A pianist who has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie and Vienna’s Musikverein, recorded for Warner Classics and recently graduated from Yale with a degree in music and philosophy will open the new season of free Chopin for All concerts in Coral Gables.
Paul Ji, a semifinalist at the 2025 National Chopin Piano Competition in Miami, performs at the Granada Church, 950 University Drive, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8. Admission is free, with advance registration recommended.
His program offers an unusually concentrated look at one of Frédéric Chopin’s most productive years, alongside works by Claude Debussy and Ludwig van Beethoven.
A pianist with a philosopher’s questions
Born in Chicago and raised in France near Fontainebleau, Ji began studying piano as a child and trained for a decade with Qin Yingming, a laureate of the 1981 Long-Thibaud Competition. He later studied under Jean-Bernard Pommier at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he earned an Artist Diploma.
He first attracted national attention in France in 2019, when he won Prodiges, a televised competition for young classical musicians. Pianist Lang Lang presented the award. The victory led to Ji’s debut recording with Warner Classics at age 16, featuring works by Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Liszt.
His performances have since taken him to concert halls in Berlin, Vienna, Paris and London, and into a collaboration with crossover singer Sarah Brightman on a recording of the Chopin adaptation Dans la nuit.
Ji was 20 when he competed at the National Chopin Piano Competition in Miami in January 2025, advancing to the semifinals.
Yet his musical education has followed a less conventional course than his concert career might suggest.
At Yale University, Ji pursued philosophy alongside music. In a profile by French arts journalist Olivier Bas, he traced that decision to a question that emerged during high school: “What is time? Because music needs time.”
The question goes to the heart of musical interpretation. A pianist must follow the composer’s written instructions while making decisions about pace, pauses, emphasis and the movement of one phrase into the next.
Ji described his goal simply: “To be in connection with the composer.”
His academic and musical achievements have developed together. At Yale, he won the William Waite Concerto Competition and performed Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto with the Yale Symphony Orchestra.
He graduated in 2026 with distinction in music and received the Louis Sudler Prize, one of Yale College’s highest honors for artistic achievement.
His interests also extend beyond the concert hall. As a teenager, Ji performed for patients in the palliative care unit at the Fontainebleau hospital in France. He has described plans to expand that work through an initiative called Music for Good.
Three masterpieces from one remarkable year
Sunday’s program begins with four works by Chopin, three of them composed in 1841.
The Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47, unfolds through contrasting themes that develop into an increasingly animated conclusion. The Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1, begins in an atmosphere of solemn restraint before building toward a turbulent climax.
The Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49, is more expansive. Its march-like opening gives way to contrasting passages of reflection, lyricism and dramatic intensity.
All three date from 1841, an exceptionally productive period in Chopin’s short life. Together, they offer different perspectives on his ability to transform relatively simple musical ideas into emotionally complex compositions.
The Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 34, No. 1, written in 1835, provides a lighter contrast with its brilliant passages and buoyant dance rhythms.
After intermission, Ji turns to Debussy’s Images, Book I, composed in 1905. Its three movements evoke reflections on water, a tribute to the French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau and a restless sense of motion.
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53, known as the Waldstein, follows. Completed in 1804, it helped redefine the technical and expressive possibilities of the piano sonata. Its sweeping passages and demanding transitions remain a formidable test of a pianist’s control.
Ji closes with Chopin’s Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante, Op. 22, which moves from a gentle, flowing introduction into an exuberant display of virtuosity.
The work has particular significance in his repertoire. Ji closed his October 2024 debut recital at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with it. The same hall has invited him back for June 19, 2027, when he is scheduled to present another Chopin program that includes several works from Sunday’s recital.
A free tradition with deep Coral Gables roots
The Miami-based Chopin Foundation of the United States established its free Chopin for All concert series in 1996. Granada Church has long been its Coral Gables home, bringing internationally recognized young pianists to local audiences without charging admission.
The Gazette has covered recent performances by foundation artists, including Karina Tseng in January and William Yang, winner of the 2025 National Chopin Piano Competition, in May.
The 2026-27 season begins Saturday, Nov. 7, with Ji’s performance in Fort Lauderdale, followed by the Coral Gables recital Sunday. The two concerts feature the same program.
The series returns to Granada Church on Dec. 6 with pianist Oliver Moore, another 2025 competition semifinalist, performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations and works by Chopin.
If you go…
Sunday’s recital begins at 3 p.m. and is scheduled to conclude at approximately 5 p.m., including an intermission.
Admission is free, and seating is general admission on a first-come, first-served basis. The foundation recommends registering in advance. Complimentary parking, including accessible spaces, is available in Granada Church’s parking lot, with additional parking on nearby streets.
The foundation also plans to livestream the concert, although a viewing link has not yet been announced.
For listeners unfamiliar with classical piano, the concert offers an accessible introduction to three composers whose music spans markedly different approaches to the instrument. For those who know the repertoire, it offers a chance to hear how a young pianist whose interests extend from philosophy to performance interprets some of the keyboard’s most demanding works.
For an artist who has spent years thinking about the relationship between music and time, the two-hour recital offers another opportunity to explore that question at the piano.
Author: Coral Gables Gazette News Staff
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