This is what won him the competition.

The human brain at one of its finest moments.

To say this was brilliant doesn't go far enough.

The best performance in this whole competition. This made him win.

This guy is just so beautiful. What playing. Heart, soul, touch, expression --everything. We lost the greats of the 20th Century by the late 90's: Gilels, Arrau, Bolet, Watts, De lLarrocha, Horowitz, Rubenstein, Richter. I got to see many of them in concert. So as an older person, seeing the great new pianists in their 20s and 30s who are not just technicians but are deeply musical is thrilling.

I come here any time I need proof life is beautiful (not to be confused with calling the music only beautiful) and there are some "good" forces at the heart of it

Pure freedom, and as close to human perfection as it gets.

The capability of Bruce is unfathomable , and off the charts

I think this variation op.2 made him win! (and scherzo no.4 too) Every single note is beautiful 💜 and so handsome, Bruce !!! 😘🤩

It’s like a strong man doing some needlework.Really impressive!

With this performance we finally experienced that left hand is SO IMPORTANT in Chopins music :D thank you Bruce

I literally cried like crazy this morning listening to the first movement, after (re)playing this piece in KZfaq/Spotify everyday for more than a month.

The dripping sweat on the altar of perfection. While the audience held their breath for 17 minutes straight.

Cannot believe Chopin wrote this piece when he was only 17. Incredible.

'/.../ it is evident that personality is an absolute essential for any real interpretation. When Bruce Xiaoyu Liu plays to us the Variations of Chopin on "Là ci darem la mano" from Mozart's "Don Giovanni", he gives us not merely Chopin, but also himself, and so gives us Chopin absolutely - Chopin re-interpreted through a rich artistic nature, and made vivid and wonderful to us by a new and intense personality. /.../', a paraphrased quote from Oscar Wilde's essay "The Critic as Artist". AMEN.

I listen to this just to make sure there was thunderous applause after his performance

One of Chopin's happier moments one might think. A lovely performance, and funny too.

This record will be kept as an eternal moment in the history of piano performance. Thank you Bruce!

I start every morning listening to this.

This performance at the time likely cemented Bruce in 1st place for the competition. Absolutely incredible!

He has set the bar extremely high for himself. This is impeccable.

The variation on Don Giovanni is astonishing , he is playing like a game between him and Liszt, outstanding pianist🌞🌞🌞🌞🌹🌹🌹💥💥

Beautiful beyond words.

As someone who listen religiously to Trifonov's interpretation of this piece and thought that no interpretation could possibly top it, Bruce Liu come along and did the improbable. This piece is probably the most difficult piece in all Chopin's repertoire, and Bruce doesn't simply just go through the notes and show only the virtuosity side. He made it sing. All the nuances and details in his playing really shine through. Every little rubato and staccato is so meaningful and well thought out yet it felt so fresh and spontaneous. Also look at how much fun he had painting this music. Bravissimo! It's the least I could say.

00:23 Introduction: Largo 04:57 Thema: Allegretto 06:30 Variation I: Brillante 07:33 Variation II: Veloce, ma accuratamente 08:33 Variation III: Sempre sostenuto 10:08 Variation IV: Con bravura 11:16 Variation V: Adagio 13:10 Alla Polacca

Legendary performance.

Came to compare with other rendition especially Lim. Bruce played this very maturely and tenderly while Lim played it like as a teenager (who really is) with so much excitement and rock kinda spirit. I love both of them.

Chopin to najpiękniejsza spuścizna dla ludzkości.

By far the best recording of this piece

Reviewing this again after a year, this is still an unforgettable performance to me since the live. I like his scherzo, waltz and variation a lot. You can hear his staccatos, voicing and especially rubato have his own features, sounds quite refreshing, energetic and some kind of exciting(?) And this fazioli was a bonus on his touching.

I became a big fan of his, his playing is soulful!!! I love this :)))

연주를 들으니, 상상력, 기교, 학구파로서의 매력을 극찬한 음악평론가의 말씀에 고개를 끄덕이게 되네요. 멋진 연주 감사합니다. 많이 늦었지만, 쇼팽 콩쿠르 우승을 축하드립니다! ^^ 👍🏻🎉

Genius. Period.

Listening to this in the bus, watching how sun appears on the morning 😍❤️

Arguably, this performance is enough for him to win the competition.

He really deserved the first prize!

Wow. Wow. Wow. Brilliant and magical. To be remembered forever. Thank you for sharing this with us.

