Yi-Chih Lu

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A triple threat - virtuosic pianist, skilled arranger & composer

“Mr. Lu plays with magisterial fluency of technique, beautiful tone at all times, and most importantly a deep passionate emotional involvement…” by Frank Daykin of New York Concert Review

”Lu musizierte filigran und musikalisch, und phrasierte mit glasklarer Brillanz.”Allgäuerzeitung
(“LU plays sophisticatedly and musically, and phrasing with crystal clear brilliance”)

“…Yichih LU had the speed, dexterity and sense of devilish fun for Liszt’s Grandes Etudes de Paganini Nos. 5 and 6” South Florida Classical Review

Yi-Chih LU, pianist, composer & arranger
Recognized as a virtuosic performer during early stage of his career, Taiwanese pianist Yi-Chi LU has explored the realms of arranging and composing in recent years, meanwhile, championed the works of prestigious Taiwanese composers.
Yi-Chi LU made his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2022 and the performance was praised by the local critic as having “[The] sweeping sense of lyricism that was enabled by the sureness of his technique…” LU’s virtuosity was recognized by music enthusiasts as early as 2012 when he was awarded The Best Instrumental Performance by the Golden Melody Award (the Taiwanese GRAMMYs) with his solo album My Chopin; My Brahms, and around the same period, his recordings of Kurt Böhm’s piano works were highly praised by Bayern 4 Klassik. In addition to the Western repertoire, LU is a champion of Taiwanese composers, dedicating his skill and musicality to their works. He had recorded full albums of piano pieces by Su-Ti CHEN (Taiwan Sketches) and Chi-Lien HUNG during the beginning of his career and in recent years was invited to perform at The Resonance of Taiwan – KOU Chih Yuan’s 100th Anniversary Concert, as well as Love for God and Homeland - CHEN Su-ti Memorial Concert, as a faithful interpreter of the composers’ seminal works.
Started as a musical hobby, Lu is now a skilled arranger. Fashion after the method best advocated by Franz Liszt, LU breathes new lives into Taiwanese folk songs by transforming them into pianistic arrangements with dramatic effects. Sheet music of said arrangements had been published since 2014 and in 2016 an album of his better-known works Zongzi was released. LU’s rendition of Taiwanese folk songs are so popular that they become an essential part of his repertoire and his version of ‘Peach Blossom Takes the Ferry’ has received 300,000 views on Youtube. In 2021, LU’s arrangement of another Taiwanese classic "Longing for Your Early Return" ("bāng-lí-tsá-kui") for string quartet and soprano voice was awarded by the New Taipei City Culture Foundation.
To push himself further, LU tries his hand at composing. He has been commissioned to set several works of Taiwanese poets into music, shared credit for the song “Wake Up” which won the "Hakka Melody Award" in 2022, and his work for equal voice chorus “Cabbage” has won the Sing for Love composition competition hosted by Taipei Chamber Singers.
Based in Taiwan, Yi-Chi LU has performed overseas in 45 cities in Europe, US, and Asian countries, on the stage of important venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Musikverein in Vienna, Berliner Philharmonie, and major concert halls in Salzburg, Stuttgart, Munich…etc. He has appeared with Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchester BerlinClassicPlayers, Arad State Philharmonic, Seattle Festival Orchestra, Sendai Citizen Symphony Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO), Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Chinese Orchestra, Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO), and Evergreen Symphony Orchestra.
LU has worked with conductors: Nian-Fu LIAO, Günther Herbig, Gernot Schmalfuss, Karen Kamensek, MOGI Daisuke, Wen-Pin CHIEN, Jun Märkl, Kuokman LIO, Li-Pin CHENG, Paul Tien-Chi LIN, Wen-chen CHUANG, Huei-Ming TWU, Yu-An CHANG, Dorin Frandes, Christopher CHEN, Pyoung-Young LIM, Yao-Yu WU, Perry SO, Aikuang SUN, Shu-Ling LU, Yin-Fang CHANG, Yu Min LIU, Wen-Hsien Chang, Tingyuh WU, Chen-Sheng LEE, Tzu-Cheng WANG, Po-Hsiu CHIEN, Ulrich Riehl, Tzu Yi Chien, Yen-Ching LU, Wei-Che Hung, collaborated with outstanding musicians: Shien-Ta SU, Richard LIN, William WEI, Li-Wei QIN, Chun-Chieh YEN, and in the coming season, he will share the stage with conductor Bobby Collins and Hsieh Wei-Min.
Born in Taipei, Yi-Chi LU studied music at the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna and received the ‘Cziffra Prize’ in recognition of his exceptional performance. He later received Konzertexamen from the University of the Arts Berlin and won 13 top prizes in international competitions such as Sendai and J.N. Hummel. LU currently holds assistant professorships at the Taipei National University of the Arts.