Mei Yi Foo

When, in 2009, the Pharos Arts Foundation invited the exciting Malaysian pianist Mei Yi Foo, nobody could really foresee how successful her recital would be. After a number of requests by our audience, the Pharos Arts Foundation is bringing again Mei Yi Foo for another enthralling performance, this time with an even more exciting programme, which includes works by Shostakovich, Gubaidulina, Liszt and Kurtag.

Mei Yi Foo has been hailed “a pianist to watch” by BBC Radio 3 and as a “Rising Star” by International Piano Magazine. Winner of the 2008 Maria Callas International Piano Competition, Mei Yi has earned her reputation as an outstanding musician with a special and unclassifiable talent and as a pianist who is at home in repertoire ranging from Bach to Ligeti.

Mei Yi attended the Royal College and the Royal Academy of Music in London under the tutelage of Yonty Solomon, Christopher Elton and Alexander Satz. Since her arrival in the United Kingdom in 1996, she has captivated audiences at the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Purcell Room, Wallace Collection and Steinway Hall. She has collaborated with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, London Chamber Orchestra and Malaysian Philharmonic, under conductors Matthias Bamert, Martyn Brabbins, Claus Peter Flor, János Fürst, Charles Hazlewood, Kirill Karabits, and Christopher Warren-Green. Recent concerto appearances have brought Mei Yi from St Petersburg (Musical Olympus Festival) to Granada (Rachmaninov Festival) where critics praised her “unusual interior strength” together with her “personal, intelligent and unique interpretation” (La Opinion Granada).

Performing in recitals since the age of nine, Mei Yi’s appearances have taken her around the world, venues including Athens Megaron, Hong Kong City Hall, Munich Pinakothek der Moderne, Santander Palacio de Festivales and Verona Sala Maffeiana. Outside her busy soloist concert schedule, Mei Yi is an enthusiastic chamber musician. She has performed with Dimitri Ashkenazy, Shlomy Dobrinsky, Werner Herbers, Cristina Ortiz, Richard Watkins and has made guest appearances with the leaders of the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra and members of the Prague Wind Quintet. Mei Yi’s unique affinity with new music leads her into collaboration with prominent composers such as Dai Fujikura and Unsuk Chin.