She really seems immersed into what she's playing, without forced faces or exaggerated movements. Her music is very honest and she seems like a very humble person
...and she’s back! Russian style this may not be but this is a solid interpretation with depth. She should have won the last Chopin Competition in 2015! Bravo Kate, cannot wait to hear more of your performances and maybe see you live one day!
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) Études-Tableaux, Op. 39 *(1917)* 0:22 No. 5 in E-Flat Minor *Appassionato* Kate Liu, piano✨ *The Gilmore Rising Stars Series* *Wellspring Theater* *Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, April 28, 2019*
Simply put Ms Liu is a great musician, a great pianist and this is a totally successful performance of difficult but enormously;y compelling piece. She understands this bold work better than any other pianist I have ever heard and she has the passion, the intelligence the poetry and the dramatic temperament and of course the virtuosity to totally fulfill the demands of the piece...A gresaa artist at work...all hail!
Kate Liu does not miss any „line” in this piece: her ear for voicing while playing is not just spectacular, but unique: because this sort of performance can be heard by no past or present pianist.
While I admire Miss Liu's phrasing of the melody, especially her voicing of the counterpoint in the middle section, I find this performance lacking in harmonic awareness. While the interpretation is on point, the technique comes off as banging the keys, creating a harsh, unpleasant sound in the climax. Vladimir Ashkenazy still holds the supreme performance of this piece, in my opinion.
