Lu is also interested in understanding the personalities behind the compositions. Rather than relying primarily on biographical accounts, he prefers to discover composers through their music.
"I think everyone's personality and nature are reflected in their entire being — how they talk, how they interact with others, their habits, and, ultimately, how they play music," he says.
He sees Chopin as an introverted, highly sensitive individual, someone who kept much of his emotional world within himself. In this respect, Lu finds aspects of the composer's character relatable, while acknowledging that Chopin was a complex figure whose music cannot be reduced to a single emotional expression.
"His music has so many sides to it. It's never straightforward. There are always many layers to peel back," he says.
Alongside Chopin, Lu devotes considerable time to the works of Franz Schubert, Mozart, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, whose music he also considers deeply personal.
Preparing a piece, he says, requires more than understanding its technical demands or musical structure. The performer must enter the composer's emotional world.
"The piece must completely envelop you. You have to get inside the music and get as close as possible to feeling what the composer was feeling when he wrote it," he says.
That process continues throughout a musician's career. Although Lu first encountered the Chopin concerto at 17, his interpretation has evolved through years of performing, listening, and studying other composers.
His international career has brought both the fulfillment of a childhood ambition and the pressure of increasingly high expectations.
"The best part is that you are out there living your dream," he says. "But, of course, it comes with a lot of responsibility and high expectations."
Rather than seeing those expectations as an obstacle, Lu regards them as motivation to keep improving and to deliver the music as sincerely as possible.
Before a concert, he prefers to spend time alone, finding a peaceful state of mind. Once on stage, however, he considers the audience an indispensable part of the performance.
"The audience is absolutely essential. It's why we play," he says. "You feel their presence. There's a different energy in the room."
He has also noticed the enthusiasm of younger classical music audiences in China, comparing it with Western concerts where he says audiences tend to be older.
His Beijing visit is also a chance to rediscover a city he has not visited in more than eight years.
Looking ahead, Lu plans to record an album devoted to Schumann, which he expects to release next year. He is also open to exploring Chinese composers, although he says the vast repertoire of classical masters still gives him plenty to discover.
