Dr. Jian Liu is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist and one of New Zealand’s leading artists. He has performed extensively across Europe, Asia, and North America, with appearances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. A committed collaborator, he regularly works with New Zealand’s foremost performing arts organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and the New Zealand Arts Festival, alongside a wide range of international partners. He is Deputy Head of School at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, Victoria University of Wellington, and serves as a trustee of the New Zealand Music Trust. 

A passionate advocate for New Zealand music, Dr. Liu has premiered and recorded numerous works by New Zealand composers. In 2022, he edited and published New Zealand Piano Works in both English and Chinese through Shanghai Music Publishing House—the first publication of New Zealand piano music in China. Its companion album, Where Fairburn Walked, released by Rattle Records, earned him the Best Classical Artist award at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards. His earlier New Zealand Piano Works project was also supported by a Creative New Zealand Arts Grant in 2021.

Dr. Liu is a prizewinner at several international competitions, including the Horowitz International Piano Competition (Ukraine) and the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition (USA). He has appeared at festivals in Auckland, Idyllwild, Beijing, Shanghai, Lausanne, and Kraków. His performances have been broadcast internationally by KPHO Public Radio (USA), CCTV (China), Radio Suisse Romande (Switzerland), Kraków Radio (Poland), Kan Radio (Israel), and Radio New Zealand. He has also served as an adjudicator for major international competitions.

As a chamber musician, he frequently performs with members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and is the founding pianist of the Te Kōkī Trio, the resident ensemble at the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī. The trio has toured Singapore, China, Australia, and New Zealand. His international collaborations include performances with the Takács Quartet, Anthony Marwood, Jian Wang, David Shifrin, Ransom Wilson, Ben Goldscheider, Boris Berman, Claude Frank, and Maria João Pires.

Equally dedicated to education, Dr. Liu served on the faculty of the Yale School of Music for four years. As Deputy Head of School, he has contributed to the establishment of the National Music Centre, a joint initiative between the New Zealand School of Music, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and Wellington City Council. He has led the development of performance curricula and is widely recognised as a distinguished pedagogue. His students have achieved top prizes at major international competitions, including the Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians and the Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition (China), the Indonesia Pusaka Piano Competition, and the National Concerto Competition and Lewis Eady National Piano Competition (New Zealand).

Dr. Liu has given masterclasses and lectures at leading institutions worldwide, including the Central Conservatory of Music and Tianjin Conservatory of Music (China), the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Israel), Rutgers University, Manhattan School of Music, Wellesley College, and Arizona State University (USA), Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore), HMDK Stuttgart (Germany), the Kraków Academy of Music (Poland), and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (Australia).

He studied with Professor Jin Zhang in China and Dr. Caio Pagano in the United States, and completed his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the Yale School of Music, where he studied with and served as assistant to the legendary pianist Claude Frank.