'Waves' is out today via Deutsche Grammophon
Main image: ©Christoph Koestlin
The 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition Gold Medallist (and current Pianist cover star) Bruce Liu has today released his debut studio album.
Liu has become somewhat of a superstar in the months since his Chopin Competition victory, having already toured the world extensively and amassing over 25 million streams across all streaming platforms.
'Waves' features repertoire spanning two centuries of French keyboard music and includes two works new to the DG catalogue. The album features Rameau, Ravel and Alkan, all of whom played a part in the evolution of keyboard music between the 18th and early 20th centuries.
The Chinese-Canadian pianists plays excerpts from the Pièces de clavessin and Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin by Rameau, including programmatic works such as La poule and Les sauvages, as well as dance movements.
Alkan's exuberant Le festin d’Ésope and the peaceful Barcarolle are included on the album and are in fact new additions to DG’s catalogue.
From the 20th century, Liu has chosen Miroirs by Ravel. Several of the suite’s five movements reflect the nature theme that runs through this album, whose title picks up both on this – notably Alkan’s Barcarolle and Ravel’s 'Une barque sur l’océan' – and on Liu’s spontaneous style: “The sea is always changing,” he notes. “And my approach to the music I play is never fixed.”
'Waves' is available to stream on all major streaming platforms, and on Disc here.