viola

Lizhou Liu, viola, earned his B.A. from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China, where he studied viola with Cen Yuan Ding, Situ Huacheng, and Sui Keqiang. He received his master's degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, studying with John Graham. Mr. Liu’s prizes include first place in the 1988 SUNY Concerto Competition, performing Der Schwanendreher with the Stony Brook Orchestra. He also won the Menuhin Prize at the Portsmouth International Quartet Competition in 1982. Mr. Liu has held positions as Assistant Professor of Viola at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music and principal viola with Beijing Chamber Orchestra and Tchaikovsky Chamber Orchestra in New York. As a soloist, he performed the viola concerto Xian Shi with the Beijing Film Orchestra, the Central Opera Orchestra, and the Central Philharmonic in China. Mr. Liu was principal violist of the Savannah Symphony for thirteen years, and from 1991 to 2003, he was a frequent viola concerto soloist with the Savannah Symphony. In 2000, he performed Don Quixote with Yo-Yo Ma and the Savannah Symphony, and in 2002 he performed Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with the Hilton Head Orchestra. Currently he is principal viola with the Hilton Head Orchestra and the Savannah Philharmonic.

Performances

Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory | February 15, 2013

News and Press

[Concert Review] BMOP gives the viola its moment in the sun

And now, it might be asked, should we pity the viola? It is after all consigned to an unglamorous middle range, and is ever on the receiving end of all that merciless skewering (if you don’t know what I mean, type “viola jokes” into Google, or ask anyone who has played in an orchestra).

The Boston Globe Full review
[Concert Review] Roseate Ensemble: Violas Consort with BMOP

In another masterstroke of imaginative programming for which it is renowned, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, under Music Director Gil Rose, offered a day-late billet-doux to the sultriest member of the string family at Jordan Hall on February 15th. “Voilà! Viola!” consisted of five works featuring the viola, four of them as soloist and one for an ensemble of eight. (one will have to come up with a clever collective noun for this).

The Boston Musical Intelligencer Full review
[Concert Review] It’s “Voilà Viola!” night at Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Why did the contemporary-music orchestra give a concert of five works that all featured the viola?

a. because they wanted to make a pun in French
b. because it was St. Violantine’s Day
c. because there’s some good stuff for viola out there
d. the orchestra ordered up two brand-new viola pieces, never heard before

Boston Classical Review Full review