I've been listening to Li quite a bit for the last few days, and I have been impressed to say the least. This guy can really play the heck out of the piano, and he does it with wonderful poise and tasteful artistry.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Some goodies from YouTube:

At the 14th Chopin Competition (long)
Chopin Op. 9 No. 2
Fantaisie Impromptu, Op. 66
La Campanella
Chopin Scherzo No. 1
Scherzo No. 3
Scherzo No. 4

Obviously, there's more on YouTube.

i prefer yundi li over lang lang. Really sad he got dropped by Deutsche Grammophon..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hVbeH7LEuQ

'Nuff said.

I heard him live once, and found his musicality to be like a paint-by-numbers kind of thing - he had maybe a dozen or so emotional states he could convey in his playing, and they were always the same, no matter what the actual piece was. For that reason, it was musically one of the weirder recitals I've ever heard over the decades. Although I've heard more than a few pianists who were musically very limited or inappropriate or inept, I've never heard anyone else do that particular thing. I mean, it is almost spooky when you feel he is projecting the exact same sense of "slightly wistful sadness" out three different passages in three different pieces by three different composers, but somehow he manages to do that. It's like he has no idea that the music itself contains it's own unique emotional language that he needs to discover and bring to life, and so he applies these pre-fabricated states he already knows how to convey.

Robot?

Well, apparently, Lang, played quite a prominent role in DG's dropping of Li ("it's either me, or him"...DG, gave in). At one point, Lang, went so far as to stipulate that orchestras he was playing with not play with Li in the same season.
I heard Li, with the DSO/Liszt 1st concerto a few years ago and was impressed with his playing, but much less impressed with his dismissive attitude after the concert. I've not heard much from him in the last year, or so, but have noticed he's decided he wants to be called simply, Yundi, and from reviews I've read has, at times, abandoned the style of playing that landed him where he is, for more questionable "interpretations" and now includes "crossover" material, which, at one time, he was completely against doing.

Never seen him live. But his concert in NYC early this year was "rescheduled" (from something like November to May).
wr gives a chilling condemnation!.."pre-fabricated emotional states".. Orwellian, not to say worse..
I read in Gramophone (at the Barnes and Noble stand / Starbucks, so rather quickly) that he was signed up recently by another CD/media company.. not sure which, but I think it is EMI..

Do you really know if those rumors are true?? sounds unnecessarily aggressive..

also what do you mean by "crossover" material?

So how did he win the Chopin competition ??

He had a bit of a crack-up in 2009: a Singapore performance of the Tchaikovsky First that was marred with wrong notes and a strange interpretation, and then a San Francisco concert where he played a recital that was almost completely different from the program. No announcement to the public as to why, which left the audience thumbing through the program trying to figure out what was going on.

I would guess that DG got fed up with his self-indulgence, and that Lang Lang had nothing to do with DG dropping Li. Why would Lang bother anyway - he is a superstar far above Yundi Li's station.

Too bad, because Li has some sensitive Chopin interpretations and he is a lot easier to watch than Lang Lang. Let's hope he can get things together again.

Virtually every pianist has recitals where they play lots wrong notes or interpret works not to everyone's liking. As far as changing the recital program, maybe Yundi Li thought someone else made an annoucement about the changes or forgot which program he was playing or something else equally as simple and reaosnble.
What self indulgence?

Lang Lang

There was an earlier discussion about the latest downturns in Li's career here: http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1291750/1.html

I haven't heard much news about him lately, and I haven't seen him on any concert programs here in Vancouver - he used to come by almost once a year, but now only Lang Lang does.

I saw him live. The Andante spianato was all right, but his Pictures was kind of boring and over-pedaled. He played a short program, but neglected to play an encore, which was not impressive.

I have his Vienna Recital and Liszt CDs. His Scarlatti is awesome, but the rest is meh. Those YouTube videos (and the Chopin Competition DVD) are probably the best I've heard from him.

Yes, it's quite true, as is the fact that he stipulated orchestras not play with both he and Li, in the same season. By crossover material, I mean some of the type thing Lang, has done with the "Dragon Songs", etc.

It's a dog eat dog world.

Yes EMI is what I read, too, in another (German) journal. And Lang Lang is going to Sony apparently. Classical piano seems to become similar to soccer business

Yes! Thanks, Horowitzian!! I've been in love with the Chopin Competition video especially on YT for a while. I can't believe that was already 10 years go though...

