There is a stigma which seems to reside primarily among young
people that classical music can be stiff and unapproachable. Last
Thursday night, there were definitely coattails, high heels and
compositions from over 200 years ago. But as 23-year-old Chinese
phenomenon Yundi Li began his recital in Royce Hall, all those
assumptions became obsolete. After all, as anyone who has played
any type of musical instrument will tell you, trying to fit 36
notes into a second-long measure requires you to be anything but
stiff.
The program included pieces from three icons of classical music:
Mozart’s “Sonata No. 10 in C major,”
Schumann’s “Carnaval, Op. 9″ and Liszt’s
“Rhapsodie Espagnole,” none of which are the most
popular pieces by each respective composer.
But the selections served just as much to challenge Li and
underscore his talent as they did to entertain the audience, and
they did a considerable amount of both.
From the quick and buoyant opening of Mozart’s
“Sonata,” Li displayed incredible virtuosity and
feather-light touch with even the most intricate of movements.
His delivery may not have been as ornate or embellished as that
of other professional pianists, but his approach was succinct and
deliberate. He captured the audience from the very beginning with
his dexterity and precision, and only built on it with
Schumann’s intensely poetic “Carnaval.”
It teetered between melodic and overwhelming, at times blurring
the center themes and melodies together. But Li’s execution
remained admirably clear, the notes discernible despite the
complexity.
Flipping his arm to the air, following the emotion of the sound
with his head, and even becoming airborne at several moments and
carrying his coattails up with him, it was clear that he was having
fun.
And then there came Liszt’s “Rhapsodie,”
Li’s signature piece and an overall beast of a composition
from one of the most demanding composers to emerge throughout the
history of classical music.
One of the long-standing measures of the success of a work of
art is its resemblance to nature. With trills so quick and light
they became birds singing and chords so powerful they encompassed
the sublimity of an ocean, Li transformed what were once notes on a
page into 30 minutes of vehement but calculated emotion.
His hands pounded from harmony to dissonance and then back with
such controlled vigor, his movements became a blur, almost
vertiginous, and completely mesmerizing. It may have mirrored
nature at moments, but at the same time, it left the audience
almost in a state of disbelief: Man is not supposed to be able to
do what Li did.
Even more impressive, he is not much older than the average UCLA
student.
The young man began playing the piano at 7 years old, and as his
personal skills quickly grew, music and performance became the
central part of his life. At 18, he was one of the youngest winners
of the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw Germany, a
prestigious competition only held every four years.
His successes continue with numerous other showings at
competitions and often selling out performances as he tours
throughout the world, as well as a highly praised solo album
recorded in 2001.
But just as in rap, or rock, seeing an artist perform live makes
the night more about experiencing the music than listening to the
individual notes.
One possible origin of the stigma of the frigidity of classical
music might be the fact that fewer students understand the
construction of the music or the methods implemented in it than
they do with regards to more popular forms of music, and so fear
they won’t be able to truly appreciate the pieces.
But as evinced by the awkward premature clapping of the audience
(which consisted almost entirely of older people), you don’t
even need to know much about concert etiquette to experience
classical music, or to enjoy an evening being blown away.
E-mail Puri at
kpuri@media.ucla.edu.