Jian Liu

Jian joins us once again in 2026 for REVELATIONS on Saturday 24 October, 7:30pm at the Michael Fowler Centre.

Dr. Jian Liu is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist, chamber musician, and educator who has performed across Europe, Asia, and North America. His appearances include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Steinway Hall in New York; Sprague Hall and Woolsey Hall at Yale University; and Paul Hall at the Juilliard School. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the China National Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and Yale Philharmonia.

A passionate advocate for New Zealand music, Dr. Liu has premiered and recorded numerous works by New Zealand composers. In 2022, he edited and published New Zealand Piano Works in English and Chinese through Shanghai Music Publishing House, marking the first publication of New Zealand piano music in China. Its companion album, Where Fairburn Walked, released by Rattle Records, won Best Classical Artist at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards. His New Zealand piano music project received a Creative New Zealand Arts Grant in 2021.

Dr. Liu has won prizes at international competitions, including the Horowitz International Piano Competition in Ukraine and the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition in the United States. His performances have been broadcast internationally, and he has appeared at festivals across New Zealand, the United States, China, Switzerland, and Poland. He has also served as an adjudicator for international music competitions.

An active chamber musician, Dr. Liu is the founding pianist of the Te Kōkī Trio, the resident ensemble at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī. The trio has performed throughout Singapore, China, Australia, and New Zealand. His collaborations include performances with the Takács Quartet, violinist Anthony Marwood, cellist Jian Wang, clarinettist David Shifrin, flautist Ransom Wilson, horn player Ben Goldscheider, and pianists Boris Berman, Claude Frank, and Maria João Pires. He also works regularly with leading New Zealand arts organisations, including Chamber Music New Zealand, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and the New Zealand Arts Festival.

Dr. Liu previously served on the faculty of the Yale Department of Music for four years. He is currently Deputy Head of School and Head of Piano Studies at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, Victoria University of Wellington, and a trustee of the New Zealand Music Trust. His students have received prizes at major international and national piano competitions. He has given masterclasses and lectures at leading institutions across China, Israel, the United States, Singapore, Germany, Poland, and Australia.

Dr. Liu studied with Professor Jin Zhang in China and Dr. Caio Pagano in the United States. He holds Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Yale School of Music, where he studied with and served as assistant to the legendary pianist Professor Claude Frank.