This was one of the „divine moments“ in this competition - perhaps not only in this competition. This interpretation is „for eternity“ and was Bruce‘s ticket into the Final and perhaps his masterpiece for winning the 2021 Chopin Competition. Thank you Bruce for „halting the clock“ for 17 beautiful minutes.

此曲应是天上有――布鲁斯演奏的唐璜变奏曲极尽华丽、婉转、激昂、沉静、悦动和灵性之美，实属集艺术性、音乐性、技巧性和观赏性为一体的最佳演出👍👍👍

Chopin was 17 years old when he composed this... I love both Mozart and Chopin, so this is such an important piece to me! Amazing. I feel so lucky to have been there in the audience during this performance of Bruce Liu during the 3rd stage of Chopin Competition.

A total masterpiece that I can't stop listening to. That ending is scintillating!!!!!!! LOVE IT!

High perfection and great musicality! Thanks a lot!

Just wow. Probably the most unbelievable performance I have ever seen. 1st place was surely deserved!!

Never seen anybody brave enough to try op.2 during Chopin competition! This pieces is the most difficult one among all Chopin’ works.

The colours that he comes up with in his playing are extraordinary, I didn’t know you could get that kind of palette from a piano!

A spectacular performance!!

令人沉醉的完美演奏🎶🎵謝謝劉曉禹先生❤️❤️

My absolute favorite performance ❤️

Hats off gentlemen a genius

I keep coming back to this insane Variation op2...it's like sipping a fine vintage wine. It gets better and better.. God knows how Bruce could play this brilliantly following the energy guzzling, beautiful and haunting Sonata #2 in the 3rd stage.

Bravo quelle performance, on est tellement fier de vous à Montréal! Bravo!!

15:25 to the end has some of the best textures I've ever heard

Mozart and Chopin had very same kinds of esthetics about how the piano should sound ,maybe that s why they go so well together,waiting for Bruce s interpretations about Mozart s concertos ,his joyful technic really opens the door to the world of the world s greatest composer guys ❤️❤️❤️

My favourite performance in the competition!! Bravo 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

It will remain legendary performance like Blechacz’s concerto no.1 in 2005.

Legendary! He is simply the best!

Legendary performance in history

Incredible! One of my Favorit, also. Again and again, Warszawa.

임윤찬의 연주를 듣고 곡이 궁금해져서 다른 연주들을 듣고 있습니다. 리우의 연주도 굉장하네요. 리우는 깔끔하고 부드러운 연주로 편안하고 완벽하게 즐길 수 있어요. 그리고 윤찬의 연주는 어디로 튈지 모르는 긴박함을 가지고 듣게 되는 것 같아요. 둘 다 너무 좋은 연주입니다.

Interpretazione che da sola vale la vittoria dello Chopin. Da lasciare a bocca aperta.

각 변주에서 tutti로 넘어가는 박자까지 절묘하게 아름답다 ㅠㅠㅠ Thanks Bruce💜

I listened to this work a few years ago and then maybe I was not very much attracted with it to be honest. But now, after this performance, I found this work is one of my favourites and Chopin is a great composer again. Thank you Bruce.

Incredible performance of the Op 2. Looking forward for a recording including it. Bravo M. Liu.

After every new interpretation from different pianists, I come here to appreciate Liu’s imagination, vision, control and musicianship again and again👏👏🌟

La bellezza della perfezione e la perfezione della bellezza ‼️🔝🙏🏽🥰❤️❤️❤️👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

テクニックとか音楽性とかを超越した凄い演奏です。 彼の演奏には聴いてる人たちを幸せな気分にさせる魂が伝わってきます。

Incredible performance!!🌈❤️

Fantastic! Congratulations, Bruce!

소리, 박자, 표현 모든게 완벽합니다. 너무 아름답습니다.

A performance at the highest top, right next to Pogorelich's 2nd piano sonata. Absolutely stunning and I had the pleasure to hear it livestream, must've been magical for those on the crowd. This performance truly shows Liu's genius better than any other, and it's the reason not only he won, but also why he's the best winner for a while. Not just a pianist, but a truly genius.

Extra-terrestre...et tellement humain ! Fabuleux !

The overwhelming technique makes this expression possible. His rhythm is unique, and there is no unnaturalness at all.

歴史的名演。ショパン様に聴いてもらいたい。

Hats off, gentlemen, a genius!

He brings me new emotions when i hear him playing, he draws tears to me…🌺🌪 💥🍂🍁

Simply some of the best playing I've ever heard. Total technical and artistic mastery. Great power, tone, subtlety, shading, color. Incredibly, it seems easy for him.

