Video of the week: Bruce Liu plays Ligeti’s ‘Fanfares’

The Canadian pianist explores Ligeti’s rhythmic playground in a video filmed at the Südbahnhotel in Semmering, Austria, accompanying his Deutsche Grammophon album Lunaris.

A continuous stream of notes, calls that emerge above it, accents that keep the ear guessing: György Ligeti’s Fanfares, the fourth étude from his first book, turns the piano into a meeting place of competing rhythmic forces. Its recurring patterns offer something to hold on to, while the shifting musical layers create a sense of perpetual movement.

Bruce Liu, who won the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2021, includes the piece on Lunaris, a programme that extends well beyond the repertoire that brought him international recognition. Directed and edited by Farhad Bazyan, with cinematography by Reza Maleki, the video places the performance in the Südbahnhotel in Semmering.

Released by Deutsche Grammophon on 7 August 2026, Lunaris takes night and imagination as its connecting threads. Beethoven’s Moonlight and Waldstein sonatas anchor a programme encompassing Debussy, Bach in Siloti’s arrangement, Mompou and Agnes Obel, among others. Within that nocturnal setting, Ligeti brings a burst of rhythmic energy, broadening the album’s journey beyond contemplation and quiet. The recording is available digitally, on CD and on vinyl.