Yundi Xu

What can one say about interpretations that reach perfection, both technically and artistically!’ exclaims Pionteks of Bayreuth, admiring Yundi Xu’s ‘perfect control of sound and rhythm, along with her meticulous colors and phrasing.’ This was in reference to the Chinese pianist’s performance of Ravel’s Miroirs at the Steingraeber Kammermusiksaal in Bayreuth. Accepted into the Conservatoire de Paris at only fourteen and into the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin for Konzertexamen at twenty-one, Yundi Xu has already established herself on the international stage. With dedication and sensitivity, she performs as both a soloist and a chamber musician, collaborating with leading orchestras, venues, and festivals worldwide—from the Konzerthausorchester at Berlin Konzerthaus to the Tanglewood Music Festival and Aspen Music Festival.

Critics and audiences alike praise her mastery of the instrument, combined with a ‘refreshing sensitivity’ (Radio China International) that allows her to brilliantly embody Romantic, Modern, and Contemporary repertoires. Her artistry has earned her invitations to prominent international festivals such as the Belt and Road International Music Festival, Young Euro Classic, Moscow Welcomes Friends International Festival, Les Journées Ravel, and Les Nuits d'Été de Mâcon. Strengthening her presence in Contemporary music, Yundi Xu has premiered works globally, including pieces by Andrew Hamilton and Nathan Shields at Tanglewood Music Festival. Balancing ‘intensity’ and ‘refinement’, ‘whether playing Satie, Debussy, or Ravel, she always infuses their works with distinctive, well-balanced pedaling’ (Der Tagesspiegel).

Her orchestral collaborations have included the Konzerthausorchester under Leonard Elschenbroich, the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, and the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, along with the Orquesta Sinfónica Provincial de Málaga, Lanzhou Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Namur Chamber Orchestra, Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Filarmonica Pugliese. Working with distinguished conductors such as Chen Xieyang, Yang, Zhang Yi, Fuad Ibrahimov, Ayrton Desimpelaere, Li Biao, Víctor Eloy López Cerezo, and Giovanni Minafra, her career has brought her to eminent concert halls including the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Salle Gaveau, Petit Palais, and La Seine Musicale in Paris, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Xinghai Concert Hall in Guangzhou, the Meng Minwei Concert Hall at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Hangzhou Theatre, Shenzhen Concert Hall, the Van Cliburn Concert Hall in Fort Worth, the Eslite Performance Hall and National Concert Hall in Taipei, as well as the Prince Radziwiłł’s Hunting Palace in Antonin. Her recordings of works by Chopin, Clara Schumann, and Ravel have been featured on radio stations Musiq3 (Belgium), Deutschlandradio, RBB Kultur, and Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (Germany).

Introduced to the piano at three under the guidance of her pianist grandfather and aunt, Yundi Xu won her first competition—MIDO—at just four. She obtained dual bachelor’s degrees in piano and chamber music in the classes of Alain Planès, Emmanuel Strosser, and Maria Belooussova, followed by a master’s degree at nineteen in the class of Frank Braley from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where she also spent a year on an Erasmus exchange at the Mozarteum University Salzburg in the class of Jacques Rouvier. She later earned a Master of Arts from London’s Royal Academy of Music in the class of Christopher Elton, where she was a recipient of the Benjamin Dale and Frederic Jackson Awards, before completing the Konzertexamen at Berlin’s Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in the class of Eldar Nebolsin. Further honing her craft, she has attended renowned masterclasses at the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, the Gijón International Piano Festival, the Internationale Konzertarbeitswochen in Goslar, and was a member of the Ravel cohort at the Philippe Jaroussky Academy (2020). She is a member of the 2026 cohort of the Piano Lab at OAcademy, under the guidance of Gabriela Montero. She has worked with notable professors including Paul Lewis, Stephen Hough, Arie Vardi, Boris Slutsky, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Gary Graffman, Stephen Kovacevich, Dang Thai Son, Kirill Gerstein, Meng-Chieh Liu, Robert McDonald, among others. She was also a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School (supported by the Polonsky Foundation) and at Tanglewood Music Center, and participated in PianoTexas, Adamant, and SICPP (USA).

An award-winner at multiple international competitions, Yundi Xu claimed 1st Prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition ‘For Young Pianists’ (Poland, 2013), the Special Prize from the Vladimir Spivakov Foundation at the Olga Kern International Piano Competition (USA, 2016), 1st Prize at the Festival Internacional Piano Málaga Competition (Spain, 2022), 2nd Prize at the Oeiras International Piano Competition (Portugal, 2022), as well as 3rd Prize and the Press Award at the Colafemmina International Piano Competition (Italy, 2022). She was a quarterfinalist at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition (Switzerland, 2025).

From her early achievements to performances on the world’s leading stages, Yundi Xu embodies ‘the intelligence of her phrasing’ and places ‘technique always at the service of music’ (Musiq3).

Yundi is a Young Steinway Artist.