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Li Chuanyun performs at a Beijing concert. China Photo Press |
Li Chuanyun is one of China's top violinists, but the 33-year-old battles many demons to play his music. Chen Nan reports.
Li Chuanyun, one of China's foremost violinists, suffers from a severe lack of confidence. A few hours before his performance at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing recently, the violinist locked himself in the washroom for a long time. In a black T-shirt with the words "feel so bad today, don't disturb me" on the back, he smoked and stated: "The T-shirt speaks for me".
It was his 33rd birthday. He played Oh, My Dear Father from the opera Gianni Schicchi by Puccini and The Woman Is Fickle from the opera Rigoletto by Verdi. Though audiences were blown away by his dazzling technique and passion, he was unmoved. "Punishment and confession are my birthday gifts," he says.
Days before the show, he was at home, wearing the same T-shirt.
"I often wear this T-shirt because my heart rains a lot," he says while looking at the floor. "I know I am too moody and immature at heart. A tiny little thing will affect me, such as the weather."
Though he is reluctant to speak about his inner struggle, he displays them onstage through his music.
Born into a musical family in the coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, Li moved to Hong Kong at age 6. A child prodigy, Li began learning the violin at age 3 and won his first championship at the Beijing Youth and Junior Violin Competition at 5.
He received the top award at the Fifth Wieniawski International Youth Violin Competition at 11, becoming the youngest winner in the competition's history.
The late professor Lin Yaoji from the Central Conservatory of Music recalled the first time he listened to 6-year-old Li playing the violin.
"I didn't take it seriously at first, a 6-year-old playing (Edouard) Lalo, I just dismissed it. But once the boy started playing, I saw huge talent. I was amazed," Lin once said.
Though his talent is widely acknowledged, Li remains humble and shy.
His mother, Qiu Xingye, a violin teacher, who accompanies her son as he performs around the world, says: "He often looks at the scores alone practicing in his mind". When he feels bad after performing, he will practice over and over again.
Qiu describes his son as "an angel when he is happy but a monster when he feels down".
"He can be very talkative and make jokes but he can also be silent and sad," she says.
"I grew up in a good environment. Therefore, I am good at nothing but playing the violin," says Li.
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Li Chuanyun says he is a depressed person in life so he pours his personal emotions onto the stage. Zou Hong / China Daily |
He once joked that his mother is like Empress Dowager Cixi, taking care of and controlling everything. He is just responsible for playing music.
"I am not good-looking. I hope I can be as handsome as Lang Lang or Li Yundi," he says. "But I am just not good at managing myself."
His sentimentality extends into his performance, which has led to people giving him labels such as "crazy" and "unbridled".
When he plays with his dog, named Cello, he is as innocent as a child. However, when he plays the violin, he changes into another person. Most people have to think about the technique but he just plays.
His performances can be stormy or delicate, often characterized by an eclectic and spontaneous style.
"I am a depressed person in life so I pour my personal emotions onto the stage," Li says.
In a 2009 concert, he performed Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole with his usual arrogant and intoxicating interpretation. His wild performance even made him fall down on the stage and throw his bow.
"I guess it's just like a rock star crushing his guitar on the stage," he says.
Violin master Ruggiero Ricci once commented on Li's performance: "This boy should make a good career. He's got good breeding. He's intuitive. He has temperament. He has a lot of temperament. It's strong. And temperament is very important. So he's got all the requisites."
Li's distinctive stage image was formed while he pursued his study in the United States. In 1996, Li was admitted to the Juilliard School with a full scholarship, where he studied under the instruction of Dorothy DeLay, one of the world's most famous violin teachers, and the renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman.
However, Li found adapting into the new environment difficult. He skipped classes and would walk along the street, listen to jazz at bars and play the violin with street artists.
"If I went to study in Europe, I might be a traditional violinist because I would have been trained in the most traditional approach. But in the US, individuality was important. I was taught to display myself totally, both rationally and irrationally," says Li.
Li is best known by Chinese audiences for his violin performance in the 2002 film Together by renowned Chinese director Chen Kaige. The story explores the love between a father and a son who plays the violin. Li performed and recorded all the soundtrack's solo violin music.
Although Li's forte is classical music, he also enjoys pop and jazz. He has a picture of himself and Hong Kong star Andy Lau in his violin case. He also has the Apple label stuck to his violin to remember his idol Steve Jobs. He plays music to his beloved white bear, a plush toy that was given by his teacher in the US.
The boyish violinist has his own logic, just like switching his language from Mandarin to Cantonese and English.
"I am really not good at communicating, let alone seeking money or fame. I just maintain what I have and what I am blessed with," he says.
