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Yundi Li performs with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Seoul Arts Center, Friday. |
By Kwon Ji-youn
Friday night's performance by Yundi Li, the youngest pianist to win the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition at the age of 18, was nothing short of disastrous.
The Chinese pianist staged an appalling rendition of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) at the Seoul Arts Center, turning a deaf ear to the orchestra and a blind eye to the maestro's movements.
SSO chief conductor David Robertson, distraught by the noise, lowered his baton and the orchestra followed suit. They resumed playing after a breather, but the tension was palpable.
As if to blame the SSO and maestro Robertson for the blunders, Li did not return for an encore, acknowledging the audience just once before retiring to his hotel room.
He seemed unshaken by his catastrophic performance _ later that night, he posted a photograph of himself dressed in a Halloween costume on Facebook, with a caption that read "I'm gonna freak you out tomorrow!" The photograph has been deleted, and the last post now reads "It's always been a pleasure to come to Korea. Thanks for all your support and hope to see you again."
Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 is the piece that changed Li's life _ he became the youngest winner of the Chopin competition in 2000.
But his failure to apologize and his devil-may-care attitude have more than disappointed fans who had anticipated a professional and polished performance, at the very least.
Concert organizers said Li had seemed anxious the night before his performance, requesting a practice room after midnight.
Korean Cho Seong-jin became the first Korean to win the prominent competition on Oct. 20. Li was one of the jurors for this year's Chopin competition. He awarded Cho nine out of 10 points before leaving mid-event, allegedly to attend Chinese actress and model Angelababy's wedding.
