It was Schumann who famously wrote of the “heavenly length” of Schubert’s final Symphony in C. And the great Austrian pianist and Schubert advocate, Artur Schnabel, is said on a good night to have been able to add 10 minutes to a performance of the composer’s late Piano Sonata in B flat.
American pianist Eric Lu, who won the Leeds International Piano Competition at the age of 20 in 2018, is obviously of the same school of thought. His approach is spacious, unhurried, as if he feels he has all the time in the world to unfold his vision of the music.
His voicing is often exquisite. He can illuminate the stretch of a melodic line almost vocally, and create the illusion of lifting a veil from a chord so that it sounds completely fresh, or making it lean ever so slightly to tilt the balance within a phrase.
He’s always looking for depth and shows a deep understanding of how restraint can be more powerful than force.
Yet he also brings impressive grit to the finale of the Sonata in A, D959, and moments of steel to the clashes of the Sonata in A minor, D784. Sample the intimate pathos of his Allegretto in C minor, D915, and you’ll know if his style is for you.
