Composers: Dmitri Shostakovich

Wei Luo– Cliburn Junior 2015 Semifinal Round Recital

WEI LUO
China  |  Age 16

2015 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival
June 21–28, 2015  I  TCU
Fort Worth, TX, USA

Program:
SHOSTAKOVICH Prelude and Fugue in A-flat Major, op. 87, no. 17
BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Paganini, op. 35, Books I and II
RAVEL La valse

Born in Shenzhen, Wei Luo began piano lessons at age 5, and gave her debut recital in Hong Kong at age 6. Winner of the 11th Chopin International Competition for Young Pianists in Poland (2010) and the 2nd Rachmaninov International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Frankfurt (2010), she made her orchestra debut with the Shanghai Philharmonic in 2010 after winning its concerto competition. After studying at the Music Middle School Affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory, Wei moved to Philadelphia in 2012 to learn from Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald at The Curtis Institute of Music, where she was selected in her second year as the only pianist in the annual Dean’s Honors Recital. She also has lessons from Eleanor Wong and has taken master classes with Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, Seymour Lipkin, Abbey Simon, and Nelita True.

Arsenii Mun – Cliburn Junior 2015 Quarterfinal Round Recital

ARSENII MUN
Russia  |  Age 16

2015 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival
June 21–28, 2015  I  TCU
Fort Worth, TX, USA

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, Book II, BWV 889
SHOSTAKOVICH Preludes, op. 34, nos. 2, 10, & 24
CHOPIN Nocturne in F Major, op. 15, no. 1
CHOPIN Etude in C Major, op. 10, no. 1
CHOPIN Mazurka in F-sharp Minor, op. 6, no. 1
CHOPIN Mazurka in A-flat Major, op. 24, no. 3
CHOPIN Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, op. 23

Born in St. Petersburg, Arsenii Mun began studying music at age 6 and entered the Special Musical School-Lyceum of the State Conservatory in 2010. He gave his recital debut in 2012, and has since performed throughout Russia and with the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony, Tchaikovsky Symphony, and Tallin Chamber Orchestras. He has won prizes in the 2011 Horowitz International Piano Competition, 2012 International Televised Competition for Young Musicians “Nutcracker” in Moscow, and the 2014 Yamaha Music Award. Also interested in chamber music, Arsenii has attended the Musica Mundi festival in Belgium—where he received feedback from Daniel Barenboim, Maxim Vengerov, and Itamar Golan—the Peter de Grote Festival in the Netherlands, and the Salzburg International Summer Academy.

Johann Zhao – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Johann Zhao
Austria | Age 15

Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 31, 2019 – 3:54 p.m.

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 860
LISZT La campanella from Paganini Etudes
SHOSTAKOVICH Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, op. 87, no. 15
PROKOFIEV Toccata, op. 11

Salzburg-born Johann Zhao has five competition wins to his name in Austria, Czech Republic, and Germany, as well as a gold medal at the AADGT (American Association for Development of the Gifted and Talented) in 2017, which led to his Carnegie Hall debut. A student of Cordelia Höfer-Teutsch at the University Mozarteum Salzburg since 2013, he made his recital and concerto debuts in 2015 at Salzburg’s Summer Schlosskonzerte Mirabell. He has performed with the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic and will perform with the Berliner Sinfonieorchester in Philharmonie in April. He is also a passionate chamber musician, a self-proclaimed YouTuber, runs marathons, sings in choir, and writes pop music.

“Through playing music, I came to understand the invisible world better, instead of relying on perception only. I am interested also in religion and history, and it seems to me that every religious movement or political change has always been accompanied by making music to awake emotion.”

Kasey Shao- Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Kasey Shao
United States | Age 15

Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 31, 2019 – 2:52 p.m.

