Zhenni Li-Cohen’s riveting presence and passionate performances have brought  audiences to their feet around the world. Hailed for her “torrents of voluptuous  sound... Li-Cohen impresses as an artist of tremendous conviction, who fascinates even  as she provokes“ by Gramophone Magazine, “a thrillingly good pianist” by The New  Yorker and for her "...big, gorgeous tone and a mesmerizing touch" by The  Philadelphia Inquirer, Ms. Li-Cohen has performed in such notable venues as Carnegie  Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and  WQXR’s Greene Space in New York, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Performing Arts Center,  Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian Museum, San Jose’s California Theater, the Helsinki  Music Center in Finland, the Grieghallen in Norway and the Berliner Philharmonie in  Germany.  

Upcoming engagements include concerto appearances with the Chamber Orchestra of  Philadelphia, the National Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, the Fairbanks, Johns  Hopkins, Bucks County and Knoxville Symphony Orchestras, and recitals in New York,  Chicago, Philadelphia, Alaska, South Carolina, and Rhode Island. Deeply committed to  the art of recording, Ms. Li-Cohen is passionate about memorializing lesser known  works and sharing them with a greater audience as well as traversing the heights of the  familiar giants of the repertoire. Fresh off the heels of her critically acclaimed debut  album Mélancolie, she is currently working on three different recording projects with  the Steinway & Sons label. In Une Lettre, she delves into the music of Sergei  Bortkiewicz, a Ukrainian/Polish composer-pianist of the late 19th century whose life was  constantly plagued by the horrors of war. Legends of the Phoenix Queen came about  from Ms. Li-Cohen’s desire to reconnect with her musical heritage, exploring traditional  and contemporary Chinese works inspired by folk songs, stories and historic  instruments. In Beethoven’s Apotheosis, the great master’s final piano sonata is  juxtaposed with the iconic “Hammerklavier” sonata and 32 Variations.  

Her difficult early years did not portend a remarkable career. After a year of study with  her childhood teacher, she was rejected for lack of talent at the ripe old age of seven  years. Intuiting her passion and promise, her father took charge of her music education,  learning the piano himself in the process. Eventually, at age eleven, she moved away  from home to continue her piano studies while her parents remained behind, working 

to support her education. Alone in her rental apartment, she spent her free time  expressing her emotions through the piano and reading books endlessly. Music was  her only refuge, and her prowess soared, until at age sixteen, she emigrated to the  United States and was accepted to study at the Juilliard School shortly thereafter,  earning Bachelors and Masters degrees in piano performance. She spent her summers  in France, leading to a great love and appreciation for French music, particularly that of  Claude Debussy, whose Préludes were eventually the subject of her dissertation. After  further studies at Yale University, she pursued her Doctoral degree at McGill University  in Montréal and began concertizing in earnest, earning worldwide recognition as the  winner of the 2017 New York Concert Artists Worldwide Debut Audition, Astral Artist’s  2016 National Auditions, the Grieg International Competition in Norway, and the  unanimous 1st Prize at the Concours Musical de France. Her performances have been  broadcast internationally on Canada National CBC Radio, Chicago’s WFMT Public  Radio, Iowa Public Radio, New York’s WQXR, Norwegian National Radio: NPK P2/ NPK  Klassisk, Philadelphia’s WWFM and WRTI, Texas Public Radio, and West Virginia’s  WVTF.  

In addition to her solo career, she is a deeply devoted chamber musician. She has  collaborated with members of the Aeolus, Borromeo, Jasper, Hugo Wolf, and New  Orford quartets and has performed at numerous chamber music festivals including  

Classical Bridge, Fontainebleau Festival, Kneisel Hall, Methow Valley Chamber Music  Festival, Music@Menlo, and Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. Her passion for chamber  music led her to co-found “The Last Soirée”, a multi-genre performing arts series which  launched in New York in 2018, and ”Fishin' in C Chamber Music Series." a diverse  chamber concert series in Philadelphia with the aim of bringing music to underserved  areas.  

She is immensely grateful to be able to count among her artistic influences many  incredible teachers and mentors, including Peter Frankl, Richard Goode, Joseph  Kalichstein, Stéphane Lemelin, Seymour Lipkin, Robert McDonald, Mark Salman, Craig  Sheppard, and Vera Wilson.  

In her spare time, she enjoys learning new languages, looking forward to becoming  pentalingual, traveling and meeting people of different cultures.  

Zhenni Li-Cohen is a Steinway Artist and is proud to be represented by Astral Artists.