Young Romantic: Portrait of Yundi

This documentary portrait of Chinese pianist Yundi Li captures the poetic intensity of this young virtuoso as he works with maestro Seiji Ozawa to prepare for his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic.(with a complete and riveting performance of the 2nd movement from Prokofievs 2nd piano Concerto taken from a rehearsal)This is interwoven with Yundi on tour in his home country where we meet his family, gain insight into his upbringing and are exposed to the massive scale of piano as well as music culture in China. Film footage from the magnificent National Grand Theatre in Beijing, where Yundi was the first to perform in this miraculous architectural achievment, Ravels Piano Concerto in G.Also film footage from a spectacular concert given at the Hong Kong Coliseum on December 2007 with Taiwanese pop superstar Jay Chou where Yundi and Jay play duets on 2 pianos.This Concert (Jay Chous World Tour) is available on DVD but unfortunately not in the NTSC format.If teenagers in the west ever got a load of Jay Chous spectacular wardrobe and breathtaking entrance as he opens this concert with the theme from his video 'The Curse of the Golden Flower' they would be spoiled forever. The sound quality is excellent throughout, and several complete performances of Chopin Scherzos and Liszts La Campanella etude, make this DVD very entertaining, thought provoking, and give you a real idea of how China will probably become the cultural center of the world within the next few decades.Yundi Li mentions that he would like to have a recognizable style of his own as did Horowitz and Rubinstein.The best way to describe it at present, is the poetic and dynamic insights of Dinu Lipatti combined with the transcendental virtuosity of William Kapell.His performance of Schumanns 'Widmung" on this DVD should convert any doubters.

It is a really good documentary movie, so beautiful, I enjoyed it very much.

Yundi is perfect! This CD is awesome! I love this one so much!!!!! He is the best Chinese pianist, for sure!

I quite enjoyed this DVD and have no hesitation in recommending it. The bonus tracks of Yundi playing the four Scherzi of Chopin and Liszt's "La Campanella" are alone worth the price of admission. The performances are beautiful and any questions as to why this young man was awarded the Gold medal in the Chopin Competition are quickly dispelled. The film paints a fine portrait of Yundi. But it is uneven. I suspect a re-editing of the material would deal with my objections. The approach is interesting. There are several currents that are developed in alternation throughout the film: Yundi's childhood and family in China, his musical education (quite minimally), scenes of modern China, and preparation of his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa. This last appears to be the main thread of the film and the moment Yundi is about to walk out on stage for the concert is its climax. The most interesting parts of the film deal with the interaction between Yundi and Ozawa, who emerges as a most sympathetic figure. This window into how a complex work is prepared for performance is fascinating. In watching the scenes with Ozawa, I was prompted to dig out all my old Ozawa LPs and start on a journey of rediscovery of this great conductor. But too much time is given to what I suppose are called establishment shots, and my overall impression is that the director could not, in the end, decide what the film should be about. Yundi himself is portrayed as the open and honest musician he has always seemed to be, very likable, and one of the very few of the young generation of technical titans whose playing truly is about the music. I must confess that as I watched the film and watched his hands, I had a nagging concern over the physical tension with which he plays. At a certain point in the film I thought to myself, this kid is going to hurt himself one day. Sadly, it turned out that he did develop a piano injury. But the film passes over the subject as though this is one of the inevitable results of the life of a concert pianist. It is a great pity that children are still being taught the old methods that result in these injuries. They are not at all inevitable and are the result of forcing the hands to behave repeatedly in ways for which they were not designed. There is also a sinister undercurrent in the film that makes its first appearance at the beginning with the statement that there are 20 million aspiring concert pianists in China. Later, we are shown scenes of what appear to be mass production lessons. Yet, overall, as a package, this DVD is certainly worth having. Yundi is a great pianist, and an historically significant one.

This disc is marketed as a documentary concerning the career of Yundi Li from his first accordion lessons at the age of 3, then from his first piano lessons at 4 and concluding with his preparations for his debut concert with the Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa in 2008. On the way we hear of his triumph at the Warsaw Chopin Competition where he won the first gold medal awarded in 15 years in 2000 at just 18 years of age. This is a fascinating study of, not only Yundi Li, but also a glimpse at what has gone into helping achieve so much at such a young age. However, for many, the oft-repeatable part of this disc must be the 2004 recital he gave at the Roque d'Antheron. This consists of the 4 Chopin Scherzi plus the Liszt La Campanella study. These are given performances of on-the-seat virtuosity combined with unassailable delicacy and sensitivity. This is a rare combination that makes these performances seem absolutely definitive. No mean feat given the multitudinous superlative alternatives of the repertoire which have been made available over the years by just about all of the world's best pianists! Of course, they cannot actually be definitive, whose can? It just seems so at the time! At this point I would like to add a few words about the very special, and seemingly curtailed, series of recordings made at the Roque d'Anteron of which this is one........ The series of concerts recorded at the specially built recording venue features state of the art recording facilities producing wonderful piano sound and sympathetic remotely controlled camera work. The intention was to record outstanding recitals each year and to release them on DVD. In reality this project seems to have stalled with only a handful of issues released in 2002 and 2004. But what riches they contain! This is as good a place to start as any. Once you have one you will want them all. There are 13 and the titles are spread around but not usually under the artists, the music or the venue. At the moment the most effective search on Amazon has been to choose the category `Film & TV' then search `naive dvd' within it. You will then find most of the series is listed. This is a marvellous collection of great artistic and recorded merit. Outstanding recitalists in the series, featuring several previously unknown to me, include Boris Berezovsky, Frank Braley, Eliso Virsaladze, Francesco Libetta, Frederic Guy, Nicolai Luganski, Paul Lewis, Vanessa Wagner, Zoltan Kocsis and the Ivaldi / Pennetier duo In summary therefore, I am sure that most purchasers sampling this example will not only feel it to be worth the full 5 stars but they will also go on to collect the rest of the available recordings. Recommended with all possible enthusiasm.

