New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Deutsche Grammophon is set to release recordings made live during the various stages of the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition by Bruce Liu, the newly crowned winner of the world's most prestigious competition for classical musicians. The jury awarded the top prize to the 24-year-old Canadian pianist last night, immediately after the final round at Warsaw's
National Philharmonic, and his album is already in preparation.
The release of these live recordings by Bruce Liu marks a renewed collaboration between Deutsche Grammophon and the Fryderyk Chopin Institute. The label and the Chopin Institute, organisers and hosts of the Chopin Competition since 2010, are jointly committed to promoting the work of exceptional interpreters of Chopin's music.
"We're delighted to partner with the Chopin
Institute once again and to celebrate one of the classical world's rising stars," comments Dr
Clemens Trautmann, President Deutsche Grammophon. "Music-lovers around the world have been captivated by each stage of this year's International Chopin Piano Competition. I know that everyone will join us in congratulating Bruce Liu for his revelatory interpretations during the last few weeks. The powerful emotions and extraordinary beauty of Chopin's art speak deeply to young musicians, which is why we believe it is so important to share these recordings from the Chopin Competition."
Dr Artur Szklener,
Director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, points to the enthusiastic virtual following for the Competition's multimedia presentations of every performance. "Our ongoing collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon is important not only for supporting the work of a wonderful young artist but also for reaching out to those who may have discovered Chopin for the first time through the Competition's website and media partners," he notes. "We see this recording, forged in the white heat of competition, as an integral part of our mission to increase the worldwide audience for Chopin's music. The intensity, focus and passion of Bruce Liu's performances at this year's Competition mark him out as a very special talent."
DG has collaborated with the Chopin
Institute on major events in the past, notably "Chopin Year" in 2010 and the acclaimed "Chopin and his Europe" festivals in Warsaw. The partnership took an innovative turn in 2015 when the Yellow Label agreed to arrange the immediate release of an album by the winner of the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition. Seong-Jin Cho's debut recording, drawn from the Competition's recital rounds and finals, topped the pop charts in his native South Korea and led to his signing with DG.
The International Chopin Piano Competition was first held in 1927 and, until the arrival of Covid‑19, had taken place every five years since 1955. A founding member of the World Federation of International
Music Festivals, the Chopin Competition has set the benchmark standards by which all other classical music competitions are measured. Its 18th edition, originally scheduled for October 2020, was postponed by the pandemic.
Many Chopin Competition laureates have progressed to become superstars of the piano, DG artists Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Krystian Zimerman, Rafał Blechacz and Seong-Jin Cho among them. Performances by these and other legendary artists can now be heard on Deutsche Grammophon's recently released Chopin Masters limited-edition box set (28 CDs, also available digitally), featuring everything from rare recitals to award-winning bestsellers.
The Competition's reputation also rests on the international stature and quality of its juries. Over the years, these have comprised such leading figures from the worlds of music, ideas and the arts as Wilhelm Backhaus, Arturo Benedetti-Michelangeli, Nadia Boulanger, Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Maurice Ravel, Artur Rubinstein and
Karol Szymanowski.
Born on 8 May 1997 in Paris, he graduated from the Montreal Conservatoire under Richard Raymond and is currently a student of Dang Thai Son. He has performed with major ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra,
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra of the Americas, and has toured with the China NCPA Orchestra in North America. Recent seasons have brought two successive tours of China with the
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and the Lviv
National Philharmonic Orchestra (including appearances at the
National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing Concert Hall and Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre), and a concert with the Orchestre Lamoureux at Paris's Salle Gaveau. He has won prizes at international piano competitions in Sendai, Montreal, Tel Aviv and Viseu.
