On August 17, 2025, young pianist Paul Ji will give a solo piano recital at the Golden Hall in Vienna. The concert is titled “A Vienna Night with Timeless Elegance — From Mozart to Chopin in a Musical Odyssey.” This performance presents a musical dialogue across centuries, featuring more than ten well-known classical piano masterpieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Fauré, and Chopin (full program listed below).
The Golden Hall in Vienna, often hailed as the “Sanctuary of Music,” is widely regarded as the pinnacle of classical music venues. This concert marks an important milestone in Paul Ji’s artistic journey, following his two sold-out performances in 2024 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the Berlin Philharmonie. It is another return to one of the world’s top stages. For audiences in Vienna, this solo recital promises to be a rare and valuable live experience. To hear such a high-caliber performance in person is a true cultural delight on a summer night. According to the Musikverein, this concert is considered one of the most anticipated musical events of the summer. May Paul Ji’s music resonate deeply within this great hall, bringing the talent and artistry of a young pianist to an ever-wider global stage.
Paul Ji is a Steinway Young Artist and a recording artist with Warner Classics. In 2019, he won the French national TV《Prodiges》 (France 2). At the age of 16, he released his debut Warner piano album 《Piano》, and his second album 《Chopin》has already been recorded and is awaiting release. His performances and musical achievements have attracted wide attention and coverage from major media outlets, including Le Figaro, Le Parisien, ELLE magazine (France), The Pianist magazine (Germany), BBC, CCTV, etc.
On October 19, 2024, more than 1,800 audience members gathered at Paul Ji’s Chopin solo piano concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, creating an unprecedented scene. With an all-Chopin program, Paul Ji paid tribute to the Romantic master, commemorating the 175th anniversary of Chopin’s death in Paris. The concert featured a wide range of technically demanding works, including the Ballades, the complete 24 Preludes, Études, and Waltzes. Even the typically reserved French media reported the event under the headline, “France Has Discovered a Musical Genius.”
On December 26, 2024, Paul Ji was invited to perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 at the Berlin Philharmonie. This concerto, written in Chopin’s youth and inspired by his first love, is not a display of virtuosic brilliance but a gentle whisper—light as a murmur, deep as a dream. Every note feels like an unsent love letter, holding Chopin’s most intimate tenderness. The elegant and emotionally rich Larghetto movement is often considered one of the most beautiful passages in all of Chopin’s works. After the performance, the organizers were left in awe and praised Paul Ji, saying: “He is not from this world. He is from another universe”
Paul Ji was invited to record a Chopin piano concert for France’s Canal+ television network. The concert has since been broadcast on multiple French TV channels and permanently archived on both the Canal+ platform and the online channel of Deutsche Grammophon, one of the world’s most prestigious record labels.
On July 21, 2025, Paul Ji was invited by the Lucca Music Festival in Italy to give the opening solo performance in the hometown of the renowned dramatist Puccini. That evening, music flowed through the historic theater—from the clarity and lightness of Mozart to the depth and melancholy of Chopin—unfolding over nearly an hour. After the performance, two professors from the Paris Conservatoire could hardly contain their excitement. They said to me: “Your music carries such profound cultural depth, meaning, and refined elegance. It’s hard to believe someone like you exists in this world. Though young in age, you seem to have lived twice already.” Music goes far beyond the piano keys—it carries the echoes of time, place, and soul.
Paul Ji’s performances have received high praise from many world-renowned pianists. Dr. Steven Lagerberg, an American Chopin expert and critic and author of “Chopin’s Heart”, commented after hearing Paul Ji play: “Paul Ji is one of the rare pianists who truly captures the essence of Chopin’s music.” Internationally acclaimed British pianist and 1970 Tchaikovsky Competition First Prize winner John Lill said of Paul Ji’s playing: “This young man is astonishing—his command and presence rival those of a much more experienced musician. Nowadays, most performers try to impress through speed, volume, style, technique, or other superficial and fleeting means. What is refreshing is that someone like him, with profound spirituality, depth, sense of space, and warmth, can instantly capture my attention—it’s simply incredible! Although he is already an excellent pianist, his skill always serves the music, not himself. His dignified playing and natural authority also left a deep impression on me.”
