Mao Fujita takes the plunge into Romanticism at Wigmore Hall

Mao Fujita

By Mark Pullinger, 03 January 2026

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“stroking the keys in the gentle Adagio, as if inviting the audience to share a whispered secret”

Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 2 January 2026

Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 1 in F minor, Op.2 no.1

Wagner, In das Album Fürstin Metternich

Berg, 12 Variations on an Original Theme

Mendelssohn, Variations Sérieuses in D Minor, Op.54

Brahms, Piano Sonata no. 1 in C major, Op.1

Liszt, Isolde's Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, transc. for piano, S 447

Ravel, Menuet sur le nom de Haydn

Mao Fujita, Piano

Mao Fujita and Semyon Bychkov deliver a virtuoso pairing in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 2nd October

A daunting program of Strauss and Shostakovich showcases conductor Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic at their very best.

*****

Mao Fujita’s Mozart and Myung‑whun Chung’s Fantastique in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 29th August

An evening at the Seoul Arts Center in which clarity matters as much as volume and the most telling virtuosity comes from a refusal to grandstand.

****1

Heavenly Mozart plus a cadenza world premiere from Mao Fujita

Charlotte Gardner, 20th March

In the second of his Mozart concerto appearances with the Philharmonia, Mao Fujita plays the heavenly Piano Concerto no. 25 in C major.

*****

Mao Fujita: weaving delicate sound tapestries at Carnegie Hall

Edward Sava-Segal, 10th November

Mao Fujita demonstrates his technical prowess and poetic sensitivity in Carnegie Hall's 2024-2025 ‘Keyboard Virtuosos’ series.

*****

Czech Philharmonic's resounding Glagolitic Mass at the BBC Proms

Alexander Hall, 28th August

Jakub Hrůša and his Czech forces give an impressive account of a mass which with its ecclesiastical elements, yet pantheistic spirit and visceral energy points towards a more secular age.

****1

Chailly reigns supreme with Fujita and the Royal Concertgebouw

Clare Varney, 8th March

Chailly's energy and vitality is inspirational on his return to Amsterdam for an all-Rachmaninov concert.

****1

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.