“Luke is in a class by himself with total command of the instrument, fearless technical facility, assertive projection of musical ideas, and rapport with the audience.”
Photography: Miclen LaiPeng
Born in Shanghai, raised in Houston, and currently living in Berlin, American violinist and composer Luke Hsu (ARAM - Associate at the Royal Academy of Music) has an artistic philosophy that eschews borders. Believing in the power of art to transcend the boundaries of one’s lived experience, he draws on his passions for history, culture, and folk music in crafting his interpretations, and champions music of our time as enthusiastically as that of the past. Luke’s performances have been critically praised around the world, most recently by the Südwest Presse Ulm (Sept. 2024) as an “utmost exceptional violinist.” His compositions, like his performances, are a testament to his diverse artistic influences.
Luke maintains an active performing schedule as a soloist and a chamber musician. He has appeared as a soloist at Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Windsor Castle, Kennedy Center, Herkulessaal, Philharmonie Berlin, BOZAR, and many others. He has soloed with numerous renowned orchestras, most recently with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Sudeten Philharmonic, Belgian National Orchestra, and the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, and worked closely with eminent conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Pascal Verrot, Nikolaj Znaider, Hugh Wolff, Cristian Macelaru and Jean-Jacques Kantarow. He has also played for royalty around the world including His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward and Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium.
In addition to his solo appearances, Luke is a devoted and passionate chamber musician. With four other Berlin-based musicians, Luke is a founding member of Tonhain Kollektiv, a new, prestigious chamber music society based in Berlin. In addition, he has collaborated with luminaries such as Itamar Golan, Cho-Liang Lin, Gil Shaham, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Peter Frankl, and Colin Carr. His festival appearances include Verbier, Romsey, La Jolla SummerFest, Wieniawski, Music@Menlo, and Yellow Barn. Luke is also regularly invited to Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music.
A laureate of the Queen Elisabeth competition, Luke has won prizes at many of the most prestigious violin competitions in the world. He won the Bronze Medal, the Bach Prize, and the Mozart Sonata Prize at the 10th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and the 1st prize at the ISANGYUN Competition. Luke has been consistently lauded for his interpretations of Mozart, receiving another special prize for them at the Wieniawski Competition. His other major prizes have come from the Nielsen, Wieniawski, Michael Hill, and Paganini competitions.
As a teacher, Luke gives frequent masterclasses at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was recently selected as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) for his significant contributions to the music profession. He currently plays on a rare violin made by Francesco Gobetti, circa 1710.