Yundi Has Charisma

Thailand Cultural Center (“TCC”). Bangkok, Thailand. October 25, 2010. The Chinese pianist Yundi is continuing what is, perhaps, a minor trend to single names in the classical world, the progenitors of which are Midori, and Kennedy, while, on the opposite side of things, stands Lang Lang, who is affectionately known to his detractors as Bang Bang. Regardless of what he chooses to call himself (what was wrong with his former name of Yundi Li?), Yundi has what every performer would like to have---charisma. It can’t be explained, but you know it when you see it.

Sensing that something big was up, the packed house at the TCC on October 25, 2010, was uncharacteristically quiet as the house lights dimmed, signaling the imminent arrival of the evening’s star, the winner in 2000 of the prestigious Chopin competition.. As Yundi, tall, perpendicular, thin, and dressed in tails, elegantly walked towards the Steinway, the house erupted into loud applause even before the first note was played. As Yundi turned and faced the audience, acknowledging its presence with a warm, if subdued smile, and a slight bow, it could be grasped that the evening was already his.

Yundi played yet another all-Chopin program, which I wasn’t looking forward to because of all the similar programs I had heard during this year of the bicentenary of Chopin’s birth. Yes, even Chopin can suffer from extreme overexposure. Yet, after completing a set of five nocturnes, it was clear that Yundi is an extraordinary and sensitive talent. He brought to these sublime works, an interpretive intensity that was both introspective and arching. The Andante Spianto et Grande Polonaise Brillante, which closed the first half of the program, was large, and Yundi fulfilled its title’s promise of being “brillante,” while at the same time, honoring its melodic beauty.

After the intermission, Yundi tackled the four mazurkas of Opus 33, sensing in them the rhythm of the dance and the exquisite varieties of sound that each mazurka has. No two sounded alike, but together, they formed a unified whole, so that one would have missed any of them that might be omitted. As a Chopin interpreter, Yundi’s position is secure.

One takes for granted the technique of a performer of Yundi’s stature, but it’s nice to see it challenged, and Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 is a perfect vehicle to show just how good, or not so good, Yundi’s piano calisthenics might be. As expected, Yundi plays flawlessly, smoothly, with total control, and without any apparent difficulty, as if he owned the keyboard ab initio. His understanding of Chopin is so intimate that one is tempted to say that he has a special connection with the composer, which will continue to evolve over the years, and even at age 28, is already mature.


I was particularly interested in hearing what Yundi would do with his final work, the Chopin “Heroic” polonaise, which seems to be de rigueur for every Chopin recital, many times as an encore. Here is an opportunity for the performer to play to the crowd by abandoning the music in favor of volume and speed, a kind of show-off way to send the audience home. Thankfully, Yundi avoided these pitfalls and gave to this overplayed work, a freshness which must be extremely difficult to achieve, the result being that this evening was heroic for both Chopin and Yundi. The audience reacted with prolonged applause, shouting, and approval in one form or another, that was at least as pronounced, if not more so, than any other performance I can recall attending at the TCC over a 10-year period.

The grand foyer of the TCC is a large public space, ceremonial in design and feel, but I was unable to exit the concert hall proper after the concert, because of the crowds congregating at the exits waiting to leave the building through the foyer. Unbeknownst to me, but apparently known to all others, Yundi had agreed to sign autographs in the foyer, and his fans were reluctant to leave until they at least got sight of him. Cameras were held high and no one was moving. Even movie stars and rap idols would have been buoyed by this reception. Since there were far too many people for me to get close enough to see Yundi, not as much a loss to me as to others inasmuch as I was seated in the third row of the orchestra throughout the recital, I did manage to inch my way through the crowd even before his appearance, eventually leaving the site of so much charisma, but I was not unchanged: I’m now a Yundi fan.