Acclaim
“…most of the works sounded too easy for [Di Wu’s] prodigious digits…Her account of the Brahms [Variations on a Theme by Paganini] is amazing. She takes all the difficult options (her octave glissandos are unbelievable!), and she conjures from the piano absolutely gossamer, violinistic textures, joyous humor, and brilliant airborne tempos.” – Musical America
“…pianist Wu was remarkable as soloist. In the Adagio movement of [Beethoven’s] Piano Concerto No. 2, Wu’s tone was so soft and pure as to almost melt the piano.” – Asbury Park Press
“…Di Wu, a lissome young woman whose zesty, powerful, and heartfelt performances should soon lead to a recording contract…” – The Wall Street Journal
“Wu is a young pianist of formidable technique and great energy who attacked some of the most outrageously difficult writing of the 19th-century showboat repertoire with confidence and power…Wu’s textures were clear and her sound heroic…[tempi] were ideal for Wu’s fleet finger work. Her reading of Ständchen was warmly emotional, which suited it, and the closing Erlkönig was a flurry of blazing, rapid octaves…Wu’s ability to generate a ferocious amount of sound was impressive…real sparkle and flair…Di Wu is only 22, but she’s already a very fine pianist who I’m confident will have a long, strong career.” – Greg Stepanich, Palm Beach Post
“[Di Wu’s] playing exhibits a physicality that is both athletic and balletic. She balanced lush sensuality with a charming playfulness – it was a riveting quality…Unlike other virtuosic soloists, it was not the dramatic intensity and fireworks which captivated, but the effortless, almost enchanted quality of her focus and ability.” – Island Packet
“…Whatever the synaptic source, Wu’s hands and fingers possessed unbelievable swiftness on the keyboard. She appeared wired to perform prestos effortlessly…Her glittering glissandos were very impressive…‘Gaspard de la Nuit’ gave Wu full rein to display her uncanny hand and finger agility. The opening ‘Odine’ portion elicited wondrous shimmering effects and amazing melodic line, even within fast arpeggio sequences…Wu displayed total command, energized by a wonderful driving impetus…Wu’s performance of ‘Scarbo’ alone would have confirmed her amazing technical strengths…” – Kalamazoo Gazette
“[Di Wu’s] virtuosity and imaginative vitality really came into their own. Her playing was at once forceful and faultless – immaculate finger work and swirling sub-Argerich phrasing.” – The Straits Times (Singapore)
“Pianist Di Wu was so capable in [Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3],…in an eventful interpretation never dictated by technical necessities. She was a paragon of flexible rubato, but also used rhythmic rigidity to make the music speak in unexpected ways. She played against the piece’s bigness with Mozartean delicacy but blazed in moments that can’t do anything else…” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
“…the most musically mature and sensitive pianist competing in the finals [of the XIII Van Cliburn Competition]…Ms. Wu’s deeply poetic renditions of Ravel’s ‘Miroirs” and ‘Gaspard de la Nuit’…these Ravel works were turned into miniballets by Ms. Wu, who combined assured, contained strength with high drama…Ms. Wu majestically embraced the passionate Rachmaninoff Third Concerto…dazzling mastery.” – The Wall Street Journal
“…a bravura performance that awed the audience and brought them all to their feet for a standing ovation…she was born to be a performer. Right from the beginning, Wu, with her radiantly sunny personality, created a delightful connection with the audience…a fine grasp of delicate finger work…played with great sensitivity and gloriously beautiful singing tone. She managed to bring the listener into the songs and captivate them with a true romantic manner of playing…world class technique…She played [Fantasy on Themes from The Marriage of Figaro] with an Èlan and virtuosity that was mesmerizing. The speed and accuracy of her playing was equal to any of the greatest pianists of the past…I predict a long and successful career for Di Wu. The best compliment that I could give her would be to say that I welcome the chance to hear her again, playing anything, as this was one of the most enjoyable recitals that I have ever heard.” – Holland Garcia, Peninsula Reviews (Carmel, California)
“I have never heard the two books of Brahms Variations on a Theme by Paganini dispatched in such note perfect efficiency. Di Wu’s equipment proved totally awesome…I found the ease and poise of her Ondine utterly praiseworthy in its onward flow…[she] has pretty well unlocked the secrets of Scriabin’s Sonata No. 7, Op. 64 ‘White Mass’…” – The New York Concert Review
“…stunning. The audience leaped as one in a prolonged standing ovation that twice drew Wu back to the stage.” – Bucks County Courier Times
“Pianist Di Wu closed the concert with a staggering display of Rachmaninoff’s most technical piece, the Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. Ms. Wu catapulted through the piece with staggering fingerwork, impressive crescendos and a general enthusiasm…Ms. Wu transmitted her own exhilaration of the music throughout the entire audience, captivating her listeners…Highly charismatic and impressively nimble in Rachmaninoff’s most difficult passages, Ms. Wu will be a pianist to watch as she continues to develop her performing career.” – The Bulletin (Philadelphia)
“Wu’s performance was solid and undoubtedly passionate…Wu’s high register playing was light and graceful, with an ease and delineation that almost sounded strummed, and her speed and power in cascading from the top of the keyboard to the bottom was staggering.” – Courier Post (Camden, NJ)
“Chinese pianist Di Wu played with panache and finely etched detail in the finale of Rachmaninoff’s ‘Second Piano Concerto’.” – The Washington Post
“…Di Wu, a 17-year-old pianist with a big and mature sound. She left no doubt from the opening chords that she owned the concerto…a performance that was superior to all too many of those heard on the available recordings.” – The Vindicator
“The fact that the 16-year-old [Wu] also probed to be an estimable musician of enviable fluency with substantial artistic insight came as a pleasant surprise…This teen-age keyboard whiz dazzled everyone with Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini…Wu’s fingers flew at supersonic speed across the keys, making a series of breathtaking hairpin turns from the dreamy to the vigorous…Her virtuosity and imaginative vitality really came into their own. Her playing was at once forceful faultless…” – The Straits Times (Singapore)