He won international recognition as a classical pianist when he was in his teens. Now aged 28, Chinese prodigy Yundi Li sees himself as a model to millions of young musicians in his home country.

“Now in China there are 50 million people studying the piano, it is a big musical country,” Mr Yundi said in an interview in Bucharest where he performed during the 20th Enescu music festival.

“My responsibility is to support young musicians. I want to be a role model for them and use my energy to help them grow.”

Wearing jeans and a white T-shirt and looking still like a teenager, an easy-going Mr Yundi speaks passionately about the “king of the piano”, Frederic Chopin, the composer to whom he owes his first major international prize.

It was in 2000, just two weeks after turning 18, that he received top honours at the 14th international Frederic Chopin piano competition in Warsaw, becoming the youngest contestant in history to claim the first prize.

“I have the chance to continue to represent Chopin’s music for the younger generation, to have more people listen and understand his music, his thoughts, his heart,” he said, in fluent English. In Romania last week, he drew a standing ovation from an audience of connoisseurs with an all-Chopin programme. Going from Nocturnes to Mazurkas to the Sonata 2 opus 35 (the Funeral March), he displayed emotion and remarkable technique, winning the public’s hearts and eliciting an avalanche of enthusiastic bravos.

“Music inspires me, music is the only way to communicate with the world without language, it can bring together people from different cultures.

“This is the power of music and it is an unbelievable experience for me.” The pianist, who received strict education from his parents and drew inspiration from his mother, an occasional ballet dancer, visibly enjoys his popularity and smiles when told he is often compared to a rock star.

“My generation is the 1980s generation and the first one really to have got on the international stage of music.”

“That brought a lot of interest and hope for families and for kids. I think it was my luck to be born in this time,” he said.

After spending several years in Germany, at Hannover, where he studied with Israeli classical pianist Arie Vardi, he returned to his homeland and now lives in Hong Kong.

But he continues touring the world, and has already given 70 performances since the beginning of the year.

The young pianist said he wants to see the world “understand more about China and its culture”, adding that he recently recorded traditional Chinese folk melodies but also world-premiere songs and planned to promote Chinese keyboard music.

“China has a long history in culture. Now there is even more care about education and especially about music, and every city is building its own concert hall,” he stressed.

He also said his passion for music means more to him than fame.

“It does not matter if I am famous as long as I am on stage and enjoy performing.”