CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Performance Thursday, May 20, 2010 | 8 PM

Yundi

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
He was the youngest pianist—and the first Chinese—to win first prize at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. Here, Yundi honors Chopin’s bicentennial with a program of the composer’s masterworks, from lesser-known, lyrical nocturnes to the memorable “Heroic” Polonaise in A-flat Major. His playing shines with joy and delight.

Please note that tickets for Yundi's originally scheduled recital on November 1, 2009 will be honored on May 20, 2010. For details, ticketholders should contact CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

Yundi will be signing CDs after this concert.

Performers

  • Yundi, Piano

Program

  • CHOPIN Nocturne in B-flat Minor, Op. 9, No. 1
  • CHOPIN Nocturne in E-flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2
  • CHOPIN Nocturne in F-sharp Major, Op. 15, No. 2
  • CHOPIN Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2
  • CHOPIN Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1
  • CHOPIN Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise, Op. 22
  • CHOPIN Four Mazurkas, Op. 33
  • CHOPIN Sonata No. 2
  • CHOPIN Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53

  • Encores:
  • JIAN-ZHONG WANG Rosy Clouds Chasing after the Moon
  • CHOPIN Etude in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12, "Revolutionary"

  • Program is approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes, including one intermission

Bios

  • Yundi

    Internationally renowned pianist Yundi (formerly known as Yundi Li), a household name in his native China, was propelled into the music scene in 2000 when he won first prize at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. At age 18, he was not only the youngest and first Chinese winner in the history of the prestigious competition, but also the first pianist to be awarded first prize in 15 years. He has since been regarded as a leading interpreter of Chopin’s music.

    Critically acclaimed for his technical precision and boundless enthusiasm, Yundi has collaborated with such prestigious orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Zürcher Kammerorchester, The Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In recital tours, he has performed at the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Tonhalle (Zurich), Royal Festival Hall (London), Herkulessaal (Munich), Salle Pleyel (Paris), Roy Thomson Hall (Toronto), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), and the Verbier Festival.

    During the 2009–2010 season, Yundi was presented at the Chopin 200th anniversary festival in Warsaw. He also toured Europe, performed recitals across Japan, and returned to the Festival de Lanaudière (Canada). He performs with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in June and undertakes another European tour before the season’s end.

    Yundi has released eight CDs and DVDs worldwide. In 2007, he became the first Chinese pianist to record live with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Seiji Ozawa. That disc of Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major received rave reviews and was named Editor’s Choice by Gramophone.

    Born in Chongqing, Yundi began piano studies at age seven and, in 1995, moved with his family to Shenzhen, where he received training from Zhaoyi Dan at the Shenzhen Arts School. After his triumph at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, he pursued six years of intensive studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover.
    More Info

This performance is part of the series.

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