American pianist (born 1997)
Eric Lu (born December 15, 1997) is an American classical pianist . The winner of the 2025 XIX International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and the 2018 Leeds International Piano Competition , he has performed with many of the world's major orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra , Chicago Symphony Orchestra , Boston Symphony Orchestra , Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , Los Angeles Philharmonic , Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra , Oslo Philharmonic , and toured with the Orchestre national de Lille . [ 2] [ 3]
Lu records for Warner Classics under an exclusive contract, [ 4] [ 5] and has released critically acclaimed recordings of Beethoven , Brahms , Chopin , Schubert , and Schumann on the label. [ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9] Since winning the 19th International Chopin Piano Competition, he is set to release a live album of highlights from his winning performances on Deutsche Grammophon .[ clarification needed ]
Life and career Eric Lu was born in Massachusetts on December 15, 1997, to a Taiwanese father from Kaohsiung , Taiwan, and a Chinese mother from Shanghai , China. [ 10] He grew up in Bedford, Massachusetts , and started piano studies at age six with Dorothy Shi (杨镜钏 [ 10] He later enrolled at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School , where he studied with pianists Alexander Korsantia and A. Ramon Rivera . In 2013, he was admitted into the Curtis Institute of Music , where he studied with pianists Jonathan Biss and Robert McDonald . He is also a pupil of classical pianist Đặng Thái Sơn .
Lu performing live at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park , San Diego, 2023 In 2015, at age 17, Lu won fourth prize at the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, [ 11] [ 12] [ 13] becoming one of the youngest laureates in the competition's history. There, he befriended Charles Richard-Hamelin , who was also participating in the competition that year. [ 14] Shortly afterward, he performed his debut at the 70th International Chopin Festival in Duszniki , Poland. [ 15] He toured Japan and Korea with the Warsaw Philharmonic along with the competition's other prizewinners in January 2016.
In 2017, Lu won the International German Piano Award in Frankfurt , also winning the audience prize. [ 16]
In 2018, aged 20, Lu won first prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition . [ 17] He was the first American pianist to win since Murray Perahia . He played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in the finals with the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner . After winning, he was signed by Askonas Holt and Warner Classics . His first concert was his debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko . He subsequently played recitals at Wigmore Hall , the Amsterdam Concertgebouw , [ 18] the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, [ 19] the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia and the Shanghai Grand Theatre . The Guardian wrote of his Bristol recital: "Lu seems already to possess something of the magic touch of early Leeds laureates Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu ." [ 20]
In June 2019, Lu substituted for Martha Argerich in a concert with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra . [ 21] He made his debut at the 2019 BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Yu Long . [ 22]
In 2022, Lu stepped in on short notice to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti , replacing Maurizio Pollini ; the Chicago Tribune noted Lu's "perfectly idiomatic" interpretation of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 and his "pliant, gossamer touch." [ 3]
In 2025, Lu won the XIX International Chopin Piano Competition . [ 23] He is the second American winner of the competition, after Garrick Ohlsson in 1970, and the second winner to play Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 after Dang Thai Son in 1980. He is also the only person to have taken part twice and won a prize both times. A live album of performance highlights from the competition will be released by Deutsche Grammophon . [ 24] [ 25]
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