Press

“I want to talk about the amazingness that is Fei-Fei Dong… To say she is a wonderful pianist is a gross understatement. The articulation and passion and command of the piano is mind blowing and made me mesmerized…”

“Fei-Fei came on stage to perform Rhapsody in Blue. Clothed in blue, the young pianist thrilled the audience with her forceful yet sensitive performance of this quintessentially American piece… Audience members sprang to their feet in ovation just as Fei-Fei, Kahlia, and the orchestra reached the final reverberating chords in Gershwin’s masterpiece.”

“With sensitivity and sure instinct, she changes the tone colors and highlights how this piano concerto [Mozart Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466] already anticipates characteristics of Romanticism. Her cadenzas, both powerful and profound, also exhibit romantic traits... Outstanding—it's hard to believe that only one pianist could accomplish all this. The audience was almost over the moon.”

“How can a composer tell a story through instrumental music? Although it’s a complex topic among music intellectuals, great performers can easily cut to the quick with carefully considered performances full of imagination… Fei-Fei brought both engaging musicality and delightful spoken commentary that showed how vivacious and poetic pianism can create a compelling narrative.”

"The audience had already realized that they had encountered a rare exception, conveying impressive musical messages from deep within the music with an expressiveness hitherto unheard of. The applause was spontaneous and unanimous with a standing ovation.”

“The artist-in-residence of the Baden-Baden Philharmonic performed a concert of stunning exuberance in the Weinbrenner Hall. She played Clara Schumann’s F minor concerto movement not only with exceptional musicality but depicted the sounds with intoxicating grace. The highlight of the evening was Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. It was played with inconceivable virtuosity, and colorfully emotional like autumnal tints.”

"She performed the concerto not only with impressive technical mastery but with a certain improvisatory touch, one that kept one waiting for the next phase, the next passage. And as brilliant as she was in the framing movements, her performance of the lyrical slow romanze movement was sheer poetry."

“Her facial expression moved between artistic ecstasy and clear determination, with the same qualities emerging from her playing. This was a beautifully wrought performance, full of nuance and sweet, chalky tones, supported by splendidly assured passagework. In the second Romance movement—a movement that ranks with the most lyrically subtle and charming ever written—Fei-Fei became one with that ineffable quality that is Mozart’s simple complexity.”

“Fei-Fei has poetry in her playing. She has a fine feel for the music, and a grand approach that draws in a crowd. She can sculpt a phrase beautifully, and negotiate a virtuoso passage so it echoes through the hall. She projects confidence, an excellent and all-important quality.”

“The very opening appearance of the piano [in Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor], which is ordinarily taken as a simple flourish of octaves and arpeggios, was in the hands of Fei-Fei an expressive and moving experience. It proved throughout the performance: passages ordinarily considered subordinate, in her hands turn to pure poetry.”

“Sporting a naturally gracious charm and stage presence, Fei-Fei shared her musical passions unstintingly, concluding with a colossally vibrant performance of the inimitable Liszt Sonata in B minor. She no less bears a formidable arsenal of digital gifts, including the ability to span wide intervals at volcanic speeds, a fierce and supple trill, and a marvelous sense of tone color.”

“Pianist Fei-Fei Dong gave a superb performance comprised of equal parts power and nuance. Her playing was clean, her interpretation was vibrant, and her performance was compelling. Her physical embodiment of the music as she played added a visual element to her stunning virtuosity that drew the audience in to this infrequently heard, but immediately accessible, concerto. [Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor]”

“The Piano Pavilion at the Kimbell Art Museum was filled with her fans. If they weren’t her fans when the recital started, they most certainly were by the time it was over.” & “Fei-Fei is something rare on today’s concert stage. She loves to play for us and that enjoyment radiates from her with every note. It felt like you are in her living room and she sat down to play some of her favorites for you over a coffee. You also get the impression that she assembled her prodigious technical abilities for the sole reason of being able to play these virtuoso pieces for you rather than as an end in itself.”

“Dong flashed her ready smile and answered questions from fans with a grace and assurance that endeared her to the crowd… her natural, unaffected charm, along with a sweeping, uncanny technique have catapulted Fei-Fei to the rarified air of classical music’s upper reaches.” & “Each musical selection was prefaced by extemporaneous remarks by Dong, notable for their guilelessness and youthful fervor. Her ever-present smile and what’s been accurately described as ‘winning stage presence’ clearly captivated the capacity crowd.”

“She has tremendous technical facility, a laudable ability to bring out a works’ narrative arc, and a great deal of coloristic resource… this is an artist who is honest, responds with spontaneity to the music as it’s happening, and who is unafraid to take risks to get her musical thoughts across.”

“In this performance, Dong extracted every last ounce of energy where needed and gentle nuance when required. The audience held its breath in rapt attention to this amazing musical experience.”