Yundi Li (李雲迪), “Prince of the Piano” in his native China, at 18 the youngest ever winner of the International Chopin Competition in 2000, from henceforth will officially be known simply as “Yundi.” He will appear in Taipei’s National Concert Hall for one performance on Oct. 28, in an all-Chopin program.
So, why Yundi? Is it a marketing ploy, an ambition to sound like a pop star or simply a desire to shake off what is, in the Chinese world, the rather unremarkable “Li”? Basically it doesn’t matter. There are classical precedents anyway — the British pianist of the 1940s Solomon Cutner called himself simply Solomon, as if he were an Old Testament patriarch, and Yundi has every right to call himself whatever he wants. Maybe he just wants to preserve his youth. To hear “Yundi!” shouted out at airports in excited recognition will probably, over the years, be increasingly gratifying.
Now 27, and resident rather surprisingly in Hong Kong, Yundi is already one of the great Chopin interpreters. Just about every top-ranking classical pianist has recorded Chopin’s 21 Nocturnes and Yundi issued the set on two CDs from EMI in April. It’s part of a project to record all Chopin’s piano music with his new recording company (previously he’d been with Deutsche Grammophon), and he will play five of them in Taipei in October.
Some critics thought his take on the Nocturnes could have done with a little more maturity, a little more brooding in these ruminative, nighttime pieces. None doubted his technical dexterity or his quicksilver fluidity, however. But the essential point is that he’s already among the all-time greats, and no one thinks for a moment before comparing him with the most celebrated interpreters of the last 100 years. If he can achieve that in his mid-20s, what will he be doing, you wonder, by the time he’s 40?
Anyway, an artist who can play New York’s Carnegie Hall is coming to Taipei, and tickets, though by no means cheap, will probably sell out. If you want to give your family a treat, and have the money, then to be able to say “We saw the great Yundi when he was still only 25. He came to Taiwan, and even signed our CDs for us!” would seem too good an opportunity to miss.
Yundi plays at Taipei’s National Concert Hall on Oct. 28 at 7:30pm. Tickets are NT$1,200 to NT$4,800, NT$800 for students, and are available at the NTCH box office or online at www.ticket.com.tw.
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