Violinist Christian Li Becomes Decca Classics’ Youngest Ever Signing
12-year-old violinist Christian Li becomes Decca Classics’ youngest signing and releases his first single Bazzini’s ‘La Ronde Des Lutins’.
Decca Classics has announced its youngest ever signing – 12-year-old Australian-Chinese virtuoso violinist Christian Li. Watch Christian perform his first single – Bazzini’s fiendishly difficult showpiece ‘La Ronde Des Lutins’.
Christian Li was born in Melbourne in 2007 and first picked up a violin aged five. He came to international attention in 2018 when he became the youngest-ever winner of the Menuhin Competition, winning the joint Junior 1st Prize in Geneva, aged only ten. Christian performed a movement from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with a professional orchestra and the video of his performance has received millions of views on YouTube.
Christian Li recorded the fiendishly difficult ‘La Ronde Des Lutins’ (Dance Of The Goblins) by Italian composer and violinist Antonio Bazzini, brimming with technical complexities, for his first Decca Classics single. World-renowned violinists including Itzhak Perlman, Christian’s hero Maxim Vengerov and Yehudi Menuhin, celebrated for their skill and soloistic capabilities, have also recorded this work.
“I’m so excited to have signed to Decca Classics”
“I’m so excited to have signed to Decca Classics just after my 12th birthday, and to be releasing my very first recording! I love playing the violin, and really hope you enjoy listening,” said Christian in-between his lessons at school.
Helen Lewis, Executive Producer at Decca Classics, added, “It’s wonderful to welcome Christian to the Decca Classics family, as he follows in the footsteps of the many great international violinists we have championed throughout our label’s ninety year history. Christian’s musicianship and technical mastery of his instrument at such a young age is truly astounding, and all of us at Decca look forward to supporting him on the exciting journey ahead.”
At the age of nine Christian Li won First Prize in the violin category of the Young Artist Semper Music International Competition in Italy. He has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in the American Protégé Showcase 10th Anniversary concert. In 2014 he won First Prize in the “Golden Beijing” violin competition in China and in 2013, aged just five, Christian starred in a TV commercial in China that features him playing the violin.
In 2019 Christian made acclaimed debuts with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, at the Sydney Opera House, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. He also gave UK debut recitals at the Cheltenham, Harrogate and Gower International Festivals and performed in Tel Aviv and Norway. Future performances include recitals and performances with orchestras in Australia, Europe, Israel and the USA, and an invitation to the 2020 Australian Festival of Chamber Music where he will perform with British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Christian Li finds any nerves disappear once he steps out onto the stage and dreams of being a soloist with the world’s greatest orchestras.
Christian studies at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne and plays on a rare 3/4 size violin made by Dom Nicolo Amati in 1733. He will release further tracks throughout 2020 to be announced soon.
Christian Li’s single ‘La Ronde Des Lutins’ is out now and can be bought here.
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