Composers: Enrique Granados

Wai Yuen Won – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

WAI YUEN WON
Hong Kong  |  Age 17

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

Program:
HAYDN Sonata in A-flat Major, Hob. XVI:46: I. Allegro moderato
CHOPIN Etude in G-sharp Minor, op. 25, no. 6
GRANADOS Allegro de concierto, op. 46

Wai Yuen Wong has won top prizes in the Hong Kong General Next Arts Music Competition (2014), Korea International Competition for Young Artists (2013), International Piano Competition for Young Musicians in Enschede, Netherlands (2012, also winning the Press and Audience Prizes), and the Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition (2011). Recitals have taken her to Beijing, Xiamen, and Hamburg, and she was invited to perform in the 42nd Hong Kong Arts Festival. Wai Yuen has also appeared as soloist with the Hong Kong Children and Pan Asia Symphony Orchestras. Currently studying with Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, she has also taken master classes with Graham Scott, Fanny Waterman, Joyce Yang, and Giuseppe Andaloro.

Yasuo Kurimoto – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Performance

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

Yasuo Kurimoto, M.D., 55
Ophthalmologist
Kobe, Japan
Japan

Dr. Yasuo Kurimoto says he has wanted to participate in the Cliburn Amateur Competition for 10 years, and his interest in the competition’s namesake goes back further: “Van Cliburn has been my hero since I was a child.” He took private piano lessons, but pursued medicine as a career, receiving his medical degree in 1986, and a Ph.D. in 1995 from Kyoto University. Currently, he is the director of the department of ophthalmology at Kobe City General Hospital. Dr. Kurimoto has found success competing in amateur contests around the world. In 2001, he was a semifinalist in the first Boston International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs; a semifinalist in 2002 at the Paris Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano; first-prize winner at the 14th Osaka International Music Competition and first-prize winner at the International (Tokyo) Amateur Piano Competition in 2014. An opera buff who also enjoys skiing and wine, he looks forward to meeting piano-lovers from around the world in Fort Worth.

Program:
GRANADOS, Allegro de concierto, op. 46

Marco Di Marzio – 2016 Cliburn Amateur Preliminary Round Recital

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

Marco Di Marzio, 43
Clinical pharmacist
Dublin, Ireland
Italy

Marco Di Marzio credits his new teacher, Dr. Archie Chen at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, for reigniting his passion for piano, which began at age 8 after hearing Beethoven’s Für Elise. Born in Atri, Italy, Mr. Di Marzio was accepted into the Luisa d’Annunzio Conservatory in Pescara, Italy, at age 10, but by 18, his enthusiasm waned for the instrument after studying under a difficult teacher. When he was 28, he left Italy to pursue a master’s degree in organic chemistry at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and was excited that