This was breath taking to watch, I had to stop what I was doing to focus on it when it was happening. The final round concerto in E minor was beautiful, but it wasn't a WOW moment because so many of the contestants had also played it. However THIS was something else, I had the impression that this is what won him the competition. Such technical mastery and precision, simply spectacular!

To jest arcydzieło wykonania wariacji. Chopin patrzy i jest szczęśliwy. Bruce- geniusz, Wielka osobowośc:)

I love the recording by Claudio Arrau WITH orchestra! it gives more sense. However, Bruce Liu plays so that I find myself in lack of words. What a gift for our generation to have such a wonderful musician? Claudio Arrau León (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈklau̯ðjo aˈrau̯]; February 6, 1903 - June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms.

매일 듣네요 피아노의 신 영접한것 같습니다

Great perform and amazing architecture !!!

これはすげえ

Exquisitely done. Chopin is still alive...I guess.

extraordinary, words are unnecessary, as others have commented here, this version is really one of the highest points of the contest and will become a historical recording, and as everyone already said before, with this version of op 2 he won the contest. during the competition I had not paid attention to him and he had mixed among all the others who were left out of the contest, until I heard this version and only then did I realize that he was special and a potential winner . He finally made it.

Definitely my favorite performance throughout the entire competition!! Love it

최고 최고 최고에요 .. 듣는 내내 아름다워서 황홀했습니다

I have never heard this sonata played so clearly, so well-balanced, so expressively. The left hand is a real companion to the right hand, not just an accompaniment. He is such a complete pianist at a young age. I am deeply impressed. Greetings from Germany

Bruce é sempre maravilhoso te ouvir

Pan Fryderyk Chopin jest dumą Polski! Cały naród jest z niego dumny! 🇵🇱

目下、私は入院中です。改めて聞いてみると自然の中で誰も聞いていないかの様に彼自身の沸き出る透明の泉から粒揃いの音符が翔び跳ね、虹の様に広がって行く景色が目に浮かびます。将に彼にしか表現出来ない芸術作品🎶🎶感動の涙が止まりません💧👏👏👏

Konkurs Chopinowski jest ogromny. 87 pianistów, cztery etapy, nie sposób wszystkich wysłuchać. Pracując zawodowo, słuchałem ile mogłem. Słuchałem sam, słuchałem też komentarzy doświadczonych komentatorów. Pan Bruce Liu jakoś mi umknął w pierwszym i drugim etapie, w trzecim, gdy o trofeum walczyło już tylko (tylko?) 23 uczestników, wysłuchałem Jego występu. Muszę tutaj zaznaczyć, że nie posiadam przygotowania muzycznego, słucham muzyki klasycznej, bo lubię, właśnie muzyka klasyczna na mnie oddziałuje. Znałem Wariacje op. 2 Chopina na fortepian i orkiestrę, tutaj wysłuchałem wersji na fortepian. W wykonaniu pana Bruce'a było to dla mnie doświadczenie wprost niezwykłe, takich wrażeń artystycznych naprawdę jeszcze nie doświadczyłem. Powiedziałem sobie: On wygra Konkurs... Jakże wielką radość sprawił mi werdykt Jury. Tak! Pan Bruce Liu wygrał 18 Konkurs Chopinowski, a moim zdaniem wygrał go właśnie niezwykłym wykonaniem Wariacji op. 2. Już po Konkursie odszukałem wykonanie pana Hyuk Lee, który też grał Wariacje w trzecim etapie, jednak pan Bruce był lepszy. Cytuję teraz komentarz Schumanna o chopinowskich Wariacjach, i odnoszę go do pana Bruce'a Liu: "Czapki z głów, panowie, to geniusz".

Highlight of the entire competition 👍👍👍 so so so well done!!

Genialnie cudowne!!!

10:20 mind blown

Wunderschöne und detaillierte Aufführung dieser romantischen und fein komponierten Variationen in verschiedenen Tempi mit klarem doch elegantem Klang des technisch perfekten Klaviers und mit sorgfältig kontrollierter Dynamik. Ganz fehlerlos!

Forever Bruce.

Remind me Bruce Liu's special style...very NICE!!!

쇼팽과 모차르트와 접신했나봄 … 이곡과 스케르죠로 참가자중 가장 독보적인 존재임응 증명한듯 합니다

耳が幸せです、、、

Magnífico! Brilhante!