Composers: Domenico Scarlatti

Noah DeGarmo – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round
Van Cliburn Recital Hall
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Noah DeGarmo, M.D., 38
Physician
Dallas, Texas
United States

Noah DeGarmo began private piano lessons at 7, and started playing the oboe at age 10. In addition to performing with the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble and Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, he took master classes at the New England Conservatory before entering medical school in New York. After a residency in emergency medicine at Northwestern University, he moved to Dallas, where he currently serves as medical director at Baylor Surgical Center at Las Colinas. Dr. DeGarmo was a semifinalist at the Chicago Amateur Piano Competition in 2010 (where he received Best Performance of a Contemporary Work) and a finalist at the contest in 2012. Since he was 18, Dr. DeGarmo has suffered from tendinitis, which he has lectured about as it relates to performing. In his downtime, he likes to cook, entertain, garden, travel, and spend time with his golden retriever, Mayzie.

Program:
SCARLATTI, Sonata in E Major, K. 380
CHOPIN, Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp Minor, op. 66
WAGNER-LISZT, Isoldens Liebestod: Schlußszene aus Tristan und Isolde

Sandra Baumgarten – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Preliminary Round
Van Cliburn Recital Hall

Sandra Baumgarten, 37
Stay-at-home mother
Brush Prairie, Washington
United States

Sandra Baumgarten received a degree in piano performance from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in 2001, worked briefly as a flight attendant, and then, as a stay-at-home mother, became active in her church. Inspired by the Amateur Competition, she aims to prove to herself that she is not a “has-been pianist,” but rather one who continues to grow and refine her skills. Also a voice soloist, Ms. Baumgarten is a fan of musical theater and sacred choral music. In addition to her musical pursuits, she enjoys running, dancing, and painting. An avid baker, she maintains a cooking blog and has reviewed recipes for Clean Eating magazine. Her own recipe for chocolate-covered candy canes was featured in A Taste of Home magazine in 2013.

Program:
SCARLATTI Sonata in E Major, K. 380
LISZT Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un sospiro”)

Nikita Mndoyants- Cliburn 2013 Semifinal Recital

NIKITA MNDOYANTS
Russia | Age 24

Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Semifinal  Recital
Brentano String Quartet
Bass Performance Hall

Program:
SCARLATTI Sonata in G Minor, K. 476 Sonata in B Minor, K. 87 Sonata in G Major, K. 125
THEOFANIDIS Birichino
DEBUSSY From Preludes, Books I and II La cathedrale englouitie La puerta del vino Feux d’artifice
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition

Born into a family of professional musicians, Nikita Mndoyants began to play piano and compose music at an early age. He gave his first public recital when he was ten, and one year later released his first recording of a live performance at the Sibelius Academy Concert Hall in Helsinki. Since then, Mr. Mndoyants has toured throughout China, Estonia, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. He has been invited to perform in several festivals, including the Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdroj, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, and a festival dedicated to the World Economic Forum in Davos. His compositions are featured on two recordings released by Classical Records in 2007. Mr. Mndoyants is currently pursuing postgraduate studies at the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he also received a degree in piano and composition.

Fei-Fei Dong- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

FEI-FEI DONG
China | Age 22

Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital II
Bass Performance Hall

Program:
SCARLATTI Sonata in D Major, K. 96
Sonata in F Minor, K. 466
DEBUSSY Danse
LISZT Sonata in B Minor

Born in Shenzhen, Fei-Fei Dong gave her first recital at age ten; this was followed three years later by her orchestral debut with the Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has since made debuts in Alice Tully Hall and the Louvre Auditorium, and with the Aspen Music Festival, Hong Kong, Juilliard, Shanxi, and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestras. Ms. Dong is a first-prize winner of several competitions in China, including the Schumann International Piano Competition for Young Musicians, the Asia-Pacific International Chopin Piano Competition, and the 65th Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition. Ms. Dong currently lives in New York, where she is pursuing her Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School.

