Yundi (born Li Yundi on October 7, 1982, in Chongqing, China; he now performs under the mononym “Yundi”) studied at the Shenzhen Arts School from 1994 to 2000 and then at the Hochschule für Musik Hannover in Germany under Arie Vardi from 2001 to 2006. He obtained Hong Kong citizenship in 2006.

At 18, Yundi became the youngest-ever winner of the International Chopin Piano Competition (2000) and the first Chinese pianist to win it in 15 years, subsequently becoming the first Chinese pianist signed to Deutsche Grammophon (2001); he later served as the competition’s youngest-ever juror in 2015. He was detained by Beijing police in 2021 on prostitution allegations and removed from the Chinese Musicians’ Association — a U.S. Department of Justice document later suggested the derogatory information behind this may have been fabricated — and he resumed his international performing career in 2023, including an Australian comeback tour and a return to Carnegie Hall.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yundi