As the long and rich history of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw has shown, Polish audiences are just as capable of championing artists from abroad as they are their own. One striking example is sixteen-year-old Tianyao Lyu, who quickly emerged as one of the revelations of the 2025 Competition. She also enjoyed exceptional support from the residents of... Poznań, where – sometimes affectionately known as Marysia (Little Mary) – she studies with the distinguished pianist, teacher and competition juror Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń. A year before competing in the Warsaw Competition, she won the Grand Prix at the 31st Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Szafarnia, renowned for the young composer's summer stays there. As she herself has said, studying in Poznań has helped her gain a deeper understanding of Polish traditional music, even including learning the steps of the mazur.
During the Competition, she captivated audiences not only with her flawless technique, but also with the lightness and pearly quality of her tone, as well as the maturity of her interpretations of some of Chopin's most demanding works in terms of dramatic expression. She returned to Poznań not only as a prize-winner, but also with the Warsaw Philharmonic Award for the best performance of a Concerto, further confirming her openness and enthusiasm for musical dialogue with other artists. Reflecting on her success in Warsaw, she said with a smile: ‘For me, everything is only just beginning’. It is therefore hardly surprising that, for her first solo recital at the Warsaw Philharmonic since the Competition, she has chosen a programme devoted to the music of the patron of these ‘Chopin Olympics’.
Bartłomiej Gembicki