This disc is marketed as a documentary concerning the career of Yundi Li from his first accordion lessons at the age of 3, then from his first piano lessons at 4 and concluding with his preparations for his debut concert with the Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa in 2008. On the way we hear of his triumph at the Warsaw Chopin Competition where he won the first gold medal awarded in 15 years in 2000 at just 18 years of age. This is a fascinating study of, not only Yundi Li, but also a glimpse at what has gone into helping achieve so much at such a young age. However, for many, the oft-repeatable part of this disc must be the 2004 recital he gave at the Roque d'Antheron. This consists of the 4 Chopin Scherzi plus the Liszt La Campanella study. These are given performances of on-the-seat virtuosity combined with unassailable delicacy and sensitivity. This is a rare combination that makes these performances seem absolutely definitive. No mean feat given the multitudinous superlative alternatives of the repertoire which have been made available over the years by just about all of the world's best pianists! Of course, they cannot actually be definitive, whose can? It just seems so at the time! At this point I would like to add a few words about the very special, and seemingly curtailed, series of recordings made at the Roque d'Anteron of which this is one........ The series of concerts recorded at the specially built recording venue features state of the art recording facilities producing wonderful piano sound and sympathetic remotely controlled camera work. The intention was to record outstanding recitals each year and to release them on DVD. In reality this project seems to have stalled with only a handful of issues released in 2002 and 2004. But what riches they contain! This is as good a place to start as any. Once you have one you will want them all. There are 13 and the titles are spread around but not usually under the artists, the music or the venue. At the moment the most effective search on Amazon has been to choose the category `Film & TV' then search `naive dvd' within it. You will then find most of the series is listed. This is a marvellous collection of great artistic and recorded merit. Outstanding recitalists in the series, featuring several previously unknown to me, include Boris Berezovsky, Frank Braley, Eliso Virsaladze, Francesco Libetta, Frederic Guy, Nicolai Luganski, Paul Lewis, Vanessa Wagner, Zoltan Kocsis and the Ivaldi / Pennetier duo In summary therefore, I am sure that most purchasers sampling this example will not only feel it to be worth the full 5 stars but they will also go on to collect the rest of the available recordings. Recommended with all possible enthusiasm.

I very much enjoyed this film and would recommend it. The director struck lucky in filming Yundi Li preparing for his outstanding performance of Prokofiev's PC no 2. Yundi is very engaging and and has a nice rapport with Ozawa and others. I've docked one star because there is a problem summed up in the booklet which says: 'the more we are exposed...the more we realise that we may have no idea who this man really is'. We are promised a 'portrait' but there are huge ommissions: 1. What of Yundi's life 2001-06 including studying music in Germany? The film says nothing. 2. What is Yundi's view of the fears that he may burn out? How does he practice, study music, care for his health (fingers)? The film says nothing. 3. What of Yundi's move to live in Hong Kong in 2006 and his relationship with the One party state? What is it like being a musician in China? The film says nothing. 4. How has Yundi coped with sudden fame and wealth and the music business,contracts and agents? Not a word. A great pity given the subsequent allegations about his departure from DG. 5. I'm not suggesting that all of this could have been covered but I wonder what ground rules were agreed. It is a great pity that the booklet was not written by the director who could have thrown some light on the above. Compare Bruno Monsaingeon's intro to his film on Sviatoslav Richter in which he explains that they talked for 2 years before he could film!! Finally does anyone know why there is no DVD of the live concert available on CD when rehearsals were filmed? Another missed opportunity? But let me say again, Yundi Li is good company and an interesting musician. So watch and enjoy the film.

Since Yundi and I are from the same hometown I'm really excited to see how he was brought up. Now Yundi is the world famous pianist and earned a lot of fame for his country but he is still living a simple life. Besides music he loves sports, delicious food and would like to stay with his family. He set up a good model for the Chinese kids and also a hero for the young people like me. Strongly recommand this DVD! I really enjoy it.