At the upcoming concert in Vienna’s Golden Hall, Paul Ji will perform classic piano works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Fauré, and Chopin. The first half of the program focuses on composers deeply connected to Vienna, whose creations are closely tied to the city’s history and culture. The second half centers on Chopin’s works, unfolding an intimate dialogue with the soul of Romanticism. Below is Paul Ji’s personal message about the concert:
Pianist’s Notes for Vienna Musikverein Recital
It is my great honor to perform for you at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, a haven of music that has witnessed the echoes of countless masterpieces. Tonight’s program is a celebration of Vienna’s rich musical heritage and the endless possibilities of the piano. The first half of my program consists solely of composers who lived in Vienna and whose flourishing were inextricably tied with the city. Mozart lived in Vienna for the final 10 years of his life, Beethoven for his last 35 years, Schubert for his entire life, and Brahms for the final 27 years of his life.
I begin with Mozart’s Sonata No.18, his final solo piano sonata, which is a jewel of Viennese classicism. This piece reflects a mature Mozart’s mastery of form, melody and intricate counterpoint, and it shimmers with clarity, simplicity, liveliness, and wit. Beethoven’s No.13 brings us into a deeply personal world, rooted in the tradition of the Classical Viennese School, but also defying its conventions—for example in Sonata form—and illuminating Beethoven’s revolutionary spirit. It is full of introspection, along with a yearning for bold innovation that defined Beethoven’s Viennese years. The title of the piece contains the word “Fantasia”: indeed we can trace the burgeoning Romantic elements of Beethoven in this sonata, as it glances into the world of fantasy and improvisation, which we will see come into its fully-fledged form in Chopin during the second half of the concert. Schubert’s Impromptu and Brahms’ Intermezzo both offer a stark contrast to the classical style of Mozart and Beethoven we have heard, and they begin to explore the atmospheric possibilities of the piano, new sonorities, ranges, and introspective Romantic reflection. Schubert’s Impromptu is a moment of pure bliss, one of tenderness and unhurried grace. The rippling accompaniment cradles a melody of profound simplicity, reminding us of Schubert’s gift for turning the ordinary into the sublime.
Brahms’ Intermezzo is, to me, a heartfelt reflection on love and longing. Written during Brahms’ later years, it depicts the wistfulness of a composer looking back on a life rich with both joy and melancholy.
The second half of my concert is centered on Chopin’s music. Although Chopin only spent two years in Vienna (1829-1831), the musical culture of Vienna certainly impacted his creative thought. Chopin turned the piano into a universe of the imagination and of poetry. He transformed the instrument into a deeply personal voice and thereby gave it a soul. From his intimate and wondrous Nocturne Op.27 No.2 to his dramatic and angst-filled Scherzo No.3, I chose a selection from some of Chopin’s greatest contributions to piano literature. I wanted to represent Chopin’s (sometimes neglected) brilliant style through the Étude and Waltz along with his internal turmoil and melancholy. The Mazurkas Op.33 and Polonaise-Fantasy represent Chopin’s unique mastery of the integrating the Polish folk songs and rhythmic elements of the Polish dances into a Romantic piano setting. The Polonaise-Fantasy is a true mature work, one of the latest in Chopin’s life, and its form is very intriguing: it is constantly seeking to integrate itself, oscillating between the ordered triumph of the Polonaise and the formless escape of the fantasy, just as Chopin sought to integrate himself into society his whole life, having left his native country, Poland, and finding himself a stranger in Paris. I hope that with the wide stylistic range of these Chopin pieces you will be able to marvel at the complex character of Chopin and be transported into your own imagination.
Thank you for joining me at my recital in Musikverein. I hope that the timeless masterpieces offered to your ears will stay with you and inspire you as we share it in this historic hall.
Paul Ji Golden Hall Concert Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata for Piano in D Major, K. 576
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27 No. 1 ”Quasi una fantasia”
Franz Schubert
Impromptu for Piano in G-flat Major, D. 899 No. 3
Intermezzo for Piano in A Major, Op. 118 No. 2
– Pause –
Gabriel Fauré
Après un Rêve, Op. 7 No. 1
Special Guest Performer: Ayako Miyauchi
Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne for Piano, Op. 27
Scherzo for Piano in C-sharp Minor, Op. 39
Étude for Piano in E Major, Op. 10 No. 3
Waltz for Piano in A-flat Major, Op. 42
Mazurka for Piano in B Minor, Op. 33 No. 4
Polonaise for Piano in A-flat Major, Op. 61, “Polonaise-Fantaisie”
Paul Ji will present, from the unique perspective of a young European-based pianist, a journey through Mozart’s classical brilliance and Chopin’s romantic moonlight, connecting some of the most exquisite, poetic, and soulful chapters in European musical tradition.
Tickets are available on the official Golden Hall Musikverein website：
Experiencing the heavenly sounds flowing from Paul Ji’s piano keys live is sure to be an unforgettable moment in a lifetime!
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