Fast & Passionate
Yingdi Sun × Chengjie Zhang × Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra
Celebrating the 210th Anniversary of Franz Liszt’s Birth
Overview
On January 17, 2021, the Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra launched its new season at the Shanghai Concert Hall with a dazzling opening concert titled Speed and Passion – A Tribute to Franz Liszt at 210.
Pianist Yingdi Sun, Gold Medalist of the 7th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition (Utrecht, 2005)and the first Chinese laureate in the competition’s history, joined conductor Chengjie Zhang for a breathtaking program of Liszt’s most virtuosic and emotionally charged works.
Sun performed both of Liszt’s piano concertos — the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, S.124 and the Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major, S.125 — in a single evening, showcasing the composer’s dual nature: brilliance and depth, passion and poetry.
“At first I viewed these concertos as dazzling showcases of Lisztian virtuosity,”
says Yingdi Sun. “But over time I came to realize their meaning lies not only in perfection,
but in courage — the spirit to explore ahead of one’s time.”
Liszt’s E-flat Concerto radiates heroic grandeur and technical fireworks, while the A-major Concerto offers lyrical beauty and spiritual warmth. The concert also featured the orchestral versions of Liebesträume, S.541, and Mephisto Waltz No.1, S.514, embodying Liszt’s fiery imagination and poetic soul.
“Liszt’s poetic world differs from Chopin’s,” Sun reflects.
“Chopin’s poetry lies in atmosphere; Liszt’s, in vision —
divine, infernal, and irresistibly human.”
Program
Franz Liszt (1811–1886)
Liebesträume, S.541 (Orchestral version)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, S.124
Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S.514 (Orchestral version)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major, S.125
Date & Venue
January 17, 2021 · 19:30 · Shanghai Concert Hall
Conductor: Chengjie Zhang
Piano: Yingdi Sun
Orchestra: Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra
Artists
Yingdi Sun | Piano
Gold Medalist of the 7th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition (2005), Yingdi Sun is celebrated internationally as “The Pure Liszt” by Western media. His playing merges precision and poetry, embodying the Romantic virtuoso spirit of Liszt while infusing it with introspection and humanity.
Chengjie Zhang | Conductor
Resident Conductor of the Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra, Zhang is one of China’s most prominent young conductors and pianists. A faculty member at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, he is also guest conductor of the Gansu Opera House and the Asian Symphony Orchestra. His repertoire ranges from the Classical canon to contemporary Chinese works.
Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra
As one of China’s premier symphonic ensembles, the orchestra maintains an internationally oriented concert season and collaborates with leading artists across the world. It has performed at major national events including the G20 Summit Gala “Impressions of Hangzhou” (2016) and the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the PRC (2019).