Self-described perfectionist and uncompromising purist, Li Yundi has now found his niche with a new record label and a busy touring schedule. Chen Jie reports

People that enjoy fine wines know that 1982 is one of the great vintages for Bordeaux. It also proved an exceptional year for Chinese classical music, as two piano prodigies, Lang Lang and Li Yundi, were born and both were to become international stars some 20 years later.

Their common instrument and the fact that they achieved both international recognition at almost the same time has inevitably led to comparisons between the two, and suggestions that an intense rivalry developed when they both signed for Deutsche Grammophon (DG).

Today, one of them, the wildly popular Lang Lang, is a household name throughout the world, especially among the younger generation, while the other, Li Yundi, resembles a fine red wine appreciated only by those who know it.

One of Yundi's few hobbies is collecting fine red wines and he says that he feels "lucky to be born the same year as the great vintage".

To Yundi producing a fine wine is similar to playing a good piece of music, "both take time, experience and a feeling for it."

"Wine and music have much in common. People classify a wine by the region and year it was produced, while the music written in different times, by different composers from different countries display different characteristics," the usually reserved pianist becomes extremely eloquent when sharing his love and knowledge of wine.

This year musicians around the world are commemorating the great composer Chopin's 200th birthday, and Yundi, who won the 14th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2000 - the first pianist in 15 years to be awarded the First Prize and, at 18, also the youngest - is no exception.

In January, he left DG to sign an exclusive recording contract with EMI. The contract embraces recordings of Chopin's complete solo piano works and the first disc, issued in March, is the complete Nocturnes.

Yundi tells China Daily while preparing for his first recital at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on Saturday, that it's "normal for a pianist to change recording label."

He adds that while he made a number of well-received recordings for DG over the past eight years and DG planed to renew his contract, EMI came up with a much better offer, "almost the best among all the EMI classical artists."

Whatever the reason DG clearly encountered some problem promoting Yundi. Soon after he signed with DG in 2001, his fans were amazed to see DG market him with a forced androgynous look.

"But I am comfortable with my new style now. The image on the new EMI album is much closer to my own personality," he says.

Interestingly he is now known simply as Yundi. From the look to the name, it seems he wants a total change.

"I suggested to EMI that they use the name Yundi. My friends all call me Yundi. It sounds intimate," he explains.

However, he is keen to stress that whatever his name or look, it is the music that is most important to him.

"I chose EMI not only because it offered nice conditions, but because EMI and I share the same concept of music."

Compared to Lang Lang's tight touring schedule, Yundi has until now followed a more relaxed itinerary. But the Chopin anniversary means the Chopin competition winner is much in demand and he has some 70 concerts scheduled around the world this year, most of them, including Friday's recital at NCPA devoted to Chopin.

On March 1, he gave a Chopin birthday concert in Warsaw, following recitals in Hong Kong, Beirut, London, Dortmund, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, Porto, Abu Dhabi, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich and Milan. And the NCPA recital will kick off a tour of more than 15 cities in China.

"I am looking forward to playing those second and third tier cities and sharing Chopin's music with the audiences. To some degree, the acoustics and facilities of a concert hall influence a soloist's performance. I know many cities have new concert halls which will help me interpret Chopin," he says.

Ever since he won the Chopin Competition, Yundi has enjoyed a reputation for poetic renderings of romantic composers like Chopin and Liszt. Occasionally, he plays music by Prokofiev, Ravel, Mozart and Beethoven. But he does not play as wide a repertoire as his rival Lang Lang.

"I am a perfectionist. It takes time to really feel, understand a piece of music and deliver it to audience. My goal is to play perfect music, not be any number one, a ranking that makes sense only in sports. For a piece, you can practice one day or 10 days or a few months. It all depends on your own requirement. Maybe only 1 or 2 percent of audience will notice the slight difference, but I really treasure that 1 or 2 percent."

He compares his pursuit of perfection to motor racing, another of his hobbies: "The different engine speed controls only differ by seconds, but the car manufacturers never stop pursuing the slight differences in feel when driving."

Also different from Lang Lang who it seems will do almost anything to attract young fans, even playing an iPad as a concert encore in the name of promoting classical music, Yundi seldom does quasi-pop crossovers and firmly believes that a classical musician should never be mistaken for a pop performer.

"Pop and classical music are definitely two things. As a contemporary pianist, I try to interpret those great composers' work through my performance. I am also willing to play for young audiences, but I will give them the correct message about classical music, instead of catering to them or confusing them with pop music," says Yundi.

Born into a worker's family in southwest Chongqing, Yundi first learned accordion at 4 and won the top prize at the local children's competition at 5.

Upon his teacher's suggestion, he turned to the piano at 7.

"I was too old to start playing piano. Luckily the accordion is also a keyboard instrument," laughs Yundi.

Two years later he was introduced to Dan Zhaoyi, one of China's most renowned piano teachers, with whom Yundi studied for nine years. Even before the Chopin Competition, Yundi had received numerous awards at various contests both home and abroad.

As a musical prodigy, Yundi says that he feels the pressure all the time, since the very beginning. He says that he has different ways to relax but that one of his favorites is cooking Sichuan cuisine.

"I was born in Chongqing, and grew up in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, both regions are famous for their cuisines. The old Chinese saying goes, 'a person who enjoys tasty food must know cooking himself.' I can cook many famous Sichuan dishes such as mapo doufu and huiguo rou," he says.

While every Sichuan chef can cook mapo doufu and huiguo rou, it takes a special talent to make it exceptional, just like a pianist playing Chopin and Liszt.

(China Daily 05/13/2010 page18)