"BIOGRAPHY"

such as Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Barbican Centre, St. John's Smith Square and Wigmore Hall; Birmingham's Symphony Hall and Town Hall, Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall and Lakeside Arts Centre, Bristol's Colston Hall and Old Vic Theatre, Newcastle's Sage Gateshead, Leeds Town Hall, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, etc.; international venues and festivals such as all the major concert halls in China, Carnegie Hall and 92nd Street Y in New York City, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo; Henley Festival, Leeds International Music Festival, Bath International Music Festival, Brighton Music Festival, Petworth Festival and Bristol Proms in the UK, Verbier Festival and Gstaad Festival in Switzerland and the Stavanger Chamber Music Festival in Norway.

Ji Liu has performed regularly with the Philharmonia Orchestra, such as at Dorking Halls, Royal Festival Hall and the Henley Festival. He had also worked closely with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, on its China tour under Vasily Petrenko and at the Royal Albert Hall and its opening season concerts at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The other UK and International orchestras he performed with include Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, London Concert Orchestra, Kensington Symphony Orchestra, Beijing's NCPA Orchestra, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Neo Classica Camerata, etc.

His playing always embraces the distinctive qualities of devotion, originality, purity and authenticity. This was pointed out by Pianist Magazine which noted of Ji Liu’s debut album:

“Ji Liu has a technique to match any virtuoso, however, it is his sensitive and unpretentious musicality that shines forth in this well-recorded debut album”.

The Nottingham Post noted:

“I'm not sure if the RCH Steinway has ever yielded more ravishing sounds, with notes not so much played as caressed into life. There was gossamer lightness in some of the quieter Chopin waltzes as well as streams of notes pulsating with ever-changing colour.”

As a prolific recording artist, back in 2010, Ji Liu's recording of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with Royal Academy of Music Symphonic Brass and James Watson under the Academy's label has foreseen Ji Liu's prosperous discography.

His debut solo album “Piano Reflections”, released by Classic FM (distributed by Decca Records), reached number one on the UK Classical Charts and made him the UK's classical breakthrough artist of the year. This album was also nominated as the “Best Classical Album” in the prestigious Chinese Music Awards. Ji Liu released "Piano Encores" and "Pure Chopin" following this sensation. The latter was selected as one of the 20 best classical albums by Classic FM.

In his fifth album, "Fire and Water", Ji Liu draws on an ancient five-element theory contained within Chinese philosophy featuring French impressionism works, new arrangements by Ji Liu himself and Agosti's rarely recorded arrangement of Stravinsky's “Firebird Suite”, in a profound exploration of the complexity of the piano.

James Manheim addressed Ji Liu's multi-identity being a composer-pianist in reviewing the "Fire and Water" album,

"…Ji Liu has several things going for him that keep you listening. One is that he is a composer himself, and he does several of the arrangements of non-piano pieces here. Sample "The Aquarium," from Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals, where he effectively favours his own strengths: the liquid quality of his upper register is put to good use, as it is in Ravel's Jeux d'eau…"

In 2018, Ji Liu was nominated as the "Best Classical Artist of the Year" at The Global Awards, celebrating the stars of music, news & entertainment. And during the Classic Brit Award, he was one of the "30 under 30" artists recommended by Apple Music.

Ji Liu's composition draws from diversified genres of improvisation, avant-garde, traditional Western forms and harmony and minimalism. And he is particularly interested in reworking existing materials and fragments, performing as composing, discovering possibilities of writing and performing unusually long compositions by contemporary composers in this digital age.

One of his compositions, Sonata-Fantasy No.3, lasting 18-hours, has been premiered with a live audience and streamed online over a non-stop live performance (certified by Guinness World Record). This research discussed and answered questions on the related contextual studies and issues of composing and performing long-form music works beyond conventional capacities.

The compilation book of his arrangements and original works, "Fire and Water", received favourable reviews on The Cross-Eyed Pianist, PianoDao, Interlude, etc.

His Fantasia - Frozen Starry (2021) was co-commissioned by Johnson & Johnson and WABC Foundation to support children with Autism. Ji Liu's compositional technique and philosophy are influenced by minimalist composers such as John Cage and Morton Feldman, with a contrasting calibre of composers from Michael Finnissy and Sorabji.

and innovative approaches to programming, performing and reworking them was supervised by Prof. Daniel Leech-Wilkinson at King's College London. This research has led to a series of worthwhile practice-based projects and written works highlighting complex relationships between performing and composing, programming and interpreting.

Ji Liu initially studied piano and conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Whilst still only 13, he won an international competition to perform a recital at New York's famed Carnegie Hall.

That concert proved to be a significant cultural shock and turning point in his career. After that, he relocated himself to Spain and studied under Dmitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid.

In 2007, Ji Liu was awarded a full scholarship to continue his first degree (BMus) focusing on Piano Performance with Professor Christopher Elton and Composition with Professor Ruth Byrchmore at London's Royal Academy of Music. Then, Ji Liu continued his postgraduate study at RAM and graduated with an MMus (distinction) and a DipRAM, the Academy's highest commendation.

the Tabor Award from the Verbier Festival, CUBS Award from Switzerland’s UBS bank, Young Classical Artist Trust, First Prize of the Birmingham International Piano Competition, and the Exceptional Talent from Arts Council England, Ji Liu is committed to contributing music to the community and engaging music of all genres with the local people as well as the outstanding musicians of tomorrow. With his diversified educational background and his unique experience as a creative artist, Ji Liu has a pioneering and artistic vision that he uses to supervise and inspire fellow students.

Ji Liu has been working with Dr Katherine Scholfield and other three research associates to curate new "Global Music Histories and Performance" curriculums to promote “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion”.

He is a Visiting Professor at Shenzhen University. Since 2018, he has been appointed and served as Head of Performance at the Kent International Piano Course.