George Li you performed what I believe is perhaps the MOST romantic piano concerto ever written. This will be a cornerstone piece in your repertoire because at the core and essence of your playing is your tremendous heart and your deeply felt and expressed love of musicmaking. Shine on, George! Shine on and on! You make the world a better place to live in.
Superb George. You have amazing talent. I will be watching your progress as a professional musician with keen anticipation....Oh and thanks for the friend invite !!
Forget the orchestra and listen to George, who plays the music as it's written without exaggerations, uncalled for rubatos, and other excesses thought by many as evidence ot "romanticism." Any doubt about this young man's talent has been amply dispelled by the international team of judges at the recently concluded 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia who awarded George top honors. Need I say more?
I have'nt words to say that I'm feeling. Tremendous George. That I like this is your whole implication in your play and your full symbiosis with orchestra. This dialogue suits me very much. Very,very,very beautiful. Thank you for this wonderful concert (and thanks to orchestra and conductor to accept for sharing).
Oh, George, I've been eager for this video to be posted for months :). I have (from a cello section) been honored to "dance" with the piano for this piece of heaven! It's one of those pieces that gets into your heart and never leaves, isn't it. Thanks for sharing! Hope you will be able to perform it again someday with an even better orchestra!
i appreciate it! i don't care about the strings or performance, i do care about their efforts! i applaud them more, and i hope no haters around, 3 dislikes, its ok, you are too few
I cannot tell a lie except for this one LI......have not heard this remarkable talent in a very, very long time. This young man will go down in history as one of the absolute greats of all time. And that is a very, very big LI.......
Proficiency is one thing (and which you possess in spades, as is obvious), but to have such passion at this stage in your career is mind-blowing, honestly. Rachmaninov has echoed my understanding of love, pain, and beauty nearly all my life, and it is an honour to hear you play it. Thank you for sharing what you do and know with us. (You might want to credit the symphony, though I must admit you outshine it considerably ;) )
Wonderful, George! My favourite composer. This a a passionate performance. I hope someone will sponsor you to enter the next Leeds International Piano Competition here in UK.
Very well-perfomed by George Li. It's time a record label picked him. He sounds ready for the big leagues and ready to play with a professional orchestra. Bravo!
So glad I listened to this. At the start your low Fs rang like bells - magical. The orchestra held you back a little at the climax in the first movement and at the end but we know what you meant. You are confidently articulate. You must feel the weight of expectation on you. All the best.
Absolutely incredible...I am not just talking about evidence of the musical or technical ability to interpret the music at this amazing level (at this age) but the sensuous interaction between the piano and the orchestra showing profound understanding and awareness of the composer's intention. The encore pieces were well chosen and well performed. No teacher can give to a pupil what God has not given him or her in the first place.
Its not the most beautiful rach 2 ive ever heard but its pretty amazing for a kid of his age to perform a rachmaninov piano concerto. I hope to hear more from you kid, bravo. Some day maybe you can reach the master of rach, vladimir horowitz, a great friend of rachmaninov himself
The orchestra sound here is not too great, but I tend to blame TH-cam's compression for that. You maintain a blistering pace from beginning to end, relaxing at the most important moments. Brilliant! This is first class work, George. Are you scheduled to perform this again soon?
This is wonderful!!! I think one time you should read the opening of the second movement as you would Bach, because maybe it can be simpler. I love your playing, and I hope you will perform this piece many more times soon!
Thank you, The only times I have broken piano strings whilst playing were those times when I was completely relaxed. It happened once when playing the Revolutionary Study, and once when I played the very last notes of the Scherzo in Bb minor. The bottom Db went off with a BANG. Most spectacular, a fitting finnish to a marvellous piece!!
Most recordings of this concerto (my alltime favorite) are at a slower tempo to showcase the beauty of the harmony and many many wonderful notes. George played it pretty much spot-on the tempo I've heard Rachmaninoff record it at. Kudos to George and the orchestra.
quelle flamme ! tout y est et d'abord un toucher romantique plein et profond de chaque note vous rejoignez les très grands richter janis continuez ainsi
@planethello From a physics, mechanical, and biomechanical perspective, it doesn't take a whole lot of force to depress a piano note, even for the loudest fortes due to levers in the grand piano. So even if let's say he was 130 pounds or 59 kg, not a lot of mass needs to be recruited. What's impressive in this case is the muscle control and endurance he has.
