Pianist Tianyao Lyu to Release Debut Album CHOPIN on Decca Classics

Decca Classics will release Chopin, the debut studio album from Chinese pianist Tianyao Lyu, on her 18th birthday, October 21, 2026. The announcement comes exactly one year after her breakthrough at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where she became one of its youngest finalists, receiving joint Fourth Prize and the Best Concerto Prize at just 16.

Recorded at Warsaw Philharmonic Hall in May 2026, the album brings together a personal selection of Chopin works, most of which Tianyao performed during the 2025 International Chopin Piano Competition. The recording revisits the repertoire that marked her international breakthrough.

The program includes the Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante, the much-loved Raindrop Prelude, the three Mazurkas Op. 59, Berceuse, Barcarolle, Nocturne Op. 62 No. 1, and Chopin's variations on Mozart's Là ci darem la mano. It also features the Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor.

At the competition, Tianyao's performances captivated audiences with their warmth, spontaneity, and joy at the piano. Writing in Gramophone, Jed Distler praised her playing for its “consistent sparkle and rhythmic point in every phrase.”

Since signing an exclusive recording agreement with Decca Classics in June 2026, Tianyao has continued to build her international career. In August, she made her first tour of Japan, including two performances at Tokyo's Suntory Hall, where she performed both Chopin piano concertos and gave a solo recital. More recently, she returned to Warsaw to perform Mozart with the Warsaw Philharmonic under Krzysztof Urbański.

Reviewing her performance of both Chopin concertos at Suntory Hall on August 12, Motoyuki Teranishi praised “A naturalness that makes the music seem to well up spontaneously from within—revealing her extraordinary talent” — Motoyuki Teranishi, Bravo (ぶらあぼ), August 20, 2026.

Tianyao will make her UK debut later this month with the Hallé, performing Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 under Kahchun Wong at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on October 29 and November 1, 2026.

Born in China, Tianyao studied piano in Beijing before moving to Poland, where she now studies with Professor Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń at the Poznań Academy of Music.

Chopin Tracklist

Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22
Preludes, Op. 28: No. 15 in D-Flat Major 'Raindrop Prelude'
Nocturne No. 20 in C-Sharp Minor, KK IVa/16
Mazurka No. 36 in A Minor, Op. 59 No. 1. Moderato
Mazurka No. 37 in A-Flat Major, Op. 59 No. 2. Allegretto
Mazurka No. 38 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 59 No. 3. Vivace
Berceuse in D-Flat Major, Op. 57
Barcarolle in F-Sharp Major, Op. 60
Nocturne No. 17 in B Major, Op. 62 No. 1. Andante
Variations on 'Là ci darem la mano', Op. 2: Introduction. Largo
 

About Tianyao Lyu

Tianyao Lyu came to international attention at just 16 at the 2025 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where she received joint Fourth Prize and the Best Concerto Prize. Born in China, she studied at the Middle School attached to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing before continuing her studies with Professor Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń at the Poznań Academy of Music in Poland.

She has appeared with orchestras including the Warsaw Philharmonic, with whom she performed Mozart under Krzysztof Urbański, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Kraków Philharmonic. Her performances have taken her to the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, the Warsaw Philharmonic and Tokyo's Suntory Hall. In May 2026, she performed with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.

Highlights of her 2026/27 season include performances with the Hallé under Kahchun Wong at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, her debut at Munich's Prinzregententheater and a recital at Klavier-Festival Ruhr. In January 2027, she will appear at Le Piano Symphonique in Lucerne, taking part in the opening concert alongside Martha Argerich and giving her own lunchtime recital. A recital tour of China follows in June 2027. Further orchestral and recital debuts across Europe, North America and Asia will be announced in the coming months. In June 2026, she signed an exclusive multi-album recording agreement with Decca Classics.

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