Lunaris

With his extraordinary virtuosity and poetic sound, Bruce Liu, winner of the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition, is one of the most fascinating pianists of his generation. On his new album “Lunaris”, Liu presents a programme that reveals him at his most poetic, visionary and atmospheric.

At the heart of “Lunaris” are Beethoven’s legendary “Moonlight” and “Waldstein” Sonatas. Around these masterpieces, Liu unfolds a programme of extraordinary atmosphere and emotional depth, bringing together iconic piano works and hidden gems. Chopin’s beloved Nocturne, Debussy’s shimmering “Rêverie” and Bach’s timeless lyricism meet rarely recorded pieces by Mompou, the ecstatic intensity of Scriabin and the hypnotic beauty of Cage’s “Dream”. Contemporary colours from Agnes Obel and Ligeti lend this musical journey a fresh and unexpected dimension.

More than a classical recital album, “Lunaris” is an immersive listening experience: cinematic, nocturnal and deeply personal. Inspired by poetry, painting and the mystery of the night, Bruce Liu shapes each piece into a space of suspended time, light and imagination.

“It’s not only a selection of pieces I love, but it’s my attempt at creating a new way of listening and experiencing sound that has grown inside of me. This atmosphere of suspended time, and the coexistence of intimacy and distance, are things I recognize in my daily relationship with the instrument.” — Bruce Liu

Praised for his “elf-like virtuosity” (Le Monde) and “elegance and lightness of touch” (The Guardian), Liu invites listeners into a mesmerising world of moonlit reflection, imagination and transcendence.