Customer Reviews

Liszt: Piano Recital

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The Liszt b minor sonata is surely one of the pinnacles of all piano works, and there's little question that it has been well-served in recordings. Among the marvelous performances preserved on CD are those by Argerich, Arrau, Bolet, Brendel, Fleisher, Kempff, Nojima, Pollini, Richter, Serkin. Please notice that this list is in alphabetical order, implying no rank ordering. And I could have included Horowitz (not one of my favorites, but treasured by some). I'm sure I've left out some that others might have been mentioned. All of this is in service of asserting that there is a new pianist whose recording we must include in any such listing: Yundi Li.

Yundi Li is a very young Chinese pianist, native of Chongqing (Chungking), who at 19 was the youngest Warsaw Chopin Competition First Prize winner since Maurizio Pollini in 1960 and the first outright winner in fifteen years; he had won the Utrecht Liszt competition the year before. It is often said, and generally true, that Chopin players don't make good Liszt players, and vice versa. Although I haven't heard his Chopin discs (one from the Warsaw competition, and a studio recording released recently on DG), it has been remarked that Mr Li excels at both. Certainly, on the basis of this disc he excels at Liszt. For my money, the best Liszt players are often outstanding not so much at Chopin as at Beethoven, and if you look at the above list of other outstanding performers of the Sonata, you'll see that's generally true. I can hardly wait to hear Yundi Li in Beethoven. The b minor sonata is the most Beethovenian of Liszt's works, I believe, largely because the tight construction and enormous emotional range are reminiscent of the master from Bonn.

There tend to be two polar approaches to this sonata. There are the barn-burners, the players who take its considerable technical hurdles as challenges and demonstrate their disregard of these difficulties with devil-may-care performances: Argerich, Fleisher, Horowitz. And there are the bards, the poets who perceive the sonata as an autobiographical excursion, a Faustian story: Arrau, Richter, Pollini. There are some who come somewhere in between: Nojima, Serkin. Each has a point of view, each has validity. Some prefer the virtuoso approach for its own sake. I don't. Some prefer the poetic approach, but that risks self-indulgence. And some prefer the middle road, as I do. This is not to say that the middle road is bland, it is not. It partakes of both the emotionality of the one and the brilliance of the other. And it is in this group that I place Mr Li; add to this his grasp of the architecture of the sonata. If I had to choose (and this is highly arbitrary, but I'm trying to give a point of reference for those who know the other recordings) I'd say he comes closest to the approach of Arrau, but with some of the clarity and objectivity of Nojima. For me, that is a magical mix. It does not hurt that the recorded sound is extraordinarily rich, with a slight bass emphasis. Even in the recurring 'hammer blow' octaves (Liszt's own term), there is no clangor but inexorable dramatic force. In the fugue toward the end there is lightness, precision, forward drive, even impetuosity. And in the lyrical sections there is melting beauty. There is much subtle variation in tempo and dynamics which sounds spontaneous rather than calculated. Above all, there is the sense that young Mr Li is telling a very personal story that, with all its inevitability for those who know its outlines, still has the power to shock, to surprise, to move.

We must speak for a moment about the other works included here: La Campanella, 'Widmung,' Liebestraum No. 3, Tarantella, the Rigoletto Paraphrase. Those that require unmitigated virtuosity (Campanella, Tarantella, parts of Rigoletto) have it in breathtaking abundance. But it is in the lyrical pieces ('Widmung,' Liebestraum) that Li's artistry is most evident. These are individually some of the best Liszt playing I've ever heard.

I tend to be skeptical about 'hot' young pianists, but I'm sold. I've ordered his other two recordings on the basis of this disc. I can hardly wait.

Urgently recommended.

TT=58:41

Scott Morrison

Yundi Li's winning of the Chopin Piano Competition at Warsaw held in the year 2000 came only two weeks after his 18 th birthday, rightfully placing him the youngest ever to have won the first prize at Warsaw.

