Brahms, Ballade Opus 10, No. 4

"Once again, Foo wows with her touch, clarity and naturalness. She 'sings' this music with beguiling innocence and with vivid yet integral decoration.....This release is an impressive calling-card and is well worth attention". Colin Anderson, International Piano, September 2005

"Foo is a pianist to watch. Her playing of the opening of the Schubert will stay in my mind for a long time and quite clearly she thinks very deeply about the music she plays. Not only this, she also communicates to the audience and I look forward to hearing her again". Rob Pennock, Wigmore Hall review, May 2005

"Her Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto was quite something else. She attacked it with a ferocity and bloodlust as if her very existence depended on it. I have never witnessed Martha Argerich perform this warhorse of hers but judging by her recordings, I can only imagine Foo's devil-may-care, on-the-edge-of-sanity performance to be approaching that level of pianistic sorcery(....)a special unclassifiable talent." Chang Tou Liang, Artistic Director Singapore International Piano Festival, 2005

Mei Yi Foo is fast becoming one of the most respected young artists of her generation. Since the release of her critically acclaimed debut recording for Tzar Records in 2005, Mei Yi has been hailed "a pianist to watch" by BBC Radio 3 and as a "Rising Star" by International Piano Magazine. Recent performances at venues like Wigmore Hall have earned her reputation as an outstanding musician with a truly distinctive character and as a pianist who is at home in repertoire ranging from Bach to Ligeti.

Foo's early training in her home country of Malaysia enabled her to perform extensively throughout Asia, exposure which earned her invitations to play for the Malaysian Royal Family and the Prime-Minister. Numerous radio and television appearances were to follow and at the age of thirteen, Mei Yi won her first international piano competition, Vertuosi per Musica di Pianoforte in the Czech Republic.

Since her arrival in the United Kingdom in 1996, Mei Yi has captivated audiences at the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Wallace Collection and Steinway Hall. Concerto appearances have brought her into collaboration with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, London Chamber Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, under conductors Eduardo Browne, János Fürst, Christopher Warren-Green, Odeline de la Martinez and John Stogårds. Recent engagements have included recitals in Hamburg (Spiegelsaal), Munich (Steinway Haus), Hong Kong (City Hall), Santander (Palacio de Festivales) and Vienna (Schönberg Centre) and at the HSBC Classics Piano Festival 2005 launching the newly built Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre.

Outside her busy soloist concert schedule, Mei Yi is an enthusiastic chamber musician. She has collaborated with violinist Shlomy Dobrinsky and trumpeter Richard Watkins and has made guest appearances with the leaders of the Philharmonia Orchestra and members of the London Chamber Orchestra.

Currently, Mei Yi is studying with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music and has worked with acclaimed musicians including Stephen Hough, Cristina Ortiz, Murray Perahia, Alexander Satz and Yonty Solomon. She is grateful for the support from the MBF Trust, Philharmonia/Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, Hattori Foundation, Munster Trust, Tillett Trust, Ricci Foundation and the Yamaha-Kemble Foundation.

Future engagements include recitals in St John's Smith Square, St James Piccadilly and The Wallace Collection. The 05/06 Season will see Mei Yi return to Malaysia for a concerto appearance with Matthias Bamert and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra at the Petronas Twin Towers Philharmonic Hall.

"Creativity itself... MeiYi Foo's performance of Ravel 'Gaspard de la Nuit' caused the temperature in the concert hall to rise several degrees"
Lena von Bonsdorff Kultur Dagbok, Helsinki Sanomat

"I was most impressed. She is outstandingly musical and a joy to hear"
Martin Lovett - Amadeus Quartet