Didn't Yundi cancel some of his performances earlier this year for "family reasons"? Anyone heard him live recently? I'm supposed to go see him perform the 1st Chopin concerto (droool...!) in less than 3 months! I'm so excited and sincerely hope he won't cancel.

Do you have any proof of this? This is a very serious accusation. I seem to remember Lang Lang adamantly denying this in an interview. I can't help but think that it might just be some Lang Lang-haters making stuff up to sully his reputation.

He's never denied the fact that he (and his father) used the ultimatum with orchestras. Of course, he's going to deny the "me or him" threat with DG, too, but the story came out last year through two DG people who went public, and since, other DG sources have confirmed the original story. His goal is to be number one and he does not like competition. I'll try and find the articles/interviews and post a link (I thought I had them bookmarked, but can't seem to find them now). Apparently, DG decided not to match the offer sheet Sony put up, partly because they're fed up with his demands. DG, has been wrong before and let very successful artists go, but I'm sure they'll be fine without him.

I have attended one Yundi Li concert and found it very sensitive playing. He is nowhere to be seen recently in the Master Pianists concerts I attend.

Perhaps if Yundi Li would have had the same child-abusing, maniacal drill sergeant of a father as Lang Lang he would have cracked multiple times as a youth and either survived or caved in instead of cracking now as a professional. There are no guarantees in this business and the amount of pressure on the world circuit performing artists is unimaginable. At the end of the day I wouldn't wish my worse enemy to have to live the working dog's life these pianists endure. Some will make it to old age and some will fade away or crack visibly earlier, especially when their private life cracks. Pogorelich comes to mind, for example. In a way I think that Yundi was profiting somewhat by surfing on the wake of Lang Lang's promotional speedboat. It wouldn't surprise me at all they LL put restrictions on Yundi sharing the same podia etc. For many venues and audiences, one token Asian superstar is enough anyway.

So?

The idea of a a "token" Asain per venue is ludicrous andnot backed up at all by thefacts. The idea that Yundi Li has "cracked" now is equally silly. He just got a contract to record the complete works of Chopin for a major label. Why do you think the touring life of a major professional pianists is so unejoyable? Yundi Li was very popular before Lang Lang came on the scene.

Journey:
Why do you think that there is some Asian quota a major venues? It's definitely not born out by the facts.
What significance is there to Yundi Li's being "nowhere to be seen" at the concert series you attend? There were thousands of other pianists not on the series also.
What evidence do you have that Li has cracked? He just signed a contract to record the complete works of Chopin for a major label. Has he stopped performing?
Why do you think that the life of a touring superstar pianist is so bad? It's the dream of virtually every pianist in a conservatory.

There is a saying: "Watch out what you wish for, it might actually come true."

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entert...on-1922625.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entert...st-1915552.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122790914204065299.html

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http://www.meesterpianisten.nl/nieuws.php%3FNieuwsID%3D172&sl=nl&tl=en

Journey:I read the first three articles and see nothing to support your earlier post or answer my previous questions. One reviewer said they didn't like Li's performance of Pictures at an Exhibition and another didn't like his Chopin Sonata but liked most of the rest of the program. This is supposed to be indicative of a meltdown??

The reviewer didn't even seem very knowledgable based on his his comment about the Schumann song transcription which Li has played for a long time and is not particularly flashy or his comment about Li playing a Chinese song for an encore. One article blamed DG for mishandling Li's publicity. Li has a major recording contract from another label anyway. Both this year and in previous years the Mannes Inernational Keyboard Festival has had numerous Asian pianists performing in their concert series. Your thoughts about a quota on Asian pianists is incorrect.

Li, has, certainly, not cracked. He's been a bit under the radar lately, but he did just sign a new contract, as stated above. If there were some "quota" on Asian pianist, conservatories and music schools all over the world wouldn't be filled with so many...each one trying to make the grade.
One thing Journey is right about is the often difficult life of a touring pianist. It involves a LOT of travel, little rest, very little time to practice, dealing with venue and promoter demands, and it's actually quite lonely most of the time. It's not nearly as glamorous as most think and not all (even if artistically competent) are cut out for it.

stores, that's why I want to be a college professor that also performs when I want to but not all the time.

Good on you...also much more steady employment.