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On August 4, 2020, on Michael Lu's 21st birthday, he performed a recital of Schubert, Florence Price, and Schumann for Piano Cleveland's Virtu(al)so Global Piano Competition for Artist Relief, organized in place of the Cleveland International Piano Competition. The recital included the world premiere live performance of the Cotton Dance (Presto) of Florence Price.

The replay of his performance may be viewed by clicking here

Michael will be donating 15% of his total prize money to both the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Anti-Slavery International.

Murray Perahia personally selected Michael Lu as one of 10 participants for his Beethoven Masterclass sponsored by G. Henle Verlag in Munich, Germany, which as of July 28, 2020, has now been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

A new date will be determined and announced well ahead of time. At the event, Michael will work with Maestro Perahia on Beethoven piano sonata Op. 111 in a public masterclass and perform at a lunch concert with the nine other young artists.

Tickets to the masterclass and lunch concert will be available from approximately 2 months before the new date.

Michael Lu's June 19 performance of Florence Price's Andante from Piano Sonata in E minor from his recital for 5pm Series was named one of the "best online performances" by Pianist magazine for that week

Michael Lu performed an online recital for 5pm Series on June 19, 2020. He dedicated the concert to the memory of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and every single African-American whose lives were criminally cut short by a social system and structure that for centuries has treated African-Americans with astounding cruelty. 

In this recital, Michael gave his debut performance of a masterpiece by a female African-American composer, the Andante second movement from Florence Price's E minor sonata. Listen to the Andante here. On August 1 at 11 EST, Michael will discuss the entire sonata in-depth before performing it in its entirety; link here.

He also performed Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody, Franck's Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue, and Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111. Replay to the full recital here.

If you enjoyed the concert, please donate in Michael Lu's name to 5pm Series. 100% of donations benefit the International Rescue Committee (35%), the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (30%), and the 5pm Series (35%). As of June 19, 2020, Michael Lu has matched $200 in total donations to the NAACP.

More: 

Article about the concert by the Cleveland Institute of Music Newsroom

Interview with Ellie Palmer of Pianist

Interview with Jarrett Hoffman of Cleveland Classical

Michael Lu was a featured artist on Piano Cleveland's The Quarantine Concerts on April 2, 2020. 

The concert series was launched by Piano Cleveland in response to the COVID-19 crisis which poses a grim threat to the art scene in Cleveland. Michael performed Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and Schumann. 

The replay to the concert may be found here.

Introduction of Michael by Piano Cleveland President Yaron Kohlberg begins at 31:55, followed by Michael's performance.

If you enjoyed the concert, please consider donating to Piano Cleveland's Musician's Fund.

Maria João Pires selected Michael Lu as one of six participants at the 2020 Gilmore Keyboard Festival Partitura Residency, which on March 13 was unfortunately cancelled, along with the entire festival, due to COVID-19 fears. Please stay safe during this difficult time and heed the advice given by the CDC and all other public health officials.