January 5, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLIBURN CONCERTS PRESENTS SUPERSTAR CHINESE PIANIST YUNDI LI
IN HIS DFW RECITAL DEBUT AT BASS PERFORMANCE HALL, JANUARY 20,
2009
"...prodigious technique, wondrous colorings, delicate
passagework and steely power." -The New York Times
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, JANUARY 5, 2009--Cliburn at the Bass
presents piano sensation Yundi Li in his Dallas/Fort Worth recital
debut, Tuesday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Bass Performance
Hall.
The first pianist from China, and one of the youngest
contestants ever to claim top honors at the International Chopin
Piano Competition, Yundi Li is renowned for his exquisite phrasing
and sparkling technique--qualities displayed by only a few
individuals every generation. His all-Chopin and all-Liszt recital
recordings received high acclaim worldwide, including the New York
Times "Best CD of the Year" award.
Yundi Li has transcended the classical world: he is the first
pianist featured in a Wall Street Journal cover story, the first
Chinese musician depicted at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and the
first Chinese pianist to record with the Berlin Philharmonic and
Maestro Seiji Ozawa. He is also featured in the documentary The
Young Romantic. Yundi Li is a household name in China, where
classical music is considered the ultimate art form.
Mr. Li's Cliburn at the Bass program will include works by
Mozart, Liszt, Chopin, and Mussorgsky. (Please see the complete
program below.)
Prior to Mr. Li's performance, there will be a Cliburn
Conversations presentation hosted by Dr. Carol Reynolds at 6:30
p.m. in Bass Hall's Green Room. Cliburn Conversations is free to
all ticket holders and is designed to provide insightful
information about the evening's program.
TICKETS AND INFORMATION: Single tickets range from $15 to $90.
Tickets are available online or by calling 817.335.9000. More
information is available at www.cliburn.org.
Cliburn at the Bass is part of the Cliburn Concerts series,
which is widely regarded as the foremost classical performance
series in the region. It features the world's leading recitalists,
ensembles, and rising stars. Cliburn Concerts is presented in three
venues: Bass Performance Hall, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
ExxonMobil is the Principal Corporate Sponsor of the Van
Cliburn Foundation. American Airlines, Bank of America, City of
Fort Worth, JPMorgan Chase, Star-Telegram, Steinway & Sons, and
XTO Energy Inc. are Official Corporate Sponsors, and Clear Channel
Communications and RadioShack Corporation are the Cliburn's
Corporate Sponsors. Official Sponsors are the Among G. Carter
Foundation, the Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County,
the Beaumont Foundation of America, the Burnett Foundation, and the
Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Star-Telegram is the principal media
partner and WRR 101.1 FM is the official radio station of Cliburn
Concerts.
YUNDI LI
Yundi Li was propelled into the international music scene when
he won first prize at the 2000 Chopin International Piano
Competition in Warsaw. At eighteen years of age, he was one of the
youngest winners and was also the first person in fifteen years to
be awarded a first prize at this prestigious event.
In July 2003, Yundi Li made his American concerto debut with
the Philadelphia Orchestra, performing the Chopin Piano Concerto
No. 1. In April 2004, he completed his North American debut recital
tour, which included sold-out performances in Boston, Vancouver,
San Francisco, and New York. Highlights of recent seasons include
concerts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the London Symphony
Orchestra at the Barbican Centre, and in Seoul, South Korea. He has
also collaborated with the Israel Philharmonic under Gustavo
Dudamel, with the Wiener Symphoniker in Vienna's Musikverein and in
Japan, and with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra at the Tonhalle. Mr.
Li has performed recitals throughout the United States, including
performances at Carnegie Hall, as well as at major concert venues
throughout Europe, including Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, London's
Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and the
Verbier Festival in Switzerland. In May 2007, he joined forces with
the Berlin Philharmonic and Maestro Seiji Ozawa to record
Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto and Ravel's Concerto in G
major.
In 2008-2009, Mr. Li returns to play with the National
Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco, Baltimore, and Toronto
Symphonies; tours Japan with Valery Gergiev and the Kirov; and
plays recitals in Paris, London, Munich, Luxembourg, and Valencia.
He will be featured in the 2010 Chopin anniversary festival in
Warsaw in March 2010.
Since 2001, Mr. Li has recorded six CDs with Deutsche
Grammophon, featuring works by Chopin, Liszt, Scarlatti, and
Schumann. The most recent recording is dedicated to the first piano
concertos by Chopin and Liszt, as performed with the Philharmonia
Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. The Young Romantic, a
television documentary about Yundi Li and featuring Maestro Seiji
Ozawa and the Berlin Philharmonic, recently aired worldwide.
Mr. Li's musical career began with the accordion at age four.
His prodigious talent was recognized one year later, when he won
the top prize at the Chongqing Accordion Competition. He then began
piano studies at age seven. Born in Chongqing, China, he was raised
and educated there until 1995, when his family moved to Shenzhen.
He continued his studies there with Zhaoyi Dan at the Shenzhen Arts
School.
For more information, please visit www.a
skonasholt.co.uk.
PROGRAM
MOZART
Sonata in B-flat major, K. 570
LISZT
Ballade No. 2 in B minor
CHOPIN
Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35
MUSSORGSKY
Pictures at an Exhibition
Contact: Sevan Melikyan Dir. of P.R.
email: sevan@cliburn.org
phone: 817.738.6536
web:
