Philharmonia & Bruce Liu: Rachmaninoffs Pianoconcert nr. 2

Bruce Liu

Canadian pianist Bruce Liu's career took off after winning the eighteenth edition of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2021. Just before that, he was backstage doing some magic tricks for fellow candidates. Magic is a hobby, just like racing and swimming. Liu prefers to play the piano that way to avoid routine and stay inspired.

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2

It is clear that Bruce Liu is a star in Chopin, but other composers also have his full attention. The Second Piano Concerto is one of Rachmaninoff's most famous works. The composer overcame a 'writer's block' in 1900 with the help of hypnosis – and the opening line from the piano certainly sounds hypnotic. Rachmaninoff dedicated the concert to his treating physician, Nicolai Dahl. Bruce Liu is accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Sibelius's Fifth Symphony takes up the second half of the program.