Deutsche Grammophon marked World Piano Day this week by announcing the signing of Bruce Liu, the winner of last year’s International Chopin Piano Competition.

The 24-year-old Canadian is no stranger to the Yellow Label, part of his prize being an album released late last year of selected performances from the competition. We named it a Gramophone Editor’s Choice in December, our reviewer Jeremy Nicholas describing it as ‘one of the most distinguished Chopin recitals of recent years, full of maturity, character and purpose.’ You can read the full review here: Bruce Liu - Chopin

The partnership is now set to continue, starting with the release of an e-single of Liu playing Chopin’s Nocturne No 20 in C Sharp Minor - available to listen to below via Apple Music - with further e-singles to follow throughout 2022.

Album plans include one with a French theme – the repertoire to include Chopin and Rameau – and a second featuring Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No 2, the work with which Liu made his UK debut earlier this month.

Liu also spoke of looking forward to ‘opportunities to collaborate with some very talented artists from different musical fields and backgrounds’, of which DG’s roster of artists contains many, some of whom were name-checked in by DG President Clemens Trautmann: ‘The Chopin Competition and all the concerts he has given since have shown the world an intelligent and dynamic young artist whose pianism, imagination and spontaneity are simply electrifying,’ he said. ‘He joins fellow Canadian artists Emily D’Angelo, Jan Lisiecki and Yannick Nézet-Séguin here at DG – proof, if such were needed, that Canada today is clearly a hotbed of musical talent.’

This article was amended on Friday April 1 to include Bruce Liu's newly released single

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