Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command, and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition and being named the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation as he performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, such as Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, Valery Gergiev, Gustavo Gimeno, Manfred Honeck, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Kirill Petrenko, David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Spivakov, Michael Tilson Thomas, Long Yu, and Xian Zhang.
Highlights of the 2021–22 season include orchestral engagements with the Nashville, San Diego, New World, North Carolina, Pacific, and Valencia Symphonies, as well as the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. In addition, Mr. Li will perform recitals presented by the Chicago Symphony, University of Washington in Seattle, The Cliburn Foundation in Ft. Worth, Emory University in Atlanta, and StuttgartKonzert in Germany.
Recent concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam, Oslo, St. Petersburg, and Buffalo Philharmonics; the San Francisco, Tokyo, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney, Montreal, Baltimore, Utah, and Pittsburgh Symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia, DSO Berlin, and Orchestra National de Lyon. 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. Mr. Li frequently appears with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, including performances at the Paris Philharmonie, Luxembourg Philharmonie, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, Verbier Festival, Grafenegg Festival, and in various venues, such as the Mariinsky Concert Hall, and others throughout Russia. Li has also performed with major Chinese orchestras, such as the NCPA, China Philharmonia, and Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, under the baton of Long Yu and Xian Zhang.
“A bracing, fearless account…Mr. Li’s playing combined youthful abandon with utter command.”
In recital, Li performs at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, 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, Vail Festival, Seattle Music Festival, La Jolla Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence Festival, Colmar Festival, and Montreux Festival.
An active chamber musician, Li has performed alongside Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsythe, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrandez, and Daniel Lozakovich.
George Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinert Hall at the age of 10. In 2011, he performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among George Li’s many prizes and awards, he was the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the inaugural Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, and the Grand Prix Animato, as well as a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award and the 2018 Arthur Waser Prize.
George is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist. His debut album, “Live at Mariinsky,” which was recorded live at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, won an Opus Klassik award for Soloist Recording of the Year in 2018. 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 released in October 2019.
George began his piano studies at age 4 with Dorothy Shi, before continuing with Wha Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory beginning at age 12. In 2019, he completed the Harvard/New England Conservatory dual degree program, with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Music. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory. When not playing piano, George is an avid reader and photographer, as well as a sports fanatic.
Website: https://www.georgelipianist.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgelipianist
Upcoming Performances