The power generated by a pianist in the loudest passages, is achieved by relaxation and not by muscular strength! The same is true of a karate blow, or a boxer's knockout punch! Tension has to be avoided at all costs in order to perform on any musical instrument.Tension reduces velocity, and interferes with the flow of nervous energy to the extremities. It prevents rapid articulation. People say of musicians: "He / she makes it look so easy!" Well it is easy, because they are relaxed!
An excellent performance.I am happy that he plays the opening chords simultaneously as written, and as the composer does on the Naxos reissue.(not the RCA)
carl armstrong Carl, we meet again! Seems like he has the hand size to accomplish the full chord presentation. I didn't. I have the span, but short size fingers. I Loved Rachmaninoff, but specialized in Schumann, not so bad. Interestingly, young mister Li wanted to play the composer's name (the last 4 chords/octaves.."Rach-ma-ni-noff" stretched out, but the orchestra would have none of it. As you well know, The last 3 concerti, Rachmaninoff "spells" his name musically at the very end. Perhaps I was a bit judgmental of young Master Li's performance, but I had JUST previously listened/watched Li's performance of the wonderful Saint Saens No2 (at age 12) with the very fine Venezuelan youth orchestra. As good as it gets, regardless of comparison.
Robert Jason I have been listening to Rachmaninoff's Concerto's for over 50 years and I did not realize the interesting way Rachmaninoff spells his name musically towards the end.Be sure and listen to the Naxos and not the RCA transfers of Rachmaninoffs 1929 recording of the 2nd Concerto.Recording engineer Mark Obert Thorne makes use of alternate takes made during the original 1929 sessions.The opening chords in the Naxos transfers are simultaneous where as in the RCA transfers they are rolled.
It becomes very clear that all members of the orchestra switched their instruments among each other - just in order to get a greater fun out of it!!! That's how you can explain the ...errr... cacophonia of the orchestra
The production designer should be taken out and shot as should the camera operator and the sound tech. The kid's an amazing talent, an absolute genius but the poor guy got stuck with the Podunk Chamber Pot Orchestra and a bunch of ho-dads and hillbillies screwing up the technical production aspects. George is in profile while playing so it would be nice to see him face-on when taking his bows, but no, the camera pulls back so we're looking at the backs of people's heads in the dark. For the finale of the third movement, the keyboard wizardry should have been front and centre but there again, the camera pulls back into the darkness and a bevy of heads. George needs a competent artistic manager who can ensure that the production quality matches George's talent before any recording is done.
wow dude you're very energetic haha. Of course the acoustics and sound/video is cringey... BUT this was in 2011 lol. And I'm guessing the one shooting this video is probably George's dad/mom?
To Borretski...thank you so much for your comment. I could not agree more. I have been perching that same message to all my students, but many of them have been ruined by previous teachers with bad techniques.
wow, is it supposed to sound so false around 23:50? sounds like every violin plays a different version of the written note... but Li did a gread job, amazing how he gives meaning to the music!
Yea, if you are a serious musician/serious student, your teacher will always make you memorize music that you play. It is a skill that is built at a very young age, and a contributor to why musicians are usually good at retaining/memorizing information at school. I have never seen any performer (with exception of accompanists) that use music when they perform. They almost always have the music memorized. (Rote memorization is a really bad thing however...)
This is a community [unpaid] orchestra, not a professional orchestra, so forgive the mistakes as very few of us perform for a living.. We were very happy to have George play with us, and the members of our community in the audience loved his performance.
i TRULY BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION AND THIS YOUNG MAN IS TRULY THE REINCARNATION OF THE GREAT WILLIAM KAPELL WHO WAS TRAGICALLY KILLED AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE IN A PLANE ACCIDENT.
