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Christopher Halls

Given the excitement surrounding Eric Lu’s victory at the 2025 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition on October 21, it came as no surprise that the Chinese-American’s all-Chopin recital on December 7, presented by the HKU Muse Piano Laureate Series, sold out so quickly that an extra performance was added.
The renowned music writer, composer and pianist Jed Distler described Lu as “a pianist who knows exactly what he wants from his instrument and how to get it”, while blogging on the quasi “Olympics” for rising pianists – and he was right on the money.
Going by his Hong Kong recital debut in October 2024, the seemingly mild-mannered pianist was not about to display much outward emotion on his return to the Grand Hall at the University of Hong Kong. True to form, he simply let the Steinway grand do the talking.
With generous doses of sustain pedal and laser focus at the keys, Lu’s concert opener, Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp minor, glistened like pristine stars on a clear night. The busyness in the midpoint agitation was detailed and measured, and the finesse and tenderness that Lu lent the nocturne’s conclusion were impressive.
Belying its title, the following piece, the Barcarolle in F-sharp major, is a whole lot more than just the clichéd rocking of Venetian gondolas – something that Chopin never set foot in. It was shaped by Lu into a colourful tone painting, depicting watery undulations by means of refined and discreet rubatos, then developing into immense, relentless swells by way of brilliant dynamic escalation and contrapuntal intensity.

Next came three successive polonaises, which proved a fascinating glimpse into the rich musical diversity found in Chopin’s different expressions of this traditional Polish dance.
Often called the “tragic” polonaise, the darkly-hued nature of the Polonaise in F-sharp minor was initially captured by Lu in a mildly mischievous fashion, then subsequently by unleashing bolts of dark fury in the polonaise’s theme.
Its contrasting central mazurka was shaded wonderfully with pillow-soft chords and subtle lilts, again giving way to the initial compulsiveness. Lu’s subsequent torrents of notes were arresting, and just as things appeared to lose force and momentum, the young pianist unleashed a barrage of fortissimo double octaves that resembled crocodiles snapping ferociously and feasting on their prey.
As far as polonaises go, a very different beast followed, and even after Chopin wrote extensive sketches for it, he confessed, “I’d like to finish something that I don’t yet know what to call.”
In Lu’s account of the heroic Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat major, listeners were confronted with the whole kit and caboodle of a full-blown fantasy, from great rhetorical breadth and tonal lustre to some welcome outbursts of unbridled passion from Lu, which neared the full mileage of the Steinway’s range.

That range, both dynamically and emotionally speaking, was then exploited by Lu after the break. Virtuosic brilliance and bravura were a given in the Polonaise in B-flat major, Chopin’s “breakthrough” in this genre, but all that took a back seat as the young artist began to unearth greater emotional depth, evoking the coquetry of salon life and all the contrasting dialogues inherent to Chopin’s later style, especially in the polonaise’s Trio.
Certainly no less attention-grabbing was Lu’s account of the towering Piano Sonata No 2 in B-flat minor, which proved a veritable bevy of imaginative voicing to conclude his recital.
In the first movement’s development, where Chopin deals primarily with the main galloping theme, Lu was masterful in reintroducing the crucial introductory figure with extreme tenderness in the right hand and notable force in the left.
More eccentricity also crept into play in his fierce scherzo, showing Lu’s hands leaping forcefully with bitingly precise octaves, contrasted then with a jewel of a Trio section that was both otherworldly in its mysticism and studded with shining gems.
Of the multitude of moving versions of the third movement’s “Funeral March” out there, one would be hard pressed to top Lu’s profoundly still and heart-wrenching account of it.
Powerfully tragic, utterly mesmerising and so wonderfully contrasted with its soft, consolatory midsection, it was a definitive desert island pick, capped off magnificently with a whirlwind finale of astonishing precision and wild swirls.
Finally, as the last piece of his three encores, Lu offered some quiet words to the audience by announcing that the Aria from Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” was a tribute to the victims and all those affected by the Tai Po fire tragedy.
“2025 Chopin First Prize Winner: Eric Lu”, HKU Muse, Grand Hall, the University of Hong Kong. Reviewed: December 7.


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Arts

The Chinese-American pianist’s all-Chopin recital, part of the HKU Muse Piano Laureate Series, was powerful, intense and emotional


The Chinese-American pianist’s all-Chopin recital, part of the HKU Muse Piano Laureate Series, was powerful, intense and emotional.


Classical music

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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Chinese-American pianist’s all-Chopin recital, part of the HKU Muse Piano Laureate Series, was powerful, intense and emotional

The Chinese-American pianist’s all-Chopin recital, part of the HKU Muse Piano Laureate Series, was powerful, intense and emotional