YUNDI LI: CHOPIN: "SENSATIONAL DEBUT RECORDING ON DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON by Yundi; Li, Yundi - 2001

Hamburg, Germany: Deutsche Grammophon (DG) , 2001. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/No Dust Jacket, As Issued.. Hamburg, Germany: Deutsche Grammophon (DG) , 2001. Hardcover. Fine/None, As Issued. First Edition/First Printing. 1 pages. Rare Yundi collectible item. A pristine copy of his CD Debut Recording with Deutsche Grammophon, signed by Yundi. The very first release on CD. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent releases, particularly the Japanese Edition. The first release is now scarce. Presents Yundi's "Chopin". Sublime. Yundi Li won the 2000 Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition at the age of 18, the youngest ever in the competition's history (Maurizio Pollini was 19 when he won in 1960, the youngest winner for forty years until Yundi's Olympic feat). There are innumerable piano competitions everywhere, but the Chopin in Warsaw is in a class of its own, the most prestigious in the world. Being the first Chinese - and second Asian, after Vietnamese Dang Thai Son, who won in 1980 - to win the world's greatest piano competition is obviously a distinct honor. Still, it does not quite adequately describe Yundi's vertiginous rise and standing in the world of Classical music. Simply put, China has the largest and most passionate piano culture in the world: There are 20 Million dead-serious Chinese piano students, whose one idol is Yundi, and whose one aspiration is to be the next Yundi. Even with a population that exceeds 1 Billion, that is still a staggering number of pianists. Yundi is more popular in China than any film or rock star, local or foreign, and is its highest-paid living performer on record, commanding $2 Million for a sports-stadium-capacity performance. As Norman Lebrecht has pointed out, while Lang Lang, a Chinese-American, is probably the world's most famous pianist today, Yundi is the "national dish". More important, the Chinese value what they believe to be Yundi's more subtle and poetic approach (while being no less of a master-virtuoso) to Lang Lang's flashy showmanship, further demonstrating the maturity of the Chinese audience. An absolute "must-have" collectible, not just memorabilia, item for Yundi collectors. <b><i> This copy of the CD of "Yundi Li: Chopin" is very boldly and beautifully signed (in Chinese characters) in gold pen-marker in front by Yundi. It is signed directly on the cover itself. It comes with a rare Yundi Special CD Release of his favorite encore pieces, NOT sold commercially. This title is a CD classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: As popular as he is, Yundi seldom does public signings. A rare signed copy thus. </b></i> One of the greatest pianists of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER YUNDI, LEIF OVE ANDSNES, MAURIZIO POLLINI, ARCADI VOLODOS, EVGENY KISSIN, LANG LANG, JON NAKAMATSU, JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET, AND LARS VOGT TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).