Yundi Li
Yundi Li , the piano virtuoso who is the youngest winner of the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition and one of the first immigrants to Hong Kong under the Quality Migrant Scheme, talks to Jan Leung about his road to fame.
My childhood was full of fun, laughter, and piano. At times, it felt like a dreaded curse to practice, but after a while, I figured the only way out was always to do what she said.
My mother coddled me, but with iron fists. She demanded the best from myself, but more importantly, she made me demand the best from myself.
A Chinese teacher is like a parent. They instruct their students closely and provide guidance on every detail. Western teachers train students to be more self-reliant by leaving them enough space to figure things out themselves.
My first toy was an accordion my parents bought me. I fell in love with it immediately.
It all changed when I won the Chopin Competition in 2000. If I did not win this, I would have become some piano teacher in a random music conservatory instead of signing contracts and deals.
My record company dressed me up to look like the Japanese artist Takuya Kimura. But I’m sure people aren’t coming to my concerts because they think I am hot – that would be very weird.