Yundi

Born in Chongqing, China, Yundi enjoys the title “prince of the piano” and an international career takes him to the most prestigious of music halls around the world. He 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” in addition to being “stunningly talented”.

In 2000 Yundi won First Prize at The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. 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 the first prize for 15 years. 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 2010, the year of Chopin’s 200th anniversary.

He is the first Chinese pianist to appear on the cover of Wall Street Journal in America and the prestigious AERA magazine in Japan. He is the first Chinese pianist selected and featured in Madame Tussauds wax museum, and the first Chinese pianist to record live with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Yundi has released 10 recordings worldwide on Deutsche Grammophon in Germany and EMI in London to enthusiastic acclaim by critics and music lovers alike, and received numerous awards. In 2013 Yundi will return to DG to record an album of Beethoven’s Moonlight, Pathétique and Appassionata sonatas.

Yundi has performed in the most prestigious music halls around the world including sold-out concerts at the Carnegie Hall (New York), Royal Festival Hall (London), Wiener Musikverein (Vienna), the Berlin Philharmonie (Berlin), National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing) and Suntory Hall (Tokyo). Renowned conductors he has collaborated with include James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Chailly and Yuri Temirkanov. Yundi has also collaborated with such prestigious orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Moscow Symphony, NHK Symphony and Vienna Philharmonic.