Chinese pianist Li Yundi apologized for the mistakes he made while playing Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.11 by Chopin as the guest soloist with Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) at Seoul Arts Center on October 30.

"I'm very sorry for the mistakes on Seoul concert the day before yesterday, and I apologize to all the music fans. I'm grateful for the forgiveness and support from the orchestra and the conductor," Li posted on his personal Weibo on Sunday. He also issued a statement on his official Weibo account for his musical events, in which he explained that the mistake was caused by tiredness after long and arduous travel.

The concert was the third stop on SSO's Asian tour after Beijing and Daegu. A piece of unauthorized recording from that night, showing Li's stopping in the middle of the performance, was leaked online and spread like wildfire over the weekend.

Some local music critics and media said Li's attitude after his mistake has angered local fans.

"It was not only Yi's mistakes that the audience couldn't seem to shake but rather his attitude toward conductor David Robertson during the orchestra's sudden pause, in which the pianist appeared to shift the blame for his tempo mistakes to the maestro," a report in The Korea Herald highlighted.

Responding to a post titled "Yundi Crashes out of Chopin Concerto" on slippedisc.com, Andrew Haveron, an SSO violinist performing on stage that night, said the facts are being distorted by the media as Li's previous performance of the same piece in Daegu was fine.

"His performance of the same concerto was excellent, and I enjoyed accompanying him. It is my first experience of performing with Li Yundi. As I said on the slipped disc website, I am not aware of any disagreement between our conductor and soloist," Haveron told the Global Times through a Twitter interview.