EMI Classics Signs Chinese Pianist Yundi

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First Release Is the Complete Chopin Nocturnes

“Yundi Li, the brilliant young Chinese pianist…has proved a technically astounding pianist who is by turns elegant and rambunctious, coolly expressive and white hot.” — The New York Times

EMI Classics has signed the “superlative young Chinese pianist”* Yundi, formerly known as Yundi Li, winner of the 14th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Appropriately, Yundi’s first EMI release (due out in the U.S. on April 6) will be the complete Chopin nocturnes, issued to commemorate the composer’s 200th birthday in 2010. Together Yundi and EMI Classics plan to record Chopin’s complete works for solo piano.

Stephen Johns, Vice President, A&R, EMI Classics, said: "We are extremely pleased to be welcoming Yundi to the EMI Classics label. Yundi's musicianship and artistry have already captivated audiences around the world, and his desire continually to seek new challenges mirrors our own ambitions to bring great music in new and innovative ways to a wide public. We are particularly excited by Yundi's championing of the music of Chopin, especially in this, his anniversary year."

Since the competition that catapulted Yundi onto the international stage, his recitals and appearances with orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States have been hailed by critics extolling his precise, crystalline technique, keyboard fluidity and boundless enthusiasm. His personality and artistry appeal to audiences of all ages, and he is an icon in his native China, where as the Prince of the Piano” he has inspired millions of young people. He is the toast of national leaders and has been invited to perform for the Chinese ambassador in Washington, D.C. and for the president of China, Hu Jin Tao, at Government House in a celebration of the tenth anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China.

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