The Young Romantic: Portrait of Yundi

Historical Context:

When he was three-years-old, Yundi Li became so entranced with an accordion player in a mall that he refused to leave. His parents bought him an accordion and set up lessons. In less than a year, he had mastered the instrument and began winning competitions at his music school at age six.

When he was seven, he asked his parents for something that would forever change his life. He asked for piano lessons.

Li quickly proved to be a piano prodigy, winning numerous awards. His most prestigious came at just eighteen when he took first place at the Frederic Chopin Competition in Warsaw in October of 2000. He was the youngest winner and the first Chinese, and, as the competition only awards what the judges deem to have been earned, was the first person to take the gold in fifteen years.

It was here that Yundi Li caught the eye of the world. In a country where there are several thousand piano students striving to the ultimate goal of being a concert pianist, Li became a super-star and a hero. The Young Romantic: Portrait of Yundi follows the piano virtuoso as he prepares, at the age of twenty-five, for his debut performance with the Berlin Philharmonic.