The Muse: LIU JI

About me

Ji was born in 1990. He began his musical training at the age of 3 and has made his Carnegie Hall Recital Debut when he was 13 in New York. Since then, Ji has played solo, concerto and chamber concerts in Asia, America and Europe. In 2007, he made his debut with Bach Goldberg Variations in Gstaad, Switzerland and also in Queen Elisabeth Hall, Southbank Centre in London, UK. Further engagements have included the debut at the Auditorium de Louvre in Paris and Town Hall at the Olten in Switzerland.

When he was 14, Ji performed Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major with French Republic Guard Orchestra and Mr. Francois Boulanger in Canada. Same year, he also collaborated with Mr. Eric Lederhandler for Ravel’s two Piano Concertos with Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra in China. Recently, he has played the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 with Mr. Tadaaki Otaka in London, 2008.

In 2005 and 2006, Ji took part in the Verbier Festival & Academy in Switzerland, where he received the only piano award for the most talented participants, Tabor Piano Award and CUBS prize from UBS Bank. In 2008, Ji won the Martin Musical Award from the Phiharmonia Orchestra in London, UK.

Ji has won numerous competitions. In 1997, he won the First Prize in the Chaoyang Piano Competition after which he made his concert debut. When he was 9 years old, he took the Best Competitor Prize in the 8th Xing Hai Cup National Piano Competition in Beijing, China. In 2002, he was the Second Prize Winner of the First National Piano Competition in Gulangyu Island in China. In 2003, Ji won the First Prize of the 6th Pinault International Piano Competition in New York City in U.S.A. In May of 2004, he won the Second Prize in the 11th International Music Competition Jeunesses Musicales in Bucharest, Romania. Also one month later, June of 2004, he won the first prize of Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey International Piano Competition in Canada.

Ji has appeared at Festivals such as Verbier Music Festival & Academy in Switzerland, Lake Como Piano Academy in Italy, and International Chamber music festival in Stavanger, Norway. In July of 2004, 2005 and 2006, he took part in the Hotchkiss School Chamber Music Summer Program with the full scholarship, where he had the chamber music concert Series and masterclasses with the Miami String Quartet, Ying String Quartet, Brentano String Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Opus 1 Piano Quartet and Mendelsshon String Quartet.

Ji has played in masterclasses for such as Claude Frank, Richard Goode, Menahem Pressler, Seymour Lipkin, Boris Berman, Zoltan Kocsis, Paul Badura-Skoda, Fou Ts’ong, Ivan Klansky, Jiri Hlinka, Barry Douglas, Lylia Zilberstein, Ida Kavafian, Kristina Steinegger, Pamela Frank, Yuri Bashmet, and Salvatore Accardo.

From 2002 to 2006, he studied piano with Professor Minduo Li (a former student of legendary Russian pianist, Yakov Zak) and conducting with Professor Fu Renchang at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Since 2006, he has been the formal student under Mr. Dmitri Bashkirov with full scholarship in Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain. In the meanwhile, he is now doing the Bachelor of Music Degree with Prof. Christopher Elton at Royal Academy of Music with full scholarship.

My work

Liu Ji’s Piano Reportoire

Bach：
Prelude and Fugue in D major,Book I
Prelude and Fugue in d minor, Book I
Prelude and Fugue in E major, Book I
Prelude and Fugue in F sharp major, Book I
Prelude and Fugue in f sharp minor, Book I
Prelude and Fugue in A flat major, Book I
Prelude and Fugue in C major, Book II
Prelude and Fugue in c minor, Book II
Prelude and Fugue in d minor, Book II
French Suite in b minor No.3
French Suite in G major No.5
French Suite in E major No.6
English Suite in A major No.1
Partita in c minor No.2
Partita in e minor No.6
Capriccioso on the Departure of a Beloved Brother in B flat major
Chaconne in d minor: J.S.Bach-Busoni
Goldberg Variations

Haydn：
Sonata in C major
Sonata XVI:49
Sonata XVI:50
Sonata in F major
Sonata in E major

Mozart：
Sonata K.331
Sonata K.330
Sonata K.332
Sonata K.333
Sonata K.545
Fantasy K.475,

