Music
Reviews
Arts Fuse, November 2019
"Terrific, fiery playing from George Li, one of the most compelling young pianists on the scene."
The Classic Review, October 2019
"[George Li] shows impressive technical prowess and musical sensitivity that brings new ideas to this often performed piece."
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 – Liszt Solo Piano Works
Tchaikovsky ∙ Liszt
release: October 2019
BUY / STREAMGeorge Li gained international attention in 2015 when he won the silver medal in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Now he has recorded one of Tchaikovsky’s greatest and best-loved works, the Piano Concerto No. 1 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Vasily Petrenko. The New York Times has called his performance of this work a “real revelation.” It is complemented by three solo pieces by Liszt, a composer who featured on his debut Warner Classics recital, judged “a winner” by International Piano magazine.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Vasily Petrenko, London Philharmonic Orchestra and George Li
Piano Concert No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23
1. i. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito
2. ii. Andantino semplice – Allegro vivace assai – Tempo I
3. iii. Allegro con fuoco – Molto meno mosso – Allegro vivo
Franz Liszt
4. Années de pèlerinage, Troisième année, “Italie,” S. 163: IV. Les Jeux d’eaux á la Villa d’Este
5. Années de pèlerinage, Deuxième année, “Italie,” S. 161: V. Sonnette 104 del Petrarca
6. Réminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418
Reviews
BBC Music Magazine, December 2017
"[The recital] has all the light and shade expected from such a varied programme... The 21-year-old produces an exquisite tone in Consolation No. 3, melting into the keyboard with incredible technique. (This also to the fore in the Hungarian Rhapsody). The Haydn is beautifully delineated."
Gramophone, October 2017
"[Li’s] smile might well find itself transferred onto the customer’s face when they hear the Haydn sonata which begins his recital…It’s the kind of dextrous, bubbling, life-affirming performance that cannot help but lift the spirits and make one eager to hear what follows."
International Piano, March 2018
"Li’s Haydn is stylish but muscular, with no apology for the choice of modern piano, the finale of the Sonata in B minor HOBXVI:32 perfectly judged in both velocity and staccato. Yet it is his Chopin Sonata No 2 that first points towards his stature: this is a performance of muscularity and technical perfection married to lyricism. Tempos flow perfectly, the Scherzo dances devilishly and the funeral march rises naturally to its climax. A winner of a debut disc."
George Li – Live at the Mariinsky
Haydn ∙ Chopin ∙ Rachmaninov ∙ Liszt
release: October 2017
BUY / STREAMThis enthralling recital by the young American pianist George Li, silver medallist at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition, will mark his recording debut and his first album as a Warner Classics artist. Captured at a live performance in the magnificent Mariinsky Concert Hall in St Petersburg, it presents a dramatically conceived programme of works by Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninov and Liszt: a descent into deep darkness; re-emergence into the light, and concluding with the boisterous celebration of the Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 (which George Li played for President Obama at the White House in 2011).
Franz Joseph Haydn
Keyboard Sonata in B minor Hob.XVI: 32
1. i. Allegro moderato
2. ii. Menuet
3. iii. Finale: Presto
Frédéric Chopin
Piano Sonata No. 2 in Bb minor Op. 35
4. i. Grave. Doppio movimento
5. ii. Scherzo
6. iii. Marche funèbre (Lento)
7. iv. Finale (Presto)
Sergei Rachmaninov
8-30. Variations on a Theme of Corelli Op. 42
Franz Liszt
31. Consolation No.3 S.172
Franz Liszt
32. Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C# minor S.244/2
Videos
Franz Liszt
“La campanella”
XV International Tchaikovsky Competition
Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory
© MUSEEC/medicitv
Master’s Degree Recital
New England Conservatory
2019
Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven Andante favori in F Major, WoO 57 and Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53, ’Waldstein’
Verbier Festival 2019
Johannes Brahms
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor
NEC Philharmonic
conducted by Hugh Wolff
New England Conservatory
September 2021
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Étude tableaux in E-flat minor,
Op. 33 No. 6
XV International Tchaikovsky Competition
© MUSEEC/medicitv