Pianist Choo Choo Hu pairs Boulanger, Debussy, and Schubert in a concise recital of poetic reflection | EarRelevant

CONCERT REVIEW:

Choo Choo Hu
January 11, 2026
Ahavath Achim Synagogue
Atlanta, Georgia – USA
“Three’s the Charm”
Choo Choo Hu, piano.
Frédéric CHOPIN: Prelude in D-flat major, Op. 28 No. 15 (“Raindrop”)
Lili BOULANGER: Trois Morceaux
Claude DEBUSSY: Estampes
Franz SCHUBERT: Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946

Mark gresham | 13 jan 2026

This past Sunday, pianist Choo Choo Hu offered a beautifully thoughtful and elegantly concise solo recital at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, presenting three works by three composers that emphasized color, intimacy, and poetic reflection over overt virtuosity. Entitled “Three’s the Charm,” the program paired French impressionist miniatures with late Schubert, creating a cohesive arc that invited close listening.

The recital opened with Lili Boulanger’s Trois Morceaux, written in 1914 during the composer’s stay at the Villa Medici and published posthumously. Hu approached the set with restraint and clarity, allowing the music’s delicate shifts of harmony and texture to speak without exaggeration. “D’un vieux jardin” unfolded with a reflective, inward tone, while “D’un jardin clair” brought lighter sonorities and a sense of gentle illumination. The brief “Cortège” provided a buoyant contrast, its march-like character offering a lift before the program moved on.

Debussy’s Estampes followed, expanding the palette while maintaining the recital’s emphasis on atmosphere. In “Pagodes,” Hu highlighted the work’s pentatonic colors and layered sonorities in a controlled, unhurried manner. “La soirée dans Grenade” emphasized rhythmic flexibility and muted sensuality rather than overt drama, and “Jardins sous la pluie” closed the set with brisk energy and crisp articulation, its cascading figures suggesting motion without blurring the underlying structure.

The program concluded with Schubert’s Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946, composed in the final months of the composer’s life. Hu treated the three pieces less as vehicles for contrast than as extended lyrical meditations. Singing melodic lines were balanced by sudden harmonic turns and darker undercurrents, particularly in the central piece, where shifts between major and minor suggested both warmth and unease. The final Klavierstück brought out the virtuosic element, its expansive phrases shaped with unforced clarity in its velocity rather than sheer urgency.

Though the works spanned nearly a century, the ordering — beginning with Boulanger, moving to Debussy, and ending with Schubert — created a sense of looking backward through time. Shared themes of nature, evocation, and introspection linked the three selections, lending the recital a sense of unity. ■

Choo Choo Hu performing at AA Synagogue (credit: Mike Hull)

EXTERNAL LINKS:

Choo Choo Hu: choochoohu.com
Ahavath Achim Synagogue: aasynagogue.org

About the author:

Mark Gresham is publisher and principal writer of EarRelevant. He began writing as a music journalist over 30 years ago, but has been a composer of music much longer than that. He was the winner of an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award for music journalism in 2003.

Read more by Mark Gresham.