Bichuan Li
Lecturer in Music, Piano
Keyboard Coordinator
Pianist Bichuan Li is a seasoned performer known for outstanding musical integrity and a special talent for producing a wide variety of tone colors. Her 1996 debut recital in Sweden was hailed as “superb” and her performance, “flawless.” Reviewing her recital at the Shanghai Concert Hall, the critic of the Jiefang Daily praised “her refined technique and unfailing sensitivity” and found the lyrical passages “extraordinarily beautiful.”
A native of Shanghai, Ms. Li began learning piano at the age of four. Unlike most other accomplished concert pianists, she faced many setbacks in her early years. Her applications to the Shanghai Conservatory were denied again and again—her hands were too small, she came from a politically incorrect family, and, finally, she was too old. Not to be discouraged, she kept on with the piano, although the Cultural Revolution interrupted her studies for ten years. Her passion for the instrument never dimmed, even during that difficult time, and she became a “closet” musician. These early difficulties implanted in her a commitment and maturity that have enriched her extraordinary performing skill.
Ms. Li has been on the faculty at the University of Hawai‘i since 1986. Since 1991, she has also been an Honorary Associate Professor of the Shanghai Teachers’ University where, in 2012, she was invited as a Visiting Professor at the Music College. A Music Teachers’ National Association certified professional piano teacher, she has served twice as President of the Honolulu Piano Teachers’ Association and was President of the Hawaii Music Teachers’ Association from 1998 to 2000.
Augmenting her repertoire of Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Debussy and others with piano music by women composers and modern Chinese composers, Ms. Li has performed on four continents and has concertized throughout the United States and Far East. She has enjoyed large audiences and rave reviews throughout China and in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil and Sweden. Hawaii Public Radio broadcast portions of her Chinese piano music recital several times. Ms. Li has also appeared as a soloist with orchestras and in numerous chamber music concerts, workshops and master classes.
Ms. Li maintains a large, private piano studio and is dedicated to teaching. Her students have been top winners in numerous piano competitions.
Her CD, In Clara Wieck Schumann’s Circle, was released in 1998 on the Wa Nui label (info@wanui.com). It features Clara’s Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Schumann’s Kreisleriana, music by Clara’s father Friedrich, her brothers Alwin and Woldemar, her sister Marie, and her close friend Brahms.
Ms. Li received her undergraduate degree from the Music College of Shanghai Normal University and her MM in Piano Performance from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Her teachers in China included Jisen Fan, Yu Wang, Benjamin Yu, Rongwei Chen, and Mingduo Li; in Hawai‘i she studied with UH Mānoa professors Paul Lyddon and Edward Shipwright.
钢 琴 家 李 璧 传
李璧传教授，祖籍广东省中山县，出生于上海，现任教于美国夏威夷大学音乐系。李教授四岁开始学琴。在1978年文化大革命之后，虽因年龄限制无法报考音乐学院，却以优异的成绩考入上海师范学院艺术系音乐专业（今上海师范大学音乐学院）。当时的《解放日报》特以“艺术学院喜得人才”为题，特别赞评了李的钢琴成就:“上海师范学院艺术系招收的新生李璧传所演奏的钢琴曲《松花江上》，处理细腻妥贴，较好地体现了乐曲的思想感情，达到了独奏的水平” 。1982年她以优异的成绩获学士学位。同年赴美深造。1984年在夏威夷大学钢琴协奏曲比赛中，名列榜首，成为该校第一位同夏威夷大学交响乐团演奏美国作曲家格什温名作“蓝色狂想曲”的中国钢琴家。1985年，李教授以荣获全美荣誉会成员的优异成绩获钢琴演奏硕士学位。不久，李受聘于夏威夷大学教授钢琴和伴奏声乐．1991年受聘上海师范大学名誉副教授，1996年获全美音乐教师协会专业教学证书，2012年受邀为上海师范大学客席教授。
作为钢琴演奏家，李教授经常应邀在亚洲、欧洲、南美洲、美国大陆及夏威夷各岛举行独奏音乐会，进行讲学和担任评判。她所演出和演讲过的国家和地区包括巴西，瑞典，日本，越南，菲律宾，马来西亚，新加坡，泰国，台湾，香港，北京，上海，金华，杭州，济南，美国加州，波斯顿，华盛顿，麻省，肯奈迪克州和纽约州，所到之处无不受到各界人士的欢迎和佳评，被誉为天才钢琴家。1996年瑞典电视台实况转录了她的独奏音乐会，当地各报评价“李的演奏音乐色彩表现特佳，演出完美无暇”。1991年李教授在上海音乐厅举行独奏音乐会，当年5月17日的《解放日报》评论她的演奏“精溢的技巧，…抒情部分特别美丽″。
李教授选奏曲目的特点是融合古典音乐、中国作品及妇女作曲家的杰作。1989年为庆祝华人移民美国二百周年，传播和弘扬中国传统及现代音乐文化，李应邀举行了中国钢琴作品独奏音乐会。演出空前成功。夏威夷公共电台录制了音带并加以转播，海外华人无不为此引以为荣。
李曾于1989年－1990年、1992年－1993年两次被选任夏威夷钢琴教师协会主席。1998年－2000年又被选为全美音乐教师协会夏威夷分会主席。2000年－2001年，全美音乐协会任命李为西南地区青少年钢琴比赛主席。作为一位致力于教育的音乐家，李教授的学生每年都荣获各项钢琴比赛奖。慕名求学的学生源源不断。
李于1998 年录制的CD, “In Clara Wieck Schumann’s Circle,” 包括了克拉拉的罗伯特舒曼主题变奏曲，舒曼的克莱斯勒丽安娜，及克拉拉的父亲弗莱得力克，兄弟阿尔温，渥得马，妹妹玛丽，还有好朋友勃朗 姆斯的作品。
李曾师从范继森，王羽，俞便民，陈荣伟，李名铎，Paul Lyddon 和Edward Shipwright。