2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition Winner Shen Lu Plays Carnegie Hall Tonight

The Hilton Head International Piano Competition (HHIPC) will present its 2014 First Prize-winner, Shen Lu, at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall tonight, November 8, 2014, 2:30 p.m. Mr. Shen will perform works by Beethoven, Chopin, Tan Dun, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Scarlatti.

John O'Conor, the Jury Chair from the 2014 HHIPC, states, "Shen Lu is a young Chinese pianist with an exciting future. His interpretations have great depth, his technique seems effortless and he communicates wonderfully with his audience."

The HHIPC will present its 20th competition from March 9-14, 2015. Twenty promising young pianists, ages 13 to 17, compete in three rounds for $18,000 in cash prizes. In addition, the First Prize winner receives a scholarship to a summer festival or school, a return engagement as soloist with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and other performance opportunities.

The HHIPC for ages 18 to 30 will return in March 7-14, 2016 when twenty pianists will compete in four rounds for $34,000 in cash prizes. The First Prize winner will also be awarded a solo recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2016, a CD recording on the Steinway & Sons label, a return performance with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and other performance engagements.

Shen Lu will perform on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 2:30 p.m. at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (57th Street and 7th Avenue), New York. Tickets: $35 ($15 students, at Box Office only), available October 9, 2014, at carnegiehall.org; by calling CarnegieCharge (212) 247-7800; or by visiting the Carnegie Hall box office: 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.

Program:

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)

Sonatas in D minor, K. 213; in E Major, K. 380

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Andante favori in F Major, WoO 57

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Miroirs

1. Noctuelles

2. Oiseaux tristes

3. Une barque sur l'océan

4. Alborada del gracioso

5. La vallée des cloches

Tan Dun (b.1957)

Eight Memories In Watercolor, Op. 1

1. Missing Moon

2. Staccato Beans

3. Herdboy's Song

4. Blue Nun

5. Red Wilderness

6. Ancient Burial

7. Floating Clouds

8. Sunrain

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9, No. 3

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Complete Études-Tableux, Op. 33

Program is subject to change.

Shen Lu, Pianist - At age 29, Shen Lu is already an accomplished international performer. In addition to concerts at Beijing's Central Conservatory Music Hall, Culture Center, and City Hall in his native China, he has appeared at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, Mixon Hall in Cleveland, Flagey Concert Hall in Brussels, and the Seymour Centre in Sydney. He participated in the China International Piano Festival in Beijing, and the Texas Piano Festival.

Mr. Shen played Liszt's Concerto No. 1 with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Brahms' Concerto No. 1 with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, and Chopin's Concerto No. 1 with the Ferrol Orchestra and the New England Conservatory Philharmonia. Additionally, he performed Saint-Saëns' Concerto No. 2 with the China Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart's Concerto No. 21 with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie.

Shen Lu has a special interest in the contemporary Chinese repertoire. He has performed works by Zhang Shuai, Chen Peixun and Gao Ping, and has also performed the Piano Concerto by Huang Anlun with the Xiamen Orchestra.

Enjoying collaborative as well as solo performance, he was an accompanist with the Central Conservatory's Students Chorus, and an official accompanist for both the New England Conservatory and Boston Conservatory.

Mr. Shen has won numerous international piano competitions, the 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition being the most recent. Others in which he has been a prize winner include the Hong Kong Piano Open Competition, New England Conservatory Whole School Concerto Competition, Jingzhong Competition, Asia Chopin Piano Competition, 59th Wideman International Piano Competition, 4th Campillos International Piano Competition, 2nd Florida International Competition, XXV Ferrol International Piano Competition, Iowa International Piano Competition, Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition, and the Sydney International Piano Competition.

Mr. Shen is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Haesun Paik. He earned his bachelor's degree at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing under pianist Wu Ying, and his master's and graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory in Boston under pianist Alexander Korsantia. Shen Lu has taken master classes with Lee Kum Sing, Arie Vardi, Boris Berman, Tamás Ungár, Paul Badura-Skoda, Hung-Kuan Chen and Stephen Kovacevich.

In 2015, Mr. Shen will be releasing his first CD recording on the Steinway & Sons label through ArkivMusic.

About The Hilton Head International Piano Competition - The mission of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition is to encourage and support excellence in the performance of classical piano music by showcasing the talents of young pianists on the threshold of their careers in a competition adjudicated by internationally acclaimed judges, and to offer additional performance opportunities.

Competitors stay in the homes of host families, who provide lodging, meals, transportation, and access to a competition quality grand piano for practice. Over 200 volunteers staff all Competition events.

Most of the twenty competitors serve as Ambassadors to local schools, performing and talking with students about life in their home countries. Several thousand students in the area have benefited from, and are inspired by, this outreach program. The HHIPC also provides the opportunity for students from local schools to attend the competition, many of whom have never before been exposed to a live performance.

Special events during the week, which are open to the public, include Master Classes given by the competition judges to competitors who do not advance beyond Round II and a special Lecture/Recital by the Jury Chairman.