Li Yundi talks about Beethoven album

Hailed for his precision in technique and endless passion, Li Yundi is dubbed China's Chopin, and "piano prince". His concerts are always sold out. Next we learn more about the piano prodigy, and hear about what the pianist has to say about his latest album.

Li Yundi was born into a non-musical family, with his parents both steel workers. When he was three years old, his parents bought an accordion after he was so entranced by an accordion player in a shopping mall. He mastered the instrument by the age of four and won the top prize at the Chongqing Children's Accordion Competition at the age of five.

Li studied piano at the age of seven. Two years later, he began to learn from Dan Zhaoyi, one of China's most renowned piano teachers.

After receiving titles in piano competitions from China and other countries, he won the most prestigious World Chopin Piano Competition at the age of 18. Since then he has garnered a large fan base in China. He has toured the world's most famous music halls to perform. His albums of Chopin music have been extremely popular and his album of Liszt in 2003 was named "Best CD of the Year" by the New York Times.

In October, Li turned 30. And he wants to deliver something deeper. He has chosen three sonatas of Beethoven as the pieces for him to branch out with.

In an effort to promote Chinese music, Li released an album called "Red Piano", with 18 tunes of mostly Chinese folk music and symphonic pieces. He aims at making Chinese music a larger part of his repertoire.