Beethoven：
Sonata Op.2, No.2
Sonata Op.13 “Pathetique”
Sonata Op.27 No.1
Sonata Op.28
Sonata Op.31 No.1
Sonata Op.31 No.2 “Tempest”
Sonata Op.31 No.3
Sonata Op.49
Sonata Op.53 “Waldstein”
Sonata Op.110

Schubert：
Sonata in B flat major D.960
Op. 90 No.2.3.4 from Four Impromptus

Mendelssohn ：
Rondo Capriccioso Op.14

Chopin ：
Etudes Op.10, Etudes Op.25
Nocturne Op.15,No.2
Nocturne Op.27 No.1,2
Nocturne Op.48,No.1
Nocturen in c sharp minor Op.posth
Ballade in G minor,Op.23
Ballade in F major,Op38
Scherzo in B flat minor Op.31
Sonata in b flat minor Op.35
Polonaise Op.40 No.1
Polonaise Op.53
Fantasy Op.49
Barcarole Op.60
Mazurka Op.50
Waltz Op.42
Waltz Op.34 No.1
Waltz Op.70 No.1
24 Preludes Op.28

Schumann：
Variations on the name Abegg Op.1
Etude Symphoniques Op.13
Kinderscennen Op.15
Canaval Op.9
Piano Sonata in g minor Op.22

Liszt：
6 Transcendental Etudes after Paganini
Transcendental Etudes after Paganini No.6
Concert Etudes “Unsospiro”
Transcendental Etudes “Maaeppa”
Transcendental Etudes “Feux follets”
Transcendental Etudes “Wild Jagd”
Transcendental Etudes “Allegro molto agitato”
Tarantella
Hungarian Rhapsody No.12
Hungarian Rhapsody No.2( Horowitz transcription)
Sonata in b minor
Totentanz Solo Version


Brahms：
Piano Sonata No.2

Tchaikovsky:：
Dumka Op.59
Nocturne from Op.19

Claude Debussy：
Suite Bergamasque
Etudes
12 Preludes Book I


Rachmaninoff：
Etudes-tableaux Op.33 No.2
Etudes-tableaux Op.33 No.3
Etudes-tableaux Op.39 No.5
Etudes-tableaux Op.39 No.8

Prokofiev：
Four pieces Op.4
Four Etudes Op.2

Alexander Scrabin：
Etude Op.2 No.1
Etude Op.8 No.12
Sonata No.4
Nocturne Op.9 No.2 (for the left hand only)

Mily Balakirev:
Islamey

Bartok:
Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs,Op.20

Messiaen:
Regard de l'Esprit de joie from the Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus

Felux Blumenfeld
Etude Op.36 (for the left hand only)

Concerto
Mozart：
Piano concerto K.503
Beethoven：
Piano concerto No.3 Op.37
Piano concerto No.4 Op.58
Chopin：
Concerto in e minor No.1
Grande Polonaise in E flat with Andante Spianato Op.22
Ravel：
Piano concerto in G major
Piano concerto “for the left hand”
Brahms:
Piano concerto Op.15
Tchaikovsky:
Piano concerto No.1 Op.23
Rachmaninoff：
Piano concerto No.2 Op.18
Rhapsody on a Theme of Pagnini Op.43
Prokofiev：
Piano concerto No.2
Piano concerto No.3
Piano concerto No.4 (for the left hand only)

Chamber music
Haydn：
Piano Trio “Gypsi”
Mozart：
Piano Quartet K.493 in E flat major
Piano Quintet with Winds
Beethoven：
Piano Trio Op.1 No.1
Piano Trio Op.70 No.1
Piano Trio with Clarinet and Cello
Schubert：
Piano Trio Op.99 in B flat major
Piano and Violin Sonata in D major
Schumann:
Piano Quartet in E flat major
Mendelssohn：
Piano Quartet in f minor Op.2
Piano Trio in d minor
Brahms：
Piano Quintet Op.34 in f minor
Piano trio with clarinet and cello
Piano and Vionlin Sonata No.1 and No.2
Ravel：
Piano Trio in a minor
La Valse for 2 pianos
Debussy：
Piano Trio in G major
Tchaikovsky：
Piano Trio in a minor
Dvorak：
Piano trio in f minor.
Sonatina for Piano and Violin
Faure：
Piano Quintet No.2