A celebration in strings

Born and raised in Qingdao, Shandong province, Lyu has dreamed about becoming a violinist since early childhood because his father was a classical music fan and Lyu's two elder brothers were both learning to play the violin.

"My father was very strict and I grew up listening to my brothers practicing for hours at home," recalls Lyu. "My father didn't push me to learn the musical instrument, but it was the one thing I wanted to learn, and I've worked surely and steadily toward it.

"I can still remember that I practiced upstairs in my house while my childhood friends were playing football outside. I was tempted to join them, but once I started to play the violin, I soon got into the zone," he adds.

Lyu began learning when he was 4 years old, and by the age of 8, he was enrolled to study at the affiliated primary school of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. At the age of 19, he went to the Juilliard School to study with American violinist Dorothy Delay.

"Like her surname, Delay was often late for class. So I would chat to the other students in the hallway as we waited for her," says Lyu. "When I first arrived in the US, I was very proud about winning the Paganini competition, but after talking with other students, I soon learned that they had all won major international contests. So, I set my pride to one side and devoted all my energy to improving my technique."

In 1992, he gave four recitals at the Aspen Music Festival and School, a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado, which set off his touring career. In 1997, he played the famous Chinese violin concerto Butterfly Lovers during galas held in Los Angeles and New York celebrating Hong Kong's return to China that year. Since then, he has been regarded as one of the best interpreters of classical Chinese violin concertos.

With over 20 albums under his belt, Lyu has played in more than 40 countries and collaborated with many of the world's leading musicians, including American conductor Lorin Maazel, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, and Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden. As a soloist, he has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras.

In 2019, he toured over 30 Chinese cities in under 3 months, wrapping up on Nov 23 with a concert at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing with a repertoire including Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24, Spring Sonata, Niccolo Paganini's Cantabile and The Butterfly Lovers violin concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang.