Well-known pianist Li to play in BR April 3

• By ROBIN MILLER
• Arts writer
• Published: Mar 30, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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The accordion looked pretty cool high on the shelf.

Yundi Li describes it as interesting, but think about it. He was 4, and his eyes were filled with the keys, the buttons and the bellows in between.

His mom told him it was a musical instrument, which was even better, because it made noise when someone squeezed, then stretched it out. It made even more noise when someone pressed the buttons and keys.

And Li wanted that someone to be him.

He doesn’t exactly say he begged his mom to buy the accordion for him, but he did ask her. And what was mom to think? Mom isn’t a musician. Neither is Dad.

“But they are very supportive of me,” Li said.

So Mom thought about it.

And she thought about it.

Then she bought Li the accordion.

Thought it was going to be a piano, didn’t you? And that would make sense, since Li is considered a superstar pianist, the same pianist who will be performing Thursday, April 3, in the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra’s Pennington Foundation Great Performers in Concert Series. The concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Baton Rouge River Center Theatre.

No matter how accomplished Li may be on the piano, truth is his musical career began on the accordion.

“It was good training,” he said by phone.

He lets out a short laugh. He’s in New York for now, performing a series of recitals filled with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Modest Mussorgsky and, yes, Frederic Chopin.