In his Santa Barbara debut, one of the world’s most sought after pianists will perform an electrifying program
Courtesy photo.
SUMMARY
- UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Bruce Liu, piano
- Thurs, May 16 | 7 p.m. | Hahn Hall, Music Academy, 1070 Fairway Rd
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- The winner of the 2021 Chopin International Piano Competition brings a dazzling brilliance to every performance
- Program includes works by Haydn, Chopin, Kapustin, Rameau and Prokofiev
- $40 / $10 UCSB students (Current student ID required) – Very limited tickets remain!
- Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
“From near obscurity to rock star status in the classical music world.” The Globe and Mail
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Bruce Liu on Thursday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at Hahn Hall, Music Academy. Following his win at the Chopin International Piano Competition in 2021, Bruce Liu experienced a star-is-born moment at London’s Royal Festival Hall in March of 2022. Summoned at the last moment to join the Philharmonia Orchestra for an all-Tchaikovsky program, Liu called for the notoriously difficult Concerto No. 2 as a substitute for the more commonly played Concerto No. 1. After an astounding performance and glowing reviews, Liu found himself shifted to an even higher level of demand.
Program
Haydn: Piano Sonata in B Minor, Hob. XVI:32
Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, op. 35
Kapustin: Variations, op. 41
Rameau: Selections from Pièces de clavecin
Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7 in B flat major, op. 83
Bruce Liu – Chopin: Nocturne in C Sharp Minor, KK IVa/16 (WPD performance) (Deutsche Grammophon – DG)
ABOUT BRUCE LIU
First prize winner of the 18th Chopin Piano Competition 2021 in Warsaw, Bruce Liu’s “playing of breathtaking beauty” (BBC Music Magazine) has secured his reputation as one of the most exciting talents of his generation and contributed to a “rock-star status in the classical music world” (The Globe and Mail).
Highlights of Bruce Liu’s 2023/24 season include international tours with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Paavo Järvi, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Santtu-Matias Rouvali and the Warsaw Philharmonic and Andrey Boreyko, as well as the Münchener Kammerorchester in a play-direct programme. Furthermore, he makes anticipated debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Danish National Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. He works regularly with many of today’s most distinguished conductors such as Gustavo Gimeno, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Rafael Payare, Vasily Petrenko, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Lahav Shani and Dalia Stasevska.
Bruce Liu has performed globally with major orchestras including the Wiener Symphoniker, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and NHK Symphony Orchestra.
As an active recitalist, he appears at major concert halls such as the Carnegie Hall, Wiener Konzerthaus, BOZAR Brussels and Tokyo Opera City, and makes his solo recital debuts in the 2023/24 season at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall London, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Kölner Philharmonie and Chicago Symphony Center.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Bruce Liu is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures in association with UCSB Department of Music.
Tickets are $40 / $10 UCSB students (Current student ID required)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2023-2024 season.