Chopin Salon @ Home: Eric Lu
While the Chopin Foundation’s physical office are closed to comply with stay at home orders, we are working online and are excited to present the second edition of Chopin Salons @ Home. We sincerely hope all of our members and subscribers are keeping safe and healthy and since our live concerts are currently not possible, we invite you to enjoy these specially curated programs online!
For this week’s Chopin Salon at home we have the pleasure of highlighting the continuing success of the First Prize Winner of the 9th National Chopin Piano Competition held in 2015 – Eric Lu!
Last month saw the anticipated release of Eric’s first studio recording on Warner Classics. The three works Eric chose for this project, which is part of his Gold Medal award package from the 2018 Leeds Competition, each present unique beauty and challenges, yet when put together they flow from one to the other in pleasant synchronicity: Chopin's 24 Préludes, Brahms's Intermezzo No.1, and Schumann’s Ghost Variations. Eric shares his thoughts on this repertoire in the beautifully filmed interview above.
Keeping up with Eric
Executive Director, Barbara Muze caught up with Eric last summer when he was a featured artist at the “Chopin and his Europe” Festival presented by The Fryderyk Chopin Institute. “It was a real treat to sit with Eric outside at a café in the heart of Warsaw,” said Muze. “It had been 4 years since we first met at the Competition in Miami and the transformation from a somewhat shy 17-year-old to a mature, well-spoken, and experienced 21-year-old artist was remarkable. Our conversation took place just before Eric was scheduled to debut at the 2019 BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. His excitement was contagious as he shared all of the wonderful performance opportunities that had been afforded to him since winning the US Competition.” Since then, Eric has been selected to step in for Martha Argerich in Singapore, and Nelson Freire in Sao Paulo.
BBC’s Music Magazine recently published a review of Eric’s recording by Jessica Duchan who wrote, “Lu’s playing is in a rare class – one that has a vacancy since Radu Lupu’s retirement. This type of sensitivity and emotional intuition does not grow on trees, especially not when served by such a technique, with richly singing tone and delicate fleetness of finger . . . Moreover, there’s high finesse in his control of nuance and ability to create subtle, intense atmospheres (the ‘Raindrop’ Prelude is truly special).” (Now Available on Amazon.com)
Eric lives up to this high praise in these lovely recordings of the two Chopin Preludes referenced earlier:
Eric Lu - Chopin: Prelude Op. 28, No. 15 in Db, “Raindrop”
From Chopin to Schumann and Bach
While Eric has earned many accolades for his Chopin performances, his pianism, maturity, and depth of understanding is also evident in his growing grasp of other great composers. Here is a recent sample that Eric generously shared on Facebook from the confines of his living room. The piece is made all the more meaningful by Eric’s insightful and personal introduction:
Eric Lu - Schumann: Geistervariationen “Ghost Variations”
Eric chose to perform this next piece as an encore at the 12th International Music Festival “Chopin and His Europe” from Italy to Poland – from Mozart to Bellini, Warsaw, 15–30 August 2016. Siloti’s arrangement of JS Bach’s Prelude in E minor in the first book of The Well Tempered Clavier, originally composed in 1722, has been described as possibly Siloti's most tender and perfect of transcriptions. It transposes Bach's original down from the original E minor into B minor, with the steady sixteenth note figuration that was originally given by Bach to the left hand being instead assigned to the right hand. Siloti also adds a repeat of the entire work, in order to allow for a change of voicing where the melody in the left hand is emphasized. The chords in the left hand are arpeggiated; however according to Siloti's daughter Kyriena (to whom the work was dedicated), he would omit the arpeggiation on the first pass and restore it on the repeat in order to heighten the effect of the left-hand melody.
Chopin for the Win
And we conclude this week’s Chopin Salon @ Home with a return to Chopin and to the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition where Eric Lu first rose to stardom on the international stage. Here, from the final round in Warsaw, is Eric performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11 with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk. It is no wonder that Eric won the special prize for Best Concerto in Miami at our 9th National Chopin Piano Competition just 8 months earlier. We couldn’t be more proud of Eric and happy for him with all that he has accomplished over the past 5 years!
And that concludes another edition of the Chopin Salons @ Home. Until next time!
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Chopin Foundation programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; and the City of Coral Gables. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Funding Arts Broward; the Miami Salon Group; and scores of generous donors.