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Michael Lu, noted for “moving” (Pianist) performances of a “warm, enveloping tone” (Cleveland Classical), is an American pianist whose artistry and musical philosophy follows in the traditions of his legendary predecessors like William Kapell, Leon Fleisher, Julius Katchen, and Van Cliburn. With a deep commitment to the core piano repertoire—he receives special recognition for his performances of Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, and Brahms—Michael also stands out as a unique champion of American piano literature. He gave world premieres of two rediscovered pieces by Florence Price, as well as Cleveland premieres of works by Ned Rorem and George Walker. He also regularly plays in his recitals works by Rebecca Clarke, Aaron Copland and Charles Griffes. Michael additionally champions many living American composers such as Adolphus Hailstork, Jennifer Higdon, Lowell Liebermann, and Bright Sheng.
In 2023, Michael was one of six pianists invited to Maria João Pires’ Partitura Residency at the Gilmore Piano Festival, where his performance of Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze at the special Festival concert left an indelible impression on the great pianist. Later in the program Michael collaborated with Pires in four-hand and six-hand works by Grieg and Rachmaninoff. In 2022, Michael was selected by Murray Perahia to participate in his series of masterclasses on the Beethoven piano sonatas in Munich, an event sponsored by G. Henle Verlag that profoundly deepened Michael’s understanding of the intersectionality of the emotional and intellectual dimensions of music.
As a concerto soloist, Michael’s repertoire spans the five Beethoven concertos, all the piano concertos of Brahms and Chopin, almost all the piano concertos and Paganini Rhapsody of Rachmaninoff, most of the great Mozart piano concertos, as well as works by Gershwin, Grieg, Liszt, Prokofiev, Saint-Saëns, and Schumann. By early 2026 he will add several great American piano concertos to his repertoire, including the Barber Piano Concerto, the Bernstein “Age of Anxiety”, and Hailstork’s Piano Concerto. He appears as a soloist with numerous orchestras worldwide, working with such conductors as Stephen Mulligan and Gemma New. His 2017 performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra conducted by New at a sold-out Powell Symphony Hall was telecasted by PBS affiliate KETC (Nine Network of Public Media).
Beyond his solo work, Michael is a passionate chamber musician, having performed with members of the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. His chamber music mentors include Sharon Robinson, Jaime Laredo, and Philip Setzer. He regularly participates in the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Intensive Duo and Advanced Piano Trio Programs.
In 2017, Michael founded Classical Music for a Better World (CMBW), an organization dedicated to harnessing classical music’s full transformative power to help better serve its listeners and practitioners. Through themed mini-concerts, he has curated such events as his 2020 lecture-recital on Florence Price’s Piano Sonata and a 2021 concert honoring International Women’s Day with works by women composers. He hopes to one day found a large research institute dedicated to Franz Schubert in the United States.
Michael has also received recognition as the winner of several top prizes in international competitions. In 2014, he won the First Prize in the Midwest International Piano Competition, where the jury included Alexander Toradze. He additionally won a gold medal with high distinction at the Manhattan International Music Competition in 2019.
Born in Boston and raised in St. Louis, Michael began piano studies when he was five. He studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch and Seth Carlin in high school before pursuing full-scholarship studies with Antonio Pompa-Baldi at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Michael was also a student of Jon Kimura Parker and Reid Smith.
Current as of October 2024