Sanford-Hill Piano Series presents George Li

"Li commanded the work from his first chord, coming in strong after the orchestra’s warm, bold introduction, skillfully navigating the shifts from virtuosic passages to lyrical. His sense of phrasing was judicious, with poise and sensitivity in the delicate lines contrasting to a pointed peaking in the more technically demanding runs... Applause erupted on the final cadence, the audience on its feet for a justly impressive display." – Kansas City Star, January 2017

"What is astonishing, setting aside impeccable technique, is Li’s instinctive assimilation of style. He plays like a great pianist at the apogeic intersection of middle-aged vigor and the wisdom of maturity." -Tony Schemmer, The Boston Musical Intelligencer

Praised by the Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace far beyond his years. He captured the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition and was the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant.

In 2005, 9-year old George made his first orchestral debut as a soloist with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra. Thereafter, he has frequently appeared as a soloist with many symphony orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Pro Musica, Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, Nordic Chamber Orchestra (Sweden), the Norrkoping Orchestra (Sweden), Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Symphony Orchestra, Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra “I Solisti di Perugia” (Italy), Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Waltham Symphony Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Boise Philharmonic Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestra at Temple Square, the Longwood Symphony Orchestra, the Stamford Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (Canada), and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Recital highlights include Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, the Mariinsky Theatre, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Ravinia Festival, Lanaudiere Festival, Edinburgh Festival and Montreaux Festival. An active chamber musician, George has performed chamber music with James Ehnes, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Benjamin Beilman, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrandez and Daniel Lozakovich.

George is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist, with his debut album releasing in October 2017 which was recorded live from the Mariinsky.

George Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinway Hall at the age of ten and in 2011, performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among George’s many prizes, he was the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award. George is currently in the Harvard University / New England Conservatory joint program, studying with Wha Kyung Byun.