusiastic acclaim from critics and music lovers alike.
YUNDI's international career takes him to the most prestigious music halls around the world. YUNDI has performed in such venues as Konzerthaus Berlin, Musikverein Vienna, Carnegie Hall (New York), Royal Festival Hall (London), Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Herkulessaal (Munich), Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, Kölner Philharmonie, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall(Moscow), Mariinsky Concert Hall (St Petersburg), Theater Basel(Switzerland), National Centre for Performing Arts (Beijing), Seoul Arts Centre, and Suntory Hall (Tokyo).
Conductors with whom YUNDI has collaborated include Seiji Ozawa, Wolfgang Sawallisch, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Chailly, Valery Gergiev, Mikhail Pletnev, Charles Dutoit, Leonard Slatkin, Chung Myung-whun, Andrew Davis, Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Daniel Harding.
YUNDI has performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Staatskapelle Dresden, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony (Washington), San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and NHK Symphony Orchestras.
YUNDI has been regarded as a leading exponent of Chopin’s music. He is also considered one of the greatest contemporary interpreters of Chopin. His albums have ranked and topped the classical music charts in Europe, North America, and Japan. YUNDI is praised by the New York Times for his “prodigious technique, wondrous colorings, delicate passagework and steely power”, as well as his “romantic ardor, myriad colorings and bursts of hand-blurring virtuosity”. The Wall Street Journal described YUNDI as “known for his gripping interpretations of Chopin and Liszt.” Berliner Morgenpost reported his performance as “…Mozart-Spiel geboten, das an technischer Perfektion und Klangschönheit kaum zu überbieten ist.”
The New York piano critic Harris Goldsmith lauded Mr. Li’s “patrician elegance” and “exquisite artistry from one of the greatest talents to surface in years, nay, decades.” Anthony Tommasini, the chief music critic for The New York Times, praised his performances: “The brilliant young Chinese pianist has proved a technically astounding pianist who is by turns elegant and rambunctious, coolly expressive and white-hot.”
In 2015, YUNDI was invited to be on the jury of the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition, making him also the youngest juror of the competition. In recognition of his contribution to Polish culture, the Government of Poland presented a Gold Medal for Merit to Culture ‘Gloria Artis’ to YUNDI in 2019.
YUNDI is the pioneer of Chinese pianists on the international stage. He is not only the first Chinese person to win the Gold Medal at the International Chopin Piano Competition, but also the first Chinese pianist to sign with Deutsche Grammophon. YUNDI is the first Chinese pianist to record live alongside the Berliner Philharmoniker. He is the first Chinese pianist to appear on the cover of the Wall Street Journal in America and the prestigious AERA magazine in Japan.
YUNDI has been at the forefront of classical piano art in China for over 25 years, continuing to explore the beauty of music with unflagging passion. In 2024, He embarked on a Europe, Japan, and Singapore recital tour with his new Mozart Sonata Project.
Headline H2
It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didn’t listen.
Headline H2
It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didn’t listen.
