Ji Liu (pianist)

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Ji Liu (刘骅骐骥) is a Chinese concert pianist, recording artist, and published composer based in London. Born in 1990 in China, his mother played guitar and his father played trumpet, though neither were professional musicians. He began piano at age three and studied piano and conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. At 13 he won the 6th Pinault piano competition in New York, which led to a debut recital at Carnegie Hall.

He then studied with Dmitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. In 2007 he moved to London on a full scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) to study piano with Christopher Elton and composition with Ruth Byrchmore. He earned a Master of Music and a DipRAM from RAM in 2013.

Career highlights include his 2014 Royal Albert Hall debut performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. His first recording, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with James Watson and RAM's Symphonic Brass, was released in 2010. His solo album Piano Reflections appeared with Classic FM in 2014. In 2016 he world-premiered Ludovico Einaudi's Piano Concerto Domino with the RLPO. In 2017 he performed at Classic FM's 25th birthday concert at Dumfries House in the presence of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

In 2018 he signed with Master Music Publications to publish his arrangements of works by Rachmaninov, Saint-Saëns and de Falla, and his own compositions, including Opera Moment No. 1 for Solo Piano dedicated to Stephen Hough.

Ji Liu has won numerous awards early in his career, including prizes at the Verbier Festival and the Brant International Pianoforte Competition (where he was the youngest ever first prize winner), and support from organizations such as the Yamaha Music Foundation, Hattori Foundation and YCAT (Young Classical Artists Trust). He also received the Martin Musical Award from the Philharmonia Orchestra (2008–2012).

Discography highlights include American Icons (2011) featuring Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with RAM Symphonic Brass and James Watson; Piano Reflections (2014); Piano Encores (2015); Pure Chopin (2016); and Fire & Water (2018).