A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant,
Meng-Chieh Liu first made headlines in 1993 as a
twenty-one-year-old student at The Curtis Institute of Music,
when he substituted at last-minute’s notice for André Watts at
the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. The concert earned high
acclaim from critics and audience members alike and was followed
by a number of widely praised performances, including a recital
at the Kennedy Center and a concert on the Philadelphia All-Star
Series. Already an accomplished artist, Mr. Liu had made his New
York orchestral debut two years earlier.
Following Mr. Liu’s triumph in Philadelphia, an appearance with
the Philadelphia Orchestra was immediately scheduled. However his
career was abruptly halted by a rare and debilitating illness
that affected his connective tissues. Hospitalized and almost
immobile for a year, doctors believed his chances for survival
were slim and, should he survive, playing the piano would be
“absolutely impossible.” With arduous determination and
relentless physical therapy, Mr. Liu has been restored to health
and is once again performing on the concert stage.
His performance schedule in recent years has included appearances
in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Dallas, Seattle, and San Diego, as well as concerts in
Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Bulgaria, Spain, Australia, New Zealand,
and South America. In 2006 Mr. Liu undertook a two-year project
of the complete Schubert sonatas, performing in San Francisco,
Boston, Taipei, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
A dedicated chamber musician as well as solo artist, he has
collaborated with musicians in North America, Europe, Australia,
and Asia, in addition to working with artists in other
disciplines, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, who invited him to
work with the White Oak Dance Project. Mr. Liu’s concerts have
been broadcast around the world, and a biography about him aired
on Taiwanese National Television.
Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Mr. Liu began his piano studies early
and at age thirteen was accepted by The Curtis Institute of Music
to study with Jorge Bolet, Claude Frank, and Eleanor Sokoloff. He
has received the 2002 Philadelphia Musical Fund Society Career
Advancement Award and first prizes in the Stravinsky, Asia
Pacific Piano, and Mieczyslaw Munz competitions. In 2008 he was
selected as one of the ten most outstanding young people in
Taiwan. Mr. Liu has been a member of the Curtis faculty since
1993, the year of his graduation. In 2006 he joined the piano
faculty at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
中華表演藝術基金會將於3月21日 (星期六) 晚八時, 在紐英崙音樂學院喬頓廳
(Jordan Hall, Boston) 為鋼琴家劉孟捷舉行獨奏會
。
榮獲美國艾維里∙費雪職業大獎(Avery Fisher Career Grant)
與費城音樂基金會職業成就獎雙重肯定的鋼琴家劉孟捷有個崎嶇的音樂生涯 。劉孟捷13歲時, 曾代表台灣參加亞太地區青少年鋼琴大賽,
榮獲首獎 。同年考上極難進入的蔻蒂斯 (Curtis) 音樂學院 。1993年, 21歲的劉孟捷臨時被指派代替著名鋼琴家Andre
Watts與樂團演出, 只有三小時的準備就登台 。演奏完畢, 全體觀眾起立歡呼, 媒體樂評給予高度讚賞, 使他一夜間揚名國際樂壇,
演奏邀約紛紛而來 。兩年中他與費城交響樂團、紐約交響樂團等等在甘迺迪中心等地的演出都得到很高的評價 。沒想到1995年,
他突患多發性皮肌炎, 病毒侵入中樞神經及免疫系統, 肌肉不斷萎縮, 手指糜爛, 全身癱瘓, 性命不保 。後來雖然奇蹟性的活過來,
但雙手變形, 手筋消失 。劉孟捷回想在復健期間, 自己連按電視搖控器的指力都沒有, 下象棋連棋子翻面也辦不到 。右手放在琴鍵上,
任何一指都無法抬高碰到黑鍵, 五指連最基本的五度都按不全 。其中食指微血管發炎最嚴重, 食指上下各爛一個洞,
關節處有兩塊骨頭黏住, 向內彎近90度, 沒有肌腱根本無法伸直 。醫生說他不可能再彈鋼琴 。但他靠著無比的毅力及復健,
終於恢復昔日的體力, 重返樂壇 。
自2002年起, 劉孟捷又恢復演奏生涯, 再創職業演奏的高峰, 打破了醫生「完全不能再彈琴」的預言,
並榮獲美國紐約艾維里∙費雪職業大獎與費城音樂基金會職業成就獎的雙重肯定, 巡迴世界各地演出, 深獲好評 。除了獨奏家的身份,
劉孟捷亦十分熱衷室內樂演出, 他與北美、歐洲、亞洲許多音樂家常有合作,
如林昭亮、胡乃元、章雨亭、黃心芸、曾耿元等及巴洛米歐弦樂四重奏樂團等巡迴演奏, 讚譽不停 ! 足跡遍至美國各地,
及台灣、韓國、日本、西班牙各國, 得到2002年 Stravinsky、Asia Pacific、及Mieczyslaw Munz
等國際鋼琴大賽的第一名 。他由1993年起擔任蔻蒂斯音樂學院的教授 。2006開始也在芝加哥羅斯福大學任教
。2008年榮獲台灣十大傑出青年藝術文化獎 。
歷經重病的折磨, 再獲重生的劉孟捷, 對人生的體驗及對音樂的詮釋也和以前大異其趣 。劉孟捷認為：「在這忙碌、慌亂的世界,
唯有用心銓釋舒伯特音樂的此時此刻, 我才能真正的與自己的靈魂交談 。在他短短的生命當中, 寫出了這麼多首令人省思、悸動不已的樂章
。當我彈奏他的曲子, 表面上看起來好像是一件很輕鬆簡單的事情, 但在這樣的外表之下, 要將舒伯特的音樂表現的淋漓盡致,
卻是個很困難的事情 。當你聽完舒伯特的音樂, 那感覺, 就像是看完了莎士比亞的一齣戲, 高潮起伏盡在眼前,
生命的憾動是那樣的真實深刻 ! 」劉孟捷在鋼琴上的表現不再依賴刻板的音符, 而是用「心」來彈奏
。他的音樂注入了他對生命體驗的感情, 每一首曲子都成了他的生命樂章 。他的遭遇以及心境, 非常類似偉大的音樂家舒伯特,
即使貧困、潦倒, 但仍把身心都獻給了音樂, 用音樂傾訴自己的理想、感情, 用音樂發洩自己的憂鬱、哀傷,
把活潑、光明的樂曲帶給了人類, 使世界充滿了天籟之音 。此次在波士頓的演出, 將演奏舒伯特的鋼琴奏鳴曲,
希望把舒伯特極致優美的旋律與愛樂者共享 。
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