Amsterdam Sinfonietta (photo Marco Borggreve)

Homesick for Italy

Amsterdam Sinfonietta + Bruce Liu
Wed 26 Mar 2025 20:15 - 22:00
Wed 26 Mar 2025
20:15 - 22:00
  • Wed 26 Mar 2025
    20:15 - 22:00
    Grote Zaal

Program

19:15 / Foyerdeck 1 / Pre-concert talk

20:15 / Grote Zaal / Main programme
Frédéric Chopin Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante
Pjotr Tsjaikovski Souvenir de Florence
Mieczysław Weinberg Aria
Frédéric Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2

Credits

Amsterdam Sinfonietta
Candida Thompson direction, violin
Bruce Liu piano

Winner of Chopin Piano Competition performs as soloist in two works

‘The sun shines radiantly, at last I feel a magical change within me’, Tchaikovsky wrote during a visit to the Italian city of Florence. Souvenir de Florence, a tribute to the city he adored, bursts at the seams with love and joy. Bruce Liu makes his debut with Amsterdam Sinfonietta performing Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto and the virtuoso Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante, both in versions for piano and string orchestra.

Bruce Liu was born in Paris to Chinese parents and grew up in Montreal. ‘What we all have in common is our difference’, the young pianist likes to say. The cultural diversity he grew up with has shaped his personality. Bruce Liu won first prize at the 18th Chopin Piano Competition in 2021, after which his international career took flight. 

A pianist ‘evoking Shura Cherkassky and Georges Cziffra in a single breath’ - Gramophone Magazine