George Li you performed what I believe is perhaps the MOST romantic piano concerto ever written. This will be a cornerstone piece in your repertoire because at the core and essence of your playing is your tremendous heart and your deeply felt and expressed love of musicmaking. Shine on, George! Shine on and on! You make the world a better place to live in.
Encore is Consolation No. 3 in D-Flat Major by Franz Liszt, in case anyone was wondering.
I am Russian pianist and George's playing made me cry, it so Russian in performance, I don't know how he gets it emotionally! Great Great job!
George won 2nd prize at Tchaikovsky piano competition in Moscow.
Superb George. You have amazing talent. I will be watching your progress as a professional musician with keen anticipation....Oh and thanks for the friend invite !!
Forget the orchestra and listen to George, who plays the music as it's written without exaggerations, uncalled for rubatos, and other excesses thought by many as evidence ot "romanticism." Any doubt about this young man's talent has been amply dispelled by the international team of judges at the recently concluded 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia who awarded George top honors. Need I say more?
He didn’t win the first prize, did he?
I have'nt words to say that I'm feeling. Tremendous George. That I like this is your whole implication in your play and your full symbiosis with orchestra. This dialogue suits me very much. Very,very,very beautiful. Thank you for this wonderful concert (and thanks to orchestra and conductor to accept for sharing).
that was 45min of pure bliss.
Bravo to George, and the entire orchestra!!
Please, please, please never lose the passion you played with, George Li. I look forward to hearing more of you in the future.
An extremely talented and musical young man! He plays way beyond his years. Congratulations on an extraordinary job!!
Rachmaninoff would be very happy with George's rendition. Amazing, really!
Oh, George, I've been eager for this video to be posted for months :). I have (from a cello section) been honored to "dance" with the piano for this piece of heaven! It's one of those pieces that gets into your heart and never leaves, isn't it.
Thanks for sharing! Hope you will be able to perform it again someday with an even better orchestra!
Wonderful performance, look forward to listening to more of your music.
i appreciate it! i don't care about the strings or performance, i do care about their efforts! i applaud them more, and i hope no haters around, 3 dislikes, its ok, you are too few
I cannot tell a lie except for this one LI......have not heard this remarkable talent in a very, very long time. This young man will go down in history as one of the absolute greats of all time. And that is a very, very big LI.......
@mcrettable
Last encore piece: Scarlatti Sonata in D minor K. 141
Proficiency is one thing (and which you possess in spades, as is obvious), but to have such passion at this stage in your career is mind-blowing, honestly. Rachmaninov has echoed my understanding of love, pain, and beauty nearly all my life, and it is an honour to hear you play it. Thank you for sharing what you do and know with us. (You might want to credit the symphony, though I must admit you outshine it considerably ;) )
Wonderful, George! My favourite composer. This a a passionate performance. I hope someone will sponsor you to enter the next Leeds International Piano Competition here in UK.
Very well-perfomed by George Li. It's time a record label picked him. He sounds ready for the big leagues and ready to play with a professional orchestra. Bravo!
You are genius !! I'm looking forward the recital in Japan in the near future.
Thank you George !..and Mr Li..:-)
One of my favourite pieces !
I'll post it on my Facebook page for all my friends to ENJOY !
So glad I listened to this. At the start your low Fs rang like bells - magical. The orchestra held you back a little at the climax in the first movement and at the end but we know what you meant. You are confidently articulate. You must feel the weight of expectation on you. All the best.
Absolutely incredible...I am not just talking about evidence of the musical or technical ability to interpret the music at this amazing level (at this age) but the sensuous interaction between the piano and the orchestra showing profound understanding and awareness of the composer's intention. The encore pieces were well chosen and well performed. No teacher can give to a pupil what God has not given him or her in the first place.
Thank you so much George. Wonderful to listen to as always. Many thanks to your father for the upload as well. Best wishes, Jim
WOW!!! great work .. ♥
Thank you very much ..
many dear greetings
Doris
from germany
Saw him with Detroit Symphony last month.. breathtaking!
Admirable la sensibilidad,la maestría de George LI........