Martin James Bartlett – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

Martin James Bartlett
United Kingdom | Age 20

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Monday, May 29, 2017 – 4:25 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCARLATTI Sonata in E Major, K. 380
SCARLATTI Sonata in B Minor, K. 27
GRANADOS “El amor y la muerte” from Goyescas, op. 11
SCHUMANN-LISZT Widmung
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, op. 83

Martin James Bartlett won the title of BBC Young Musician in 2014 and has since appeared regularly on BBC TV and radio broadcasts. In 2016, he performed as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, broadcast live on BBC One. He also was one of 27 international artists, including Elton John and Stevie Wonder, chosen by the BBC to record a cover of the Beach Boys’ classic God Only Knows. Mr. Bartlett is currently studying with Vanessa Latarche at the Royal College of Music as a Foundation Scholar. He has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Usher Hall, and Steinway Hall in London. Internationally, he has performed across France, Monaco, Italy, Russia, and Serbia. He made his BBC Proms debut in 2015 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He also has performed with the BBC Concert, BBC Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, and European Union Chamber orchestras. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, traveling, and wine collecting.

Georgy Tchaidze- Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

GEORGY TCHAIDZE
Russia | Age 29

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, May 27, 2017 – 2:30 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCARLATTI Sonata in D Minor, K. 77
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, op. 110
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in C Minor, op. 33, no. 3
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in C-sharp Minor, op. 33, no. 9

Georgy Tchaidze was born in St. Petersburg and earned his master’s degree at the Moscow Conservatory. He has won prizes at several competitions, including first at the 2009 Honens International Piano Competition, fourth at the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition, and first at the 2015 Top of the World International Piano Competition in Tromsø, Norway. Mr. Tchaidze has performed throughout Europe, North America, and Asia, including at Wigmore Hall in London, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. He performed with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra under Pinchas Zukerman and with the Cleveland Orchestra with conductor Bramwell Tovey. As a chamber artist, he tours with the Cecilia and Borodin string quartets. Mr. Tchaidze has released three recordings on the Honens label: a live recording with the Cecilia String Quartet, an all-Schubert album, and a disc of works by Medtner, Mussorgsky and Prokofiev. He studies in Berlin, where his other passions include literature, cinema, and nature.

Tony Yike Yang – Cliburn 2017 Semifinal Recital

TONY YIKE YANG
Canada | Age 18

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Semifinal Round Recital – Saturday, June 3, 2017 – 2:30 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCARLATTI Sonata in A Major, K. 212
SCARLATTI Sonata in D Minor, K. 9
CHOPIN Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 35
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition

Tony Yike Yang is enrolled at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studies with Wha Kyung Byun. He previously studied in the Pre-College Division at The Juilliard School and at the Taylor Academy of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Mr. Yang won fifth prize at the 2015 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition as well as the Ewa & Włodzimierz Kamirski Award for the Youngest Finalist, and earned a Jury Discretionary Award at the First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition in 2015. He also has won top prizes at Thomas & Evon Cooper, Hilton Head, Bösendorfer and Yamaha USASU International Junior, and Gina Bachauer International Junior piano competitions. He has appeared with The Cleveland Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, Montreal’s Orchestre Metropolitain, and Toronto Sinfonietta. When he’s not playing piano, Mr. Yang loves badminton, ping-pong, video games, swimming, movies, and spicy food.

Yekwon Sunwoo- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

YEKWON SUNWOO
South Korea | Age 14

Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Recital II
Bass Performance Hall

Program:
SCARLATTI Sonata in D Minor, K. 213
SCHUMANN Faschingsschwank aus Wien, op. 26
KIRCHNER Interlude II
RAVEL La valse

First-prize winner of the 2012 William Kapell International Piano Competition and 2012 Piano Campus International Concours, Yekwon Sunwoo has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony, Orchestre National de Belgique, l’Orchestre Philharmonique du Maroc, and Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, with such conductors as Marin Alsop, Paul Goodwin, David Lockington, and Christopher Wilkins. He made his New York debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 2009 and performed at Avery Fisher Hall as soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra in 2012. He has also performed in Canada, France, Germany, Morocco, Switzerland, and throughout the United States. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with Roberto Diaz, Gary Hoffman, Ida Kavafian, Michael Tree, and Peter Wiley. Mr. Sunwoo currently resides in New York, where he is pursuing his master’s degree at The Juilliard School.