01 Yundi Li - Chopin:Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21 - I. Maestoso 02 Yundi Li - Chopin:Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21 - II. Larghetto 03 Yundi Li - Chopin:Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21 - III. Allegro vivace 04 Yundi Li - Chopin:Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 - I. Allegro maestoso 05 Yundi Li - Chopin:Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 - II. Romanze (Larghetto) 06 Yundi Li - Chopin:Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 - III. Rondo (Vivace)
Yundi, one of the most celebrated and influential pianists of today, has returned to Warner Classics with the signature of a long-term agreement between him and the label. His first release under the new agreement, due for release in January 2020, will be an album of Chopin’s Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 2, on which he directs the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra from the keyboard. This constitutes both his first recording as pianist-conductor and his first recording of the Piano Concerto No 2. His previous Warner Classics release, the complete Chopin Nocturnes, dates from 2010.
Warsaw and Chopin have played an essential role in Yundi’s career: in 2000, at the age of just 18, he became the youngest winner of the Chopin International Piano Competition. Since then, he has become recognised as a leading exponent of the Polish composer’s music and in 2015 served on the jury of the Chopin Competition. Earlier this year, in recognition of his contribution to Polish culture, he received Poland’s Gold Medal for Merit to Culture, ‘Gloria Artis’. He first conducted the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in Chopin’s two concertos in 2017, performing in Warsaw, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing.
演奏会当晚,他弹奏的萧邦《降E大调夜曲》(Nocturne in E-flat Major, Opus 9, No. 2)和《马祖卡舞曲》(Four Mazurkas, Opus 33)唤起人们内在深层的怀旧之情,深入探索情感的内蕴,这是那些只在键盘前装模作样如郎朗之流绝对无法企及的境界。难怪眼光独到的纽约乐评家哈里斯?郭德史密斯(Harris Goldsmith)也对李云迪赞不绝口,称赞他的演奏表现出“贵族般的高雅”和“精湛的艺术造诣”,堪称“多年来、甚至数十年来仅见的最伟大钢琴天才”。
不过,一个月后李云迪同样在卡内基音乐厅举行的演奏会,却改动了曲目。原本打算演奏莫札特(Mozart)和贝多芬(Beethoven)的作品,以展现他内在对音乐传统和作曲家个性的了解和领悟,后来改成一首李斯特改编自舒曼曲风浮夸的曲子Widmung、几首郎朗最擅长的那类“老几样”庸俗中国民谣,以及一首被乐评家过度强调的最长曲目,莫杰斯特?穆索尔斯基(Mussorgsky)的巨作钢琴套曲《展览会上的图画》(Pictures at an Exhibition)。如果没有外在强加的压力,李云迪应该不会自愿舍弃舒曼或海顿(Haydon)的内心作品,而选择穆索尔斯基陈腐的老调。