LIVE: Introductions Alumna Kate Liu, Third Prize Winner 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition

January 16, 2016, 11:00 am

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On Saturday’s broadcast, we are thrilled to feature one of the first performers on Introductions, pianist Kate Liu.
Kate Liu began playing the piano at the age of four. Two years later, she was admitted to the Yamaha Music School for gifted musicians in Singapore, and at age eight, Kate moved with her family to the Chicago area. The 21-year-old Liu currently resides in Winnetka, Illinois and attended New Trier High School. She studied at the Music Institute of Chicago beginning in 2004 with the late Emilio del Rosario, then with Micah Yui and Alan Chow. She currently studies with Robert McDonald at the Curtis Institute of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree.
Kate was a member of the inaugural class of the Academy, a special training program at the Music Institute of Chicago for gifted pre-college musicians.
Kate Liu has won several prizes at international piano competitions:

  • 2010: New York International Piano Competition in New York City, USA – 1st prize
  • 2010: Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition in Oberlin, USA – 3rd prize
  • 2012: Eastman Young Artist International Piano Competition in Rochester, USA – 3rd prize
  • 2014: Montreal International Musical Competition in Montreal, Canada – finalist
  • 2015: The 3rd Asia-Pacific International Chopin Competition in Daegu, South Korea – 1st prize
  • 2015: 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland (2015) – 3rd prize (bronze medal) and the special prize by the Polish Radio for the best performance of Mazurkas

She has performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic, Daegu (South Korea), Evanston, Montreal, Rochester, Hilton Head, Cleveland, and Skokie Valley orchestras. At age 14, she performed Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor four-handed with Lang Lang at Symphony Center in Chicago.
Alan Chow, piano faculty at Northwestern University and the Music Institute of Chicago Academy program, commented, “Kate is an absolute joy to know and to teach… What sets her apart from other pianists of her generation are perhaps two things: first, her intensely personal desire to know more, to search for meaning and answers in her music—she is always thinking and is never easily satisfied. Second, it’s her ability to express and communicate her emotions fully and completely in performance—she’s ‘in the moment’ on stage. And when she performs, it’s completely honest—no affectations of any kind. I think this combination of qualities is quite rare in someone her age. She is clearly on the verge of a wonderful performing career!”
Later in 2016, Liu will embark upon an international concert tour, including Japan, Korea, Poland, Singapore, and Shanghai.

  • Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62, No. 1, by Fryderyk Chopin

  • Piano Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58, by Fryderyk Chopin
    I. Allegro maestoso
    II. Scherzo: Molto vivace
    III. Largo
    IV. Finale: Presto non tanto; Agitato