Teen violinist Christian Li impresses the world, just do not call him a prodigy

Without his instrument, Li appears like a down-to-earth, friendly boy – who lights up when he talks about music. Some artists live for the audience, some for the art; Li says “absolutely both, maybe more to the music”.

There is a vital connection to concert-goers, he says. “I can feel their expression and how they feel when I play, I can feel the energy and the excitement – and a little bit of the heat.”

Pure concentration as Christian Li performs Tchikovsky’s Violin Concerto.Credit:Wayne Taylor

But there has been some heat in the last two years. Just as his star rose, the firmament locked. In a way, he says, it has given him time to take “a big breath.” Although he has had many performances and music festival performances canceled or moved, there has been an opportunity for the live music break.

“When I have a lot of performances and I tour around the world, I can only rehearse a little bit, only on the pieces I have to perform,” Li says. He has spent this time expanding his repertoire, learning and exploring new music and the history and great figures of the classical canon.

And there has also been time to concentrate on the little things: “the exercises and the weight to improve myself”. He has worked on varying his vibrato (the pulsating sound made by wiggling with a finger on the string) and on his “facility”, the great speed and accuracy of finger movements that will enable him to master the hardest pieces ( such as a Paganini) violin concerto with fast passages and big jumps and stretches that challenge even the best players). Online lessons were tough at first, he says, but he got used to it.

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And now he’s back, and he can’t wait to play at the Bowl, in front of an orchestra: its big, powerful, dramatic sound is uplifting, Li says.

“This Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is probably my favorite concert so far,” he adds. “It has very passionate and very burning and beautiful melodies. It’s really exciting to play it for the first time. ”

Classic hits at the Bowl is Monday the 6th and Tuesday the 7th of December at 7.30pm.