He is a pianist who is always deeply immersed in the music he is playing, as anyone who has attended his concert would agree with me from his facial expression. He is able to feel the music so well that you always find his interpretation most agreeable.

This Liszt album demonstrated Li's capability in deeply emotional playing. For Liszt's Sonata in B Minor, I have heard Zimerman , Martha Argerich, Horowitz, Claudio Arrau, Sviatoslav Richter, Leslie Howard, Artur Rubinstein, Curzon, Georges Cziffra, Maurizio Pollini, Ivo Pogorelich, Mathieu Papadiamandis, Alfred Brendel and I must say that Li¡¯s playing is most emotional. His interpretative and technical power are shown not only from the way he played each theme of this sonata, but also from the smooth transitions he executed from one theme to another. For shorter pieces in this album, Li's strong romantic impulse are most exhilarating. Again, his technique is impeccable. I must agree that this is one album difficult to surpass.

Yundi Li cements his well-earned reputation as one of the finest young pianists of our time with this breathtaking, riveting recital of some of Liszt's best known solo works for the piano. It begins with an emotionally resounding performance of the B minor sonata, that may be the best I have heard, perhaps better than those from the likes of Arrau and Brendel, to name but a few. Unlike his young compatriot Lang Lang, Li demonstrates a strong affinity and understanding for the music he performs, whether it is Chopin or Liszt. Not surprisingly this splendid CD has been acclaimed as one of the finest classical CDs of 2003. I truly looked forward to hearing more distinguished recordings from not only China's, but indeed, one of the world's finest young pianists.

I think, with time, we will be able to recognize this recital as one of the greatest and most eloquently balanced on disc, due to the extraordinary i) musicianship and (ii) pianism of this artist. In contrast to (say) Pollini or Pogorelich, the Sonata is played as a humanistic work of art, with far greater heart than Pollini, and without the self-serving showmanship and 'watch me-ism' of Pogo. I should cite, in addition to the infallible but unshowy technique, the superb naturalness and inevitability of the tempo choices, the strong underlying pulse (never fragmenting into a sequence of mechanical effects), the singing line in the dominant melodic pattern as well as the inner voices, and the splendidly weighted chording which is not only powerful but beautifully even at pianissimo levels. While the Sonata is a masterpiece that can accept a variety of interpretations, this is truly a classic which will be difficult to surpass.

Last night I received Yundi Li's recording "Liszt" in the mail. It was sent to me by a dear acquaintance of mine.

This recording opens with Piano Sonata in B Minor and it is this piece that shall remain the focus of this review. While this is not the most accessible of works, if the listener, instead of anticipating, will merely allow themselves to be transported by the music, they will find themselves on a most remarkable jouney.

One will find themselves perplexed, smiling, sighing blissfully, laughing out loud, enraged, melancholy, and empowered at differing intervals while they join Liszt and Li on this musical sojourn. An all encompassing collage of human emotion is carried within Liszt's piece and Mr. Li brings it to life with a stunning voice.

I would elaborate on the review contained within the CD, though. This piece is not just a human life. It is an extraordinary life, running the full spectrum of the human experience, carrying with it all man's pathos and all his glory. Liszt paints the canvas in brilliant colors of infinitely varying hue, applying that paint with both bold strokes and delicate grace. Thoughout it all a familiar phrase is played, varing in tempo, register, and pronouncement: passion. Passion in bliss. Passion in strength. Passion in sorrow. Passion in rage. A rich life, overflowing with passion.

Thank you, Mr. Lizst for writing this most revealing sonata. Thank you, Mr. Li, for a moving rendition. ...

