With 17 million followers on Weibo, the popular social media channel in China, Yundi has more fans than many countries have residents. With the list of accolades in his classical piano background and his approachable demeanor, one can understand the draw of this particular young man. 

In 2000, at age eighteen, Yundi (then, Yundi Li) was the youngest ever winner of the Chopin Piano Competition. He was also the first Chinese pianist to win this prestigious award. Recently, he completed a tour of the U.S. and China, with the National Youth Orchestra and Maestro Charles Dutoit.

Now, he is releasing a new album, The Complete Preludes that includes all of the composer's 26 preludes for piano. Yundi spoke with Dianne Donovan over the phone in anticipation of the release, which will be available on Deutsche Grammophon/Mercury Classics on September 11th.

Dianne asked Yundi if he has a particular prelude from the album that he loved best, and although he couldn't decide on just one, he listed numbers 8, 15, 16, 24, and 25 among his favorites! 

Listen to the full interview by clicking on the orange play button above.