Christian Li: a prodigious talent
Listening to the upcoming RNZ Concert broadcast of violinist Christian Li’s recent debut with the Auckland Philharmonia, one might forget that this dazzling Australian musician is only 14 years old. His playing is astonishingly mature and accomplished. Unsurprisingly, the list of his prizes and achievements to date is full of the phrase “youngest-ever”. Winning the junior prize at the Yehudi Menuhin Competition in Geneva aged only ten kick-started his international reputation and Decca Classics announced him as their youngest-ever signing two years later.
Two short and musically exotic French works for violin and orchestra are paired in the APO programme, the Spanish flavours and syncopated rhythms of Saint-Säens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso with Ravel’s Hungarian gypsy-inspired Tzigane. Both are full of opportunities for the violinist to capture his audience with virtuosic displays and beguiling melodies.
Asked about his repertoire in the concert, Li’s comments are as thoughtful as his performance. He enjoys, he says, how the A-minor key in Saint-Säens’ work allows him “to express the melancholy in the piece.” In Ravel’s demanding Tzigane, he revels in the wide range of violin techniques and suggests “the powerful and colourful orchestration encourages me to play with even more passion and imagination.”
Christian Li’s teacher Robin Wilson - “inspiring and guiding”
Photo credit: Pia Johnson
Li studies in Melbourne with New Zealander Dr. Robin Wilson at the Australian National Academy of Music and plays a 1737 Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin, on loan from a benefactor, with a 19th century bow by François Peccatte. As well as his own meticulous concert preparation, he explains “the violin and bow have to be in their best condition when I go onstage, so that means new bow hair and new strings before I travel.”
Li’s international schedule for 2022 is already busy, with masterclasses and chamber music coaching at the prestigious Verbier Festival in Switzerland, concerts with orchestras in Norway, Sweden and Germany and a concerto with the Melbourne Symphony in December. Wilson says his main challenge as teacher of this prodigiously talented musician is to preserve time amongst the commitments for learning and development. “I try to inspire Christian,” he says, “guide his strong intuition and add to his knowledge while allowing him to grow into an independent artist in every sense.”
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Bayley’s Great Classics ‘Christian Li Plays’ Vincent Hardaker (conductor) Christian Li (violin) recorded and broadcast by RNZ Concert in Music Alive, 2 June, 2022
This article appeared in the NZ Listener in the issue for 21 May, 2022