I bought this disk to get free shipping on Lang Lang's Carnegie Hall debut. I had heard Lang Lang do the Don Giovanni variations, and just had to have it. I had heard some of Yundi Li's performance of Chopin on KDFC, and had been solidly impressed. Nothing prepared me for how stunning Li's playing of Liszt is. I was raised on Jorge Bolet and Claudio Arrau, but his La Campanella, Widmung, and Rigoletto just left me stunned. I quicky emailed a few cuts to my pianist brother, and he was all WOW's. Just compare the Lang Liebstraum to Li's-Langs just falls on the floor. Li's is so controlled, but still generates intense passionate emotions. Everything is just so perfect. I think of Murray Perahia on steroids. I finally got around to devoting a half hour to the much overplayed B minor sonata, and really, I hadn't enjoyed the B minor sonata so much since I sat front row center in front of Vladimir Horowitz and watched him tear the skin off his little finger playing it. Well now, I have listened to the Lang Lang CD once, and now that the Yundi Li disk is in my CD, I can't bring myself to touch the eject button!

This CD is simply amazing. The level of musicianship is stunning to say the least (especially given the performer's age), and the technique is flawless nearly all of the time. As shown by his mastery of the Liszt Sonata, Li is definitely on the track to be on par with Horowitz and Rubinstein. Truely worth the money.

Music speaks a language that's not bounded by country. You don't need to speak Polish to value Chopin, as for Yundi Li, his converse with Liszt is through such musical language, and this recital album demonstrates his deep understanding of Liszt's musical world, expressed not just through his fingers, but from his heart...as the pianist said, "I have to feel it deep down inside me."
Few will have doubt about his feelings, even though the heart that's felt them is only twenty years of age. A child prodigy who won his first prize at the age of five and thirteen years later awarded first prize at the International Chopin Competition (Warsaw), Yundi Li is artistically much more matured for his age, and at such young age, he's already acquired what others would acquire with time: flawless executing of the scores; an instinctive understanding of the music; and the intelligence to express it. The dramaticism in Liszt's B minor Sonata is unfolded with such gripping and tension that it's a thirty-minute ride of emotional meditations, roves, and clashes, all in total command. The second half of the album is a group of etudes of Liszt transcription, including the very popular 'La Campanella' and 'Liebesträume'. A good contrast to the dark and deep B minor Sonata, they are a world of sublimeness and exuberance in various shades of tones. Flawless sequences of chords; glittering passageworks; crystal clean trills in p, pp, or ppp, they are also a showcase of Yundi Li's brilliant technique, which seems not at all in the way of his music making. As a matter of fact, I don't think Yundi Li would let anything in the way of his music making.

Li is truly a virtuous pianist, you can tell from the way he played this sonata. Towards the end of this Sonata, he had played presto and prestissimo with such a speed that one music critic said it sounded like a machine gun. Machine gun indeed because you won't be able to hear a faster presto and prestissimo anywhere else. Pure technique will not carry you far enough, it's Li's great musical sensitivity that is most valued by us. He gave his deep emotion or passion generously when it's called for. The Grandioso in the sonata was played with good majestic feeling by Li. Horowitz had played this piece with extreme volume sometimes, but not everyone likes it that way though. Each pianist has his own way of interpretation and it's wise to follow your own thought consistently instead of trying to mix a few pianists' ways of playing into one and ruin the music.

this disc is an extraordinary performance achievement and a remarkable argument for the unique merits of liszt's keyboard music. the sampling of works -- the compositionally groundbreaking bm sonata, an early technical etude, an original "song without words," a schubert song transcription, a virtuosic showpiece and a famous opera paraphrase -- shows the range of liszt's ambitions as a composer and performer. the etude "la campanella" is a fine instance of liszt's extraordinary technical imagination in pursuit of radically new keyboard sounds, and li's performance is utterly transparent -- the textures at times so delicate that the music seems to melt into light. the sonata performance is stunning, in a class of its own. the rigoletto paraphrase recalls liszt's youthful concert tours throughout europe, which brought the romantic orchestral and operatic repertory to the remotest towns via liszt's performance of his own transcriptions. and the tarantella reminds that liszt performed when he could with two or three pianos on the stage, because the strings and tuning of a single instrument usually gave out before liszt had finished the evening's program. li brings it all to life with incredible poetry and conviction!