Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses an effortless grace, poised authority and brilliant virtuosity far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation and performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, such as Dudamel, Gaffigan, Gergiev, Gimeno, Honeck, Orozco-Estrada, Petrenko, Robertson, Slatkin, Temirkanov, Tilson Thomas, Long Yu and Xian Zhang.
Li’s 2023–24 season begins with a recital at the Grand Teton Music Festival, followed by his debut with the Aula Simfonia in Jakarta, Indonesia and conductor Jahja Ling. He embarks on an extensive tour in China, including recital and concerto performances in Kunming, Beijing and Shanghai. In Europe, Li presents recital programs in Viersen, Baden, Elmau and Stuttgart, and he debuts with the Prague Philharmonia in Prague and Ljubljana. U.S. performances include engagements with the Cincinnati and Milwaukee symphony orchestras and the Florida Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Chicago Sinfonietta, as well as recitals across the country from California to Florida. A committed collaborator, Li returns to the ECHO series in El Cajon, CA with the Dover Quartet and San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall with violinist Stella Chen.
Recent concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam, Oslo, St. Petersburg and Buffalo philharmonics; the San Francisco, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dallas, Tokyo, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney, Nashville, New Jersey, New World, North Carolina, Pacific, Valencia, Montreal and Baltimore symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia, DSO Berlin, Orchestra National de Lyon and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège in Belgium. His eight-concert tour of Germany with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra included performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie am Gasteig Munich and the Stuttgart Liederhalle. His collaboration with the Mariinsky Orchestra included performances at the Paris Philharmonie, Luxembourg Philharmonie, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, Graffenegg Festival and in various venues throughout Russia.
In recital, Li has previously performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, Symphony Center in Chicago, the Mariinsky Theatre, Elbphilharmonie, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Poly Theater and Amici della Musica Firenze, as well as appearances at major festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence, and Montreux Festival. An active chamber musician, Li has performed alongside Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Kian Soltani.
Li is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist, and his debut recital album, recorded live from the Mariinsky, was released in October 2017. His second recording for the label features Liszt solo works and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1, which was recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic and was released in October 2019. His third album with the label, which will include solo pieces by Schumann, Ravel and Stravinsky, is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2024.
Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinway Hall at the age of 10 and, in 2011, he performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among Li’s many prizes, he was the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award, and the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory, continuing to work with Wha Kyung Byun. When not playing piano, Li is an avid reader and photographer, as well as a sports fanatic.
Photo Credit: Paul Marc Mitchell