In any case, here is a snippet from that CD. It's Liszt's transcription of one of Schumann's (Robert) Liebeslied (love song), Widmung. I think it's one of Liszt's better transcriptions. It's not too over the top dramatic but has enough distinctive flair and drama to be worthy of being a separate piece from its inspiration. In short, it's stupendous schmaltzy Liszt, despite the fact that the tune isn't Liszt. Yundi Li, of course, plays it with majestic grace, rendering the piece exciting both emotionally and academically. What a rare talent...
Anyway, a little bit of music can evoke what an infinite number of words can't so here it is: Yundi Li - Libeslied.mp3 [5MB mp3 file].
If anybody is interested (and don't know it), I can send you Yundi Li's playing of the Liszt B Minor Sonata, which is, well, I can't describe it with words. It's not a piece limited by some sort of emotional response (like "happy" or "sad"). It's raw emotion, but yet elegant and refined. It's that good. Despite all this, it's a piece that is hard to fall in love with right away. It takes, usually a couple of hearings to really get into it. But once you do, my god, almost nothing is more fulfilling...
Acquisitions (15)
Activities (5)
Books (32)
Cool Stuff (16)
Food (6)
Friends (3)
Geek (46)
Humor (31)
Ideas (3)
M Roadster (9)
Marathon (36)
Movies (7)
Music (10)
News (33)
Photography (19)
Quotidian (102)
Rants (30)
Trips (12)
Wine (4)
i am interested! I have been getting into classical music lately. my collection is completely limited; sort of sad really. am looking into expanding it so any and all suggestions welcome. i am obsessed with the cello namely. i wish i had learnt it when i was a kid; although then i would have a link to troy (EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK).
Posted by: amandine at February 21, 2004 10:03 PM
Just curious, is this Li Yundi guy famous? As in, if I go to an average pianist at an average music school and ask, "Ever heard of this Li Yundi fellow?", will they say yes?
Posted by: dareka at February 22, 2004 08:29 PM
oy, me again, on music yet again. have you ever heard of the Kronos Quartet? if so do you like them? i've been listening to the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack which Clint Mansell basically wrote for them. if you do know anything about them, what album of their's would you recommand? Kazaa only seems to have Requiem for a Dream mp3s. danku =)
Posted by: amandine at February 22, 2004 08:51 PM
darkea: regarding Li Yun Di's fame. For the hoi polloi, Lang Lang is much more famous. He's the poster child of the upcoming chinese pianist(s). Li Yundi, on the otherhand, is only famous among the more educated or discerning classical piano connosieurs. Piano teachers (most of them) would probably have heard of him, though I doubt they would have gotten any of his cd's. Academics are mostly unaware and even student pianists are often clueless as to who or how he is. Average solo pianist (student) at an average conservatory? I'd say maybe a 40-50% chance that they know who Yundi Li is. As a general rule though, even spectacular pianists are easily lost in the shuffle. Arcadi Volodos, a Russian piano genius prodigy ridonculous guy, is probably not a househould name. And yet his recording of Rachmaninoff 3rd is technically flawless, musically deep, and exciting all the while (live recording). So where is he? I don't keep up with the famous people but I haven't even heard his name at all anywhere...
Posted by: Luke at February 22, 2004 09:26 PM