Program:

BACH Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 884
CHOPIN Etude in F Major, op. 10, no. 8
RACHMANINOV Prelude in D Major, op. 23, no. 4
ALBÉNIZ “Triana” from Iberia, Book II
SHOSTAKOVICH Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, op. 87, no. 15

A Louisville native who now lives in Cincinnati, Kasey Shao made her concerto debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center when she was 12 years old. She has 13 first-place finishes to her name at junior competitions across the Eastern United States and made her Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall) debut in 2013. A student of Ran Dank, she attends Walnut Hills High School, where she is a member of the Model UN Club, Science Olympiad team, French Club, and Student Congress. She has accompanied school choir, band, orchestra, and chamber groups since she was in third grade, and is interested in conducting and collaborations with other pianists.

“Music has the power to bring people together, no matter race, gender, sex, or religion, and it creates emotions unable to be felt in everyday life. It is important to me because it gives my life a new flavor, a new color, and a new spectrum.”

Yury Favorin – Cliburn 2017 Semifinal Recital

YURY FAVORIN
Russia | Age 30

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Semifinal Round Recital – Friday, June 2, 2017 – 7:30 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, op. 106 “Hammerklavier”
SHOSTAKOVICH Sonata No. 1, op. 12

Moscow native Yury Favorin started his music instruction at age 5, and pursued piano, clarinet, and composition at the Gnessins Moscow Secondary Special School. He continued his education at the Moscow Conservatory and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. In 2016, he was invited to be on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory. Mr. Favorin has won prizes at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and the Olivier Messiaen International Piano Competition in Paris. He has played with conductors including Pierre Boulez and Marin Alsop, and given recitals in Russia, the United States, France, Germany, Austria, Norway, Hungary, Italy,  Sweden, Poland,  Japan, and more. He is a regular participant in music festivals such as Crazy Days in Nantes, France, and in Japan; and La Rocque-d’Anthéron in France. Mr. Favorin enjoys premiering works by contemporary composers. His many recordings include Liszt and 20th-century Russian composers, but also new music and improvisations. He has been part of several groups devoted to freely improvised music, including his own ERROR 404.

Han Chen – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

HAN CHEN
Taiwan| Age 25

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Tuesday, May 30, 2017 – 5:15 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SHOSTAKOVICH Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, op. 87, no. 15
ADÈS Three Mazurkas, op. 27
LISZT Sonata in B Minor

Han Chen, a native of Taichung, Taiwan, studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky at The Juilliard School, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, in part on a Van Cliburn Alumni Scholarship. He continues his studies at the New England Conservatory with Wha Kyung Byun. As first-prize winner of the Sixth China International Piano Competition, Mr. Chen released his debut CD, of Liszt opera transcriptions, on Naxos Records. He has performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (under Vladimir Ashkenazy), Aspen Music Festival Brass Ensemble, China Symphony Orchestra, Macao Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, and National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and given recitals in New York, Taiwan, and China. A modern-music enthusiast, Mr. Chen collaborated closely with Juilliard’s new-music ensemble, AXIOM (as in John Cage’s Concerto for Prepared Piano), and is on the roster of the New York-based Ensemble Échappé. His program of all New York-based composers at the new-music venue Spectrum was a Time Out New York critic’s pick. Mr. Chen also is an avid composer whose works have been performed in Taiwan, New York, Aspen, and beyond.

Yutong Sun – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

YUTONG SUN
China | Age 21

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 26, 2017 – 9:25 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
SHOSTAKOVICH Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, op. 87, no. 24
CHOPIN Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, op. 83

Yutong Sun studies with Alexander Korsantia at the New England Conservatory. He has won awards at a number of competitions, including third prize at the 2016 Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona, first prize at the 2012 Jaén Award International Piano Competition (Spain), and second prize at the 2011 New Orleans International Piano Competition for Young Artists. He made his recital debut at age 10 in Beijing and his orchestra debut with the Orchestra of Granada in Spain at age 16. Mr. Sun has performed with orchestras and in recital in China, France, Spain, and the United States. In 2013, he released a recording of a recital performance as part of the Laureate Series on the Naxos label. When not playing music, he likes to watch movies and sports.