Anyone arriving even a minute late for Qi Liu’s piano recital was hard-pressed to find an open seat. In fact, even before she began to play her first piece, several members of the audience were already banished to the staircase or temporary folding-chairs, straining their necks to catch a glimpse of the musical master.
Sunday afternoon in the Russell House Millett Room, students, faculty, friends and family alike eagerly gathered to hear Liu, a world-renowned pianist and Wesleyan faculty member, play the Works of Frederic Chopin.
From the opening movements of the recital, Liu’s music seemed to stop time altogether. She presented twelve movements in the “Preludes, Op. 28,” entrancing her audience with a dazzling spectrum of emotions. Ranging from vivid and bold to delicate and restrained, each movement took on its own unique character, setting a definite mood with each beginning.
“She is an incredibly meticulous piano player, and simply remarkable,” said Nancy Albert, University Coordinator of Russell House Programs, during intermission. “She gave a tremendous performance, very strong and spirited. She really brought out the best in our antique Bechstein piano, which was given to Russell House by the Marcus family.”
A native of Shanghai, China, and a graduate of the Shanghai Music Conservatory, Liu received her Master of Music in 2001 at the Yale School of Music. She went on to have her live performance aired by the BBC, and in 2003 became a finalist and a prizewinner of the Dorothy MacKenzie Artist Recognition Award in New York City.
After performing in concerts in China, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, and countless music festivals around the world, Liu decided to become a private music instructor at Wesleyan.
“She is as good a teacher as she is a pianist,” remarked Andrew Holbein ’06, one of Liu’s long-time private piano students. “While many piano teachers do an unsatisfactory job of picking the kind of music you want to play, Liu is exactly the opposite. I tell her exactly what I want to learn, and she sticks to that.”
Holbein also asserted that Liu has reinforced his interest in learning technique, as well as a deep appreciation for the beauty of classical music.
The second half of Liu’s concert, which included Chopin’s “Fantasie in F Minor,” “Four Mazurkas, Op. 33” and “Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise in E-Flat Major, Op. 22,” was equally mesmerizing,“ he said. ”It was impossible not to be overcome by Ms. Liu’s natural poise and grace. Her fingers flew over the keys of the grand piano as if they had a life of their own, as if they were a separate entity altogether.
Afterward, Barbara Ally, Associate Director of the Center for the Fine Arts, remarked on the extraordinary quality of the concert.
“Ms. Liu played with such power, energy, and sensitivity,” she said. “It was wonderful to have so many of her Wesleyan students in the audience.”
Ally, who coordinates a number of performance series, including the Crowell Music Series, Breaking Ground Dance Series and Outside the Box Theater Series, said that these musical events are in fact a wonderful opportunity for music students to meet renowned artists in their fields.
The concert was part of a year-long series sponsored by the Russell House Concert Committee. This series presents three concerts in the fall, and two in the spring.
“We like to feature private teachers because they can have exposure to future students,” Albert said. “It is also a good way for new faculty such as Ms. Liu to be welcomed into the community.”
In watching her, one never got the impression that Liu was struggling or working. Rather, she seemed simply to enjoy the music she created. Indeed, Liu exhibited a rare and perfect combination of intense concentration and confidence – the sheer joy with which she played sent her notes soaring through the hall long after the last of her audience had left.
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