Marked by Schumann’s shadow: George Li at Zankel Hall

George Li

By Edward Sava-Segal, 11 December 2022

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“played with great care for contrapuntal details and daring harmonic excursions”

Reviewed at Carnegie Hall: Zankel, New York City on 9 December 2022

Schumann, Arabeske in C major, Op.18

Schumann, Davidsbündlertänze, Op.6

Ravel, Valses nobles et sentimentales

Stravinsky, Three movements from Petrushka

George Li, Piano

Narratives in motion: George Li at Caramoor

Edward Sava-Segal, 19th July

George Li's belief in storytelling shows in his Caramoor programme of Schumann, Ravel and Mussorgsky.

****1

A musical trip with Matthias Pintscher and the Kansas City Symphony

Hilary Stroh, 4th March

Matthias Pintscher revels in Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy, once described as a “bath of ice, cocaine and rainbows”, while George Li plays Ravel.

*****

George Li is a class act at the Tsinandali Festival

James Imam, 9th September

Chinese American Li, once another purveyor of typically scorching performances, is better known these days for his sensitivity and nuance.

****1

Michael Tilson Thomas Makes His Montreal Debut

Ian Cochrane, 23rd May

Michael Tilson Thomas had a spectacular debut with Montreal's Orchestre Symphonique. George Li's performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 was breath-taking.

*****

A blaze of brassy glory in Vasily Petrenko's Walton 1

Chris Garlick, 27th March

Walton’s First Symphony from 1935 rounded off the evening in a blaze of brassy glory. Petrenko approached the work in a full-blooded fashion, which didn’t always hit the mark, but was ultimately thrilling.

****1

Petrenko’s Brahms reaches Alpine summits on the Mersey

Leighton Jones, 18th October

On reaching the second instalment of his Brahms cycle, Vasily Petrenko brings a fresh breath of alpine air to Liverpool, while George Li impresses in Rachmaninov’s ever popular Second Piano Concerto.

****1

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Edward Sava-Segal

Edward has been living in New York for the last 25 years, one of the reasons being the extraordinarily rich cultural life in this city. He has studied piano and classical music in his early years. He switched later on to computer science and data architecture but he kept an unwavering interest in following the classical music phenomenon here in New York and in his travels. Edward occasionally reviews fine arts events for the most prestigious literary magazine in Romania, his home country.