Eric Lu, U.S. Chopin champ, in Naples to play, of course, Chopin

Eric Lu rehearses piano six hours a day, plays at least 30 concerts a year and has won first prizes in four of five international competitions he has entered.

And he's not even out of school yet.

The 20-year-old Massachusetts-born Lu is a student at Curtis Institute of Music. But his experience is far beyond student level; last May he came home with both the 2017 International German Piano Award in Frankfurt and its audience-choice award. 

Lu brings some of the technique he has distilled and interpretations he has forged to a piano recital Thursday at Trinity-by-the-Cove Episcopal Church (see information box). Plan on Chopin: Lu is the reigning American champion in the International Chopin Competition and was fourth in the Warsaw finals. 

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At age 17, he was one of the youngest finalists ever, but he has weathered the demand on his time — a Japan tour with the Warsaw Philharmonic, concerts and recitals in France, Germany, Poland and the U.S. — well since then. Critics have praised his "thoughtfully nuanced phrase shaping and dynamic control" (Nuvo Newsweekly, Indianapolis) and "nearly flawless playing, power and lightning speed (Boston Music Intelligencer).

Even while competitions have opened doors for him, they're stressful, he acknowledged. It's not the talent of fellow competitors that unnerves him.

“It’s not a completely natural music-sharing experience. We’re, of course, conscious that there’s a panel of the jury sitting there," he said. "And that’s always very difficult, especially for us. We’re so self-conscious about our work and playing. Of course we want to please.  

"But at the end of the day, you’ve got to focus on the music."

The pianist coming behind him to play might have different fears, he said: “It’s definitely difficult for each individual. But at different stages in their lives, that can present its own challenges.”
 

Lu divides his time between small-numbers music — solo, duet and quartet — and orchestral. Both Chopin piano concertos are in his memory, as are the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 and the finger-tangling Rachmaninoff No. 3.

Music for the piano is beyond abundant, but Lu would like to see audiences venturing into "new" older works, especially Franz Schubert's later sonatas. He plans his Four Impromptus, Opus 90, for the concert. 

"A lot of pianists play them,” he said of the Schubert sonatas, “but usually the audience doesn't know them. For me this is some of the greatest music ever written, and I wish they would be played more often."

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His choice for best: Schubert's Sonata in G major D. 894 — "a masterpiece in every way."

When he's not playing piano, Lu is listening to it.

"I listen to many, many recordings. I try to discover new pieces ... especially if it's not even a piano work."

Lu has at least one piano transcription, Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze," from the orchestral work, in his repertoire.

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He loves to spend time with family and friends, but "my life pretty much revolves around the piano," he conceded.

Give Lu a ticket to any concert he wanted to see, and it would be a piano concert. He would see Grigory Sokolov, the Russian pianist, whom he regards "one of the greatest in the world. He's just an incredible artist, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of pianist." Romanian pianist Radu Lupu is also on his list. He's seen both three times, but that's not enough for Lu.

This summer, with a bit of free time on his plate, he made his way to Canada for summer piano classes. His reasoning that is taking classes after two years in concert halls is good advice for any career. He always wants to know a good teacher, he said.

"They give us an objective ear. They let us know how we're doing."

Eric Lu 

What: Final concert of the summer Grand Piano Series

Where: Trinity Episcopal Church, 553 Galleon Dr, Naples

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 19

Tickets: $40

To buy: grandpianoseries.com or 646-734 - 8179