Overview
Biography
Bruce Xiaoyu Liu (born Xiaoyu Liu on May 8, 1997) is a Canadian pianist. In 2021, he won first prize at the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition.
Early life and education
Born in Paris to Chinese parents from Beijing, Liu's family moved to Montreal when he was six. At eight years old, he began to play the piano and was performing in competitions by the age of eleven. Liu graduated from the Montreal Conservatory of Music in the piano class of Richard Raymond. He is currently studying with Đặng Thái Sơn at the Université de Montréal.
Career
Liu has performed worldwide with many leading ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. His recent engagements include successive tours of China with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and the Lviv National Philharmonic. He has also toured North America with the NCPA Orchestra and performed in Paris at the Salle Gaveau with Orchestre Lamoureux.
At the age of fifteen, Liu won the Grand Prize at the 2012 Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Standard Life Competition. Winner of the 2015 Prix d’Europe, he received major prizes at the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition in 2012 and the Sendai International Music Competition in 2016. He was also a finalist of the Montreal International Music Competition and the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv.
In 2021, Liu was named the winner of the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition. Shortly after, Deutsche Grammophon announced that they would be releasing a set of live recordings of his performances from various stages of the competition.
Awards
- 2012: Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition - Second Prize
- 2012: Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Standard Life Competition - Grand Prize
- 2015: Prix d’Europe - Winner
- 2016: Sendai International Music Competition - Fourth Prize and Audience Prize
- 2019: Viseu International Piano Competition - First Prize
- 2021: International Chopin Piano Competition - First Prize
