Experience the full transformative power of classical music.
About us
Classical Music for a Better World (CMBW) was founded in 2017 by young American pianist Michael Lu.
We use the full transformative power of classical music to serve and inspire both listeners and practitioners, empowering them to create a better world. To aid in our vision, we nurture a close-knit community of listeners, artists, and thinkers who are aligned with themes of survival, prosperity, and aspiration. At the heart of what we do is our passionate engagement in cross-disciplinary collaborations: we work with experts in such fields as medicine, finance, psychology, and philosophy to foster connections that enrich both the art form and its impact on society.
Michael Lu is noted for his “warm, enveloping tone” (Cleveland Classical), and his major teachers include Antonio Pompa-Baldi, the late Seth Carlin, and Stanislav Ioudenitch. Alongside earning special acclaim for his interpretations of the core repertoire—particularly Tchaikovsky, Schumann, and Schubert—he passionately champions the music of American composers such as Samuel Barber, George Walker, Ned Rorem, Florence Price, Adolphus Hailstork, Aaron Copland, and Bright Sheng, among many others. He also regularly programs the music of numerous overlooked compositional masters, such as Vítězslava Kaprálová, Valentin Silvestrov, and Julius Reubke. As a concerto soloist, he has worked with conductors such as Gemma New and Stephen Mulligan and his repertoire of more than 30 works includes the five Beethoven concertos, nearly all the works for piano and orchestra by Rachmaninoff, both Brahms concertos, and most the great Mozart concertos.
Full site coming by Spring 2025! In the meantime:
Upcoming events
February 8, 2025 @ 10 am EST — Life Lessons from Franz Schubert’s Last Sonatas (livestreamed lecture, available for a week)
March 9, 2025 — Samuel Barber’s Piano Sonata: Why It Deserves All Our Love (filmed lecture-recital, available for a month)
TBD (late Spring 2025) — Midwest Festival preview concert (in-person, chamber music recital, Ohio)