- About -

             Hailed as “…an artist of tremendous conviction, who fascinates even as she provokes…“ by Gramophone Magazine, “…a thrillingly good pianist…” by The New Yorker and for her "...big, gorgeous tone and a mesmerizing touch" by The Philadelphia Inquirer,  pianist Zhenni  has appeared as a soloist in such notable venues as Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, D.C’s Smithsonian Museum, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Performing Arts Center, the Grieghallen in Norway and the Berliner Philharmonie in Germany.     

             Zhenni’s recent concerto recording with Marin Alsop and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra will be released by Pentatone in January 2027. Highly in demand as a concerto soloist, she has appeared with numerous orchestras including the Bergen Philharmonic in Norway, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, Bay Atlantic Symphony, Bucks County Symphony Orchestra, Dominican Republic National Orchestra, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony amongst others.   

Following her critically acclaimed debut album (“Mélancolie”), Zhenni has released her second album​ for the Steinway & Sons label featuring works by the Ukrainian composer Sergei Bortkiewicz (“A letter”), praised by Gramophone Magazine as “the most consistently beautiful Bortkiewicz recording in the catalogue” and “a must-add to your listening list” by American Record Guide.   Zhenni’s next solo albums on Steinway & Sons label feature Beethoven (Beethoven’s Apotheosis) and traditional Chinese works (“Legend of the Phoenix Queen”), which came about from Ms. Li-Cohen’s desire to reconnect with her musical heritage, exploring traditional and contemporary Chinese works inspired by folk songs, stories and historic instruments.

She was recently filmed by CNN for an upcoming national broadcast feature and is currently the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Opus 71 Concerts, a multimedia concert series near New York City’s Lincoln Center.

Zhenni Li-Cohen is a Steinway Artist.

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“Zhenni Li’s new Steinway release is a bolt from the blue....Her beautiful sound is captured in full dimension and depth in this expertly engineered recording. Li leaves no detail of Schumann’s F sharp minor Sonata unattended. The minute scrutiny brought to every element of the score would, in other hands, fragment and shatter the piece. Yet somehow, by dint of passionate identification and sheer force of will, Li pulls it off. Her extravagant and pervasive rubato, which occasionally risks derailing everything she sets in motion, strikes nonetheless as so heartfelt and intrinsic to her emotional response to the music as to be indisputable. There are moments when you wish for more than just a few consecutive measures of steady pulse, but then Li’s torrents of voluptuous sound sweep away any reservation....Li impresses as an artist of tremendous conviction, who fascinates even as she provokes.”
(Click to read full review)

- Gramophone Magazine

“Li is an extremely expressive artist. She understands not merely the notes on the page but how they should progress, one following the other, to make coherent musical statements....she manages to ‘lead’ the ear to connect the phrasing and complete the musical structure. This is a very high level of artistry....She presents us with a sort of smoldering undercurrent that reaches deep inside the notes. It’s hard to explain; you just have to hear it....In her hands, [Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1] becomes almost like a fantasy in which the composer’s mind wanders through various moods and images, portrayed vividly by this gifted and imaginative artist....fascinating...an artist with a deep emotional commitment to the music she is playing.”

– The Art Music Lounge
(Click to read full review)

“Zhenni Li’s [Beethoven concert (no. 4)] was palpable: Full of fervor and strong expressivity. “ (Zhenni Li’s Beethoven-konsert (nr. 4) ble påtagelig: Full av inderlighet og sterk uttrykksvilje holdt hun på mye bedre på oppmerksomheten.)

- Ballade Norwegian (Norway)

Li-Cohen has selected a wide range of pieces, covering the entire compositional career of Bortkiewicz.. it gives the listener a beautifully played overview of this rather neglected composer.  Li-Cohen has all of the technical and musical expertise for this selection of beautiful pieces. She can spin the softest legato phrase or build to exciting climaxes. The detailed inner voices are nicely balanced with the melodies. This is a must-add to your listening list..”

- © 2023 American Record Guide

"Zhenni Li found the quirky harmonic sensibility and strange beauty of Schumann with natural ease, with especially incisive drawing out of inner voices."

Broad Street Review

“Li recontextualizes [Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 11 and Bartók’s Two Elegies, Op. 8b] effectively. It's an impressive program, both accessible and highly original.”

–  Allmusic

“Li-Cohen’s attention to expressive detail was stunning with melodic passages receiving an intense revealing of depth, and surprising twists and turns that kept the listener on the edge of his/her seat”

- Arts Knoxville

“Zhenni Li-Cohen mixes and matches 13 short works that showcase her fine technique and sympathy with the idiom. In the Nocturne Op. 24 No. 1, she shapes the right-hand cantabiles more like a singer than a pianist, while giving the left hand its vocal due as well. Ein Brief is an especially cogent example of Li-Cohen’s smoothly proportioned rubato, along with the organic interaction of bass lines, inner voices, and melodies.”

ClassicsToday.com

“Bortkiewicz had a very well-developed sense of the expressive capabilities of the Romantic piano... Li-Cohen grasps those capabilities very well and is a strong advocate for the lyricism and simple beauty underlying so many of these pieces.”

Infodad

“Li-Cohen has the skills necessary to bring it off: a fluent legato and a refined sense of rubato and phrasing, coupled with an ability to bring out the subtle harmonic surprises.. Add to this her tonal richness and her exquisite balance, and you have performances that will keep you enthralled...Li-Cohen’s may be the most consistently beautiful Bortkiewicz recording in the catalogue.”

- © 2023 Gramophone Magazine

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