Elon Musk’s rockets could be said to rise more slowly in contrast to this fabulous young artist’s career. His local debut occurred some 50 miles south of that Vandenburg Space X launch pad.

Born to Chinese parents in the waning years of the 20th century in Montreal, this intensely focused man was in command of the stage (and the piano) from the very beginning at the beautiful Hahn Hall of the Music Academy of the West this past May 16th. He continues the launch of one promising career.

Liu’s command of the stage is a combination of dignity, focus, and confidence in his (admirable) skill set that suggests that he can handle anything that he chooses to play. His intensity and focus (along with some challenging tempi) will likely trigger memories of fellow countryman, Glenn Gould. And, while maestro Liu’s skills are his own, he embodies the dignity of grand virtuosi of old who communicate by their artistry, connecting wordlessly but clearly and decisively with their audience.

The selection of music also defined an astute and individual curatorial choice. Yes, this 2021 winner of the Warsaw Chopin competition included Chopin on his program. But he also chose a Haydn Piano Sonata (a too little explored segment of the repertory), classical (Haydn, rather than Mozart), baroque with (Jean Phillips Rameau, rather than Bach, (romantic (Chopin, of course), and 20th century (Prokofiev and Kapustin).

The hall was about 2/3 full by my estimate but the audience seemed quite attentive and appropriately respectful. That’s a good start but adding a soloist such as this cemented a bond with these sympathetic listeners with an auspicious debut by this (just barely pre-millennial) musician.

He became one with that gorgeous Steinway as he introduced the piano sonata Hob XVI:32 by Franz Josef Haydn (1732 to1809). This little gem seemed to echo both the keyboard works of Domenico Scarlatti and the much younger Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Haydn wrote some 50? Keyboard sonatas (compared to Mozart’s 17) but Haydn’s are curiously less frequently programmed than those of Mozart.

He continued with another piano sonata, Chopin’s second piano sonata Op.35 (the one with the oft quoted “funeral march”). Liu’s virtuosity and meticulous performance made it clear as to why he won that 2021 Chopin competition in Warsaw.

This writer was not familiar with most of the music on the program. Save for that “Funeral March” and the Rameau “La Poule” the works on this recital were Liu’s intelligent choices of works that have not been frequent visitors to the concert hall. But the works , very personal choices that showcase this artist’s strengths, range, and passions.

The first half of the program concluded Nikolai Kapustin’s (1932-2020) Variations Op. 41. From 1984. The work owes a great deal to the influence of jazz and Liu’s makes a compelling case that this work deserves to be heard with more frequency. The late composer was quite prolific (including 20 Piano Sonatas and a catalog that includes a catalog of some 161 opuses). A standing ovation with multiple curtain calls preceded the brief intermission.

Maestro Liu returned to the stage and delighted the audience with a selection of Jean Phillipe Rameau (1683-1764) from his Pièces de clavecin en concerts (1741), a major set of baroque keyboard works. Rameau was a contemporary of Bach but his work is not commonly featured in recitals. Liu effectively made a case that this work get more hearings.

After the well received performance of the Rameau pieces Liu brought us back to the twentieth century with a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s (1891-1953) 7th Piano Sonata (1942), the middle work of the composer’s trilogy of the so called “War” Sonatas. It is an outstanding work into which Liu infused his virtuosity, interpretive skill, and sheer energy.

Another 3 curtain calls prompted Mr. Liu to grace us with some lovely encores including a hauntingly beautiful rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s prelude in E minor (triggering this listener to think again of Glenn Gould’s unique take on Bach). Liu then followed with a real crowd pleaser, the so called “minute waltz” by Chopin. I didn’t clock his performance but it was as full of the same life and energy as in the preceding works on this fine evening.

This was truly an exciting evening and I advise listeners to seek out anything this artist does. He does not disappoint.