Albert Lau

Steinway Artist Albert Lau (MMus, LRAM, LRSM) was born in Hong Kong and performs internationally both as a solo pianist and chamber musician. His repertoire ranges from Bach to Birtwistle, and includes rarities as well as his own transcriptions. He was named a Steinway Artist by Steinway & Sons in 2022.

Albert Lau started learning the piano at the age of 7, and had his formative training with Josephine Cheung. He studied with Emile Naoumoff at Indiana University in the USA, where he completed his Bachelor of Music with High Distinction. He then furthered his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, under the tutelage of Joanna MacGregor, Head of Piano. Upon graduation he was awarded Distinction for his Master of Music degree,
in recognition of his achievements at the Royal Academy.

His performances span international venues. Together with the renowned Konsonanz Chamber Ensemble from Bremen, Albert Lau recorded a project named ‘Mehr als Kinder, Küche, Kirche – 200 Jahre Kompositionen starker Frauen’ (More than Children, Kirchen, Church – 200 Years of Compositions by remarkable Women), an extraordinary project which focuses exclusively on outstanding female composers. In addition to worldwide streaming, the project was performed at Sendesaal Bremen, the Atlantic Hotel Hamburg, the Trinitatiskirche and the Riverside Studios Cologne. In summer 2021 Albert Lau recorded his second solo album ‘Mirage’ which features piano transcriptions spanning two centuries. In 2022 further albums released: ‘Nussknacker und Mausekönig’ with the Berlin actor Hans-Jürgen Schatz and ‘Love & Passion’, his third solo album, which features works by Beethoven and Bowen. These projects were generously supported by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the German writer and playwright E.T.A. Hoffmann, Albert Lau performed with Hans-Jürgen Schatz in a series of performances in Berlin and Bayreuth. They then gave further performances at the Senftöpfchen Theater in Cologne and at the ‘Black and White Keys Festival’ at the Riverside Studios Cologne, as well as at the Mendelssohn Remise in Berlin. 

As a soloist, Albert Lau has recently given recitals in Hamburg, at the Villa Zanders Art Gallery, Schloss Loersfeld Cologne, Schloss Homburg Nümbrecht and Schloss Stolpe on Usedom. Other highlights include the sold-out charity concert at the Norwegian Chapel at the Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf and the charity performance for Pro Namibian Children e.V. 

Together with the Chilean violinist David Cisternas and Italian cellist Elena Tomarchio, Albert Lau founded the Hélène Trio, with the vision to create innovative concerts with a focus on rarely performed works by both female composers. Their aim is to make these works known to a broader audience while presenting them on an equal footing as well-known works in the repertoire.

In summer 2023 Albert Lau performs with the London-based violinist Philippa Mo at the historic Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond and on the Isle of Man. Further projects with the Hélène Trio are planned, for instance a fundraising concert for the Kölnische Gesellschaft für christlich-jüdische Zusammenarbeit e.V. (Cologne Society for christian-jewish Cooperation). A further album release is planned for 2023 with the violist Francisco Fernández: the Sonata for Viola and Piano by Karl Klingler, which has hitherto only been recorded by the composer himself.

In 2021, Albert Lau was invited to give performances to open the autumn season at the Georgian Theatre royal in Richmond, North Yorkshire, after the theatre’s extensive refurbishment. Among guests who attended the performance was Rishi Sunak (then as Chancellor of the Exchequer). In January 2020 Albert Lau gave a sold-out charity recital ‘Piano gegen Rechts’ for the Kölnische Gesellschaft für christlich-jüdische Zusammenarbeit e.V. to help fight against racism, anti-semitism and discrimination. The concert attracted notable attention from the media and was reported nationwide. Albert Lau was praised by the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, for his initiative and commitment. 

Other solo recital highlights include ‘Musikdorf Ernen’ in Switzerland, ‘Pianos en Fête’ at the Festival International de Piano de La Roque-d’Anthéron in France and at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London as part of their ‘Pianists of the World’ series. Together with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, he performed the Chinese premiere of ‘Three Movements’ by Steve Reich, in Hong Kong. In 2018, Albert Lau performed a solo recital at the Kammermusiksaal in Beethoven-Haus Bonn to great acclaim. In November 2019 his début solo CD ‘Unveiled’, featuring solo piano works by Clara Schumann and Fanny Hensel, was released by Eden River Records. The album launch garnered great reviews from ‘Das Opernmagazin’ and the Robert Schumann Society in Düsseldorf. 

Albert Lau has played in the Apeiron Duo with Italian violinist Paola Delucchi since 2011. Their performances in 2019 included recitals at St Martin-in-the-Fields and The Foundling Museum in London. La Repubblica, Italy’s national newspaper, praised the ensemble’s ‘commendable lyrical elegance’ and ‘interpretative intelligence’.

A versatile pianist, Albert Lau performed in 2013 at the Royal Opera House Linbury Studio Theatre, London in ‘Draft Works’, alongside principal dancers from the Royal Ballet. In the same year, he made his London Southbank début at the Purcell Room, performing John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano.

While at the Royal Academy of Music, Albert Lau was awarded a number of prestigious prizes, including the Lloyd Hartley Prize for Best Postgraduate Recitals, the Nancy Dickinson Award, the Franz Reizenstein Award, and the Else Cross Modern Piano Prize. At the 2009 Seattle International Piano Festival Albert Lau was awarded the prize for the best performance of a work by Gabriel Fauré.

His recording with the Academy Chamber Ensemble was released by Linn Records in 2013, in which he performed works by Mahler and Debussy under the baton of renowned conductor Trevor Pinnock. In 2012 he performed with the Academy Symphony Orchestra in the European premiere of Charles Ives’ Universe Symphony at the Aldeburgh Festival.

Albert Lau has played in master classes given by Stephen Hough, Christopher Elton, Maxim Vengerov, Joshua Bell, Roy Howat, Peter Mack and Pascal Nemirovski, among others. He has studied chamber music under prominent pedagogues such as Maurice Hasson, Mimi Zweig, Felix Schmidt, Paul Silverthorne, Martin Outram and Kevork Mardirossian.

Albert Lau pours creativity into crafting innovative programmes in his concerts. He is fascinated by rarities in the piano repertoire, from salon pieces to arrangements of symphonic works. He has written piano transcriptions in which he ‘re-imagines’ popular German melodies, such as Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen. In 2020, Westdeutschland Rundfunk (West German Radio) presented him in an interview to a broad, international audience.

Albert Lau has lived in Cologne since 2016.

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