20-year-old
Yundi Li possesses an impressive CV. Career Objective? To be ‘the
next Zimerman’. Work Experience? Third place at both the Liszt
International Piano Competition (1999) and the China Piano Competition
(1999), followed by victory at the Chopin Competition in 2000
- the first person to be awarded the top prize for 15 years. His
second CD for Deutsche Grammophon adopts the same format as that
of his previous all-Chopin CD (DG 471 479-2), designed to appeal
to as wide a market as possible. In both cases, DG’s marketing
division have constructed a programme that targets those who can
enjoy a half-hour-long piece (for them, a sonata), and those who
can’t (for them, some popular miniatures).
‘The
B minor Sonata is like a whole person’s life’, explains Li as
he approaches the piano to show us what he means. During the next
thirty minutes he plays us through a musical photo-album, invisibly
gesturing at each and every musical phrase with such love and
eagerness that by the end one is left wishing he’d distributed
his attention proportionally to just a selection of the most significant
moments. As is now a prerequisite for any up-and-coming recording
artist, the technique is effortless. Its musical rewards, however,
do not stand out in a highly competitive market. Compare Li’s
interpretation to three previous Chopin Competition laureates;
listen to how Krystian Zimerman balances the drama in the work
and how naturally he allows the music to develop, how Maurizio
Pollini develops a gritty, single-minded vision, or how an espresso-powered
Martha Argerich tears through in a performance which surely ranks
as one of the most exciting in the catalogue, and one is reminded
of what Li falls short of. Nevertheless, this is a praiseworthy
effort from a 20-year-old which bodes well for his future.
The
rest of the CD is filled with what can be described as five encore
numbers, all neatly played with a graceful insouciance, and I
have just one general observation to make about how Li approaches
these pieces. Some prefer their Liszt shaken with a passion that
loosens notes from their respective positions on the score, the
sort of performance through which one can detect the image of
the composer – a man who peeled off a pair of white gloves before
tossing the music to be performed over his shoulder, made ladies
in the audience swoon during his recitals, and even turned the
piano round during the interval to show off the other side of
his profile to the gallery. In places, Li obliges. For example,
in the final pages of the Tarantella (the third of three pieces
from Venezia de Napoli), Li vomits a cascade of repeated notes
and chords in one giant breath, overshadowing the respective displays
of Lazar Berman and Stephen Hough. For the most part, however,
Li keeps his mouth firmly shut (as he does in all seven photos
included in this package) to the order of Civility and Clarity
and it is only in the last few bars of the three showstoppers
that the Sisters lift their curfew.
Overall,
this is a satisfying CD which provides an honest appraisal of
Yundi Li’s remarkable talent. I recommend it to anyone interested
in the music Liszt or the artistry of Li.
Michael
Macmillan
Yundi Li (piano) 