Its not the most beautiful rach 2 ive ever heard but its pretty amazing for a kid of his age to perform a rachmaninov piano concerto. I hope to hear more from you kid, bravo. Some day maybe you can reach the master of rach, vladimir horowitz, a great friend of rachmaninov himself
I've been hoping for a long time that you would upload this.. listening to it now!!!
Bravo to you George and all the orchestra.
The orchestra sound here is not too great, but I tend to blame TH-cam's compression for that. You maintain a blistering pace from beginning to end, relaxing at the most important moments. Brilliant! This is first class work, George. Are you scheduled to perform this again soon?
This is wonderful!!! I think one time you should read the opening of the second movement as you would Bach, because maybe it can be simpler. I love your playing, and I hope you will perform this piece many more times soon!
Always a delight to hear your playing. Look forward to a tour to England sometime soon !
Wonderful both music and rendition.
I am speechless!
Congratulations George.
My jaw dropped when I saw this in my subscriptions box....
What a wonderful performance, George!
Played at such a young age..... I am left SPEECHLESS!!!!!!
Thank you, The only times I have broken piano strings whilst playing were those times when I was completely relaxed. It happened once when playing the Revolutionary Study, and once when I played the very last notes of the Scherzo in Bb minor. The bottom Db went off with a BANG. Most spectacular, a fitting finnish to a marvellous piece!!
I am speechless.
Amazing! Congratulations, George! :)
Fabulous, George 🎹😍😍
truly, truly marvelous. I had chills during every stroke in the beginning.
WOAH!! I wasn't expecting the Rachmaninoff concerto. Amazing o.o
Absolutely beautiful Thank you so much
Most recordings of this concerto (my alltime favorite) are at a slower tempo to showcase the beauty of the harmony and many many wonderful notes. George played it pretty much spot-on the tempo I've heard Rachmaninoff record it at. Kudos to George and the orchestra.
BRAVO!! You are great, George!
quelle flamme ! tout y est et d'abord un toucher romantique plein et profond de chaque note
vous rejoignez les très grands richter janis
continuez ainsi
@planethello From a physics, mechanical, and biomechanical perspective, it doesn't take a whole lot of force to depress a piano note, even for the loudest fortes due to levers in the grand piano. So even if let's say he was 130 pounds or 59 kg, not a lot of mass needs to be recruited. What's impressive in this case is the muscle control and endurance he has.
Adaggio dal Concerto n* 2 de Rachmaninoff, mi lascia nele nuvole. Grazie mille
Unbelievable technique!
So beautifully played!!!!!
The brass and the woodswind are a last-minute donation given by the nearby elementary school orchestra... playing all a prima vista
Amazing,George......
Ich kann mich nur immer wiederholen. Ein super Pianist.
Gruß Bert
Thank you George :) bless you
Pianist, your hard working result is beutifull!
The power generated by a pianist in the loudest passages, is achieved by relaxation and not by muscular strength! The same is true of a karate blow, or a boxer's knockout punch! Tension has to be avoided at all costs in order to perform on any musical instrument.Tension reduces velocity, and interferes with the flow of nervous energy to the extremities. It prevents
rapid articulation. People say of musicians: "He / she makes it look so easy!" Well it is easy, because they are relaxed!
Absoloutely beautiful.
cogratulations to everyone for the effort..
Beautiful !
One of my favorites :)
Bravo!
bravo!!! Gorge ;-)
Wonderful performance!
An excellent performance.I am happy that he plays the opening chords simultaneously as written, and as the composer does on the Naxos reissue.(not the RCA)
carl armstrong Carl, we meet again! Seems like he has the hand size to accomplish the full chord presentation. I didn't. I have the span, but short size fingers. I Loved Rachmaninoff, but specialized in Schumann, not so bad.
Interestingly, young mister Li wanted to play the composer's name (the last 4 chords/octaves.."Rach-ma-ni-noff" stretched out, but the orchestra would have none of it. As you well know, The last 3 concerti, Rachmaninoff "spells" his name musically at the very end.
Perhaps I was a bit judgmental of young Master Li's performance, but I had JUST previously listened/watched Li's performance of the wonderful Saint Saens No2 (at age 12) with the very fine Venezuelan youth orchestra. As good as it gets, regardless of comparison.
Robert Jason I have been listening to Rachmaninoff's Concerto's for over 50 years and I did not realize the interesting way Rachmaninoff spells his name musically towards the end.Be sure and listen to the Naxos and not the RCA transfers of Rachmaninoffs 1929 recording of the 2nd Concerto.Recording engineer Mark Obert Thorne makes use of alternate takes made during the original 1929 sessions.The opening chords in the Naxos transfers are simultaneous where as in the RCA transfers they are rolled.
Great job George!!
The orchestra's intonation from 23.25 is painful to listen to.
It becomes very clear that all members of the orchestra switched their instruments among each other - just in order to get a greater fun out of it!!! That's how you can explain the ...errr... cacophonia of the orchestra
The production designer should be taken out and shot as should the camera operator and the sound tech. The kid's an amazing talent, an absolute genius but the poor guy got stuck with the Podunk Chamber Pot Orchestra and a bunch of ho-dads and hillbillies screwing up the technical production aspects. George is in profile while playing so it would be nice to see him face-on when taking his bows, but no, the camera pulls back so we're looking at the backs of people's heads in the dark. For the finale of the third movement, the keyboard wizardry should have been front and centre but there again, the camera pulls back into the darkness and a bevy of heads.
George needs a competent artistic manager who can ensure that the production quality matches George's talent before any recording is done.
WOW!!! Easy, easy on both sides. The kid is as far from genius as the orchestra from Podunk Chamber Pot.
You are a bit obsessed.
Exact quel dommage pour cet orchestre et la qualité d'enregistrement car ça gâche les qualités exceptionnelles de George !
yogiperogy, I agree!
wow dude you're very energetic haha. Of course the acoustics and sound/video is cringey... BUT this was in 2011 lol. And I'm guessing the one shooting this video is probably George's dad/mom?
To Borretski...thank you so much for your comment. I could not agree more. I have been perching that same message to all my students, but many of them have been ruined by previous teachers with bad techniques.
Stupendous playing. Where does one so slight get the strength from to play like that. Perhaps he does weight training!
Awesome job man
BRAVO! ***** great job
Magnifique.
superb!
Im sure i seen this child in london playing Rachmaninoff at the barbican 4 years ago ?
I love it! ^_^
@Pianoloverok Thanks ^^
The beginning of the 2nd movement reminds me of 'Moonlight Sonata'.
love it
wow, is it supposed to sound so false around 23:50? sounds like every violin plays a different version of the written note...
but Li did a gread job, amazing how he gives meaning to the music!
Yea, if you are a serious musician/serious student, your teacher will always make you memorize music that you play. It is a skill that is built at a very young age, and a contributor to why musicians are usually good at retaining/memorizing information at school. I have never seen any performer (with exception of accompanists) that use music when they perform. They almost always have the music memorized. (Rote memorization is a really bad thing however...)
i like this.
@Violina723 this is why it is important to know a thing from the start, unlike the other haters, they keep on babbling without even knowing
stunning. also, considering your age, SERIOUSLY IMPRESSIVE
Melancholy and exuberance the Russian style as it should be. Well done!
Bravo!!!!!!!!!!
What was the last encore piece that he played? It sounds very familiar!
Impressive!
No no, I know that one obviously...he played more than one encore piece and the last one wasn't Flight of the Bumble Bee
God this kid is a genius.
Great job, but what happened at the end?
The orchestra did a very good job also!
WOW !...this is great ...♪ ♫ ♩ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯
WHY IS HE PLAYING WITH THIS ORCHESTRA....
This is a community [unpaid] orchestra, not a professional orchestra, so forgive the mistakes as very few of us perform for a living.. We were very happy to have George play with us, and the members of our community in the audience loved his performance.
"Flight of bumble bee", Rimski-Korsakov
What's the last encore piece?
Sorry, that's not the last.
Last i don't recognize
i TRULY BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION AND THIS YOUNG MAN IS TRULY THE REINCARNATION OF THE GREAT WILLIAM KAPELL WHO WAS TRAGICALLY KILLED AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE IN A PLANE ACCIDENT.
molto bueno,je je
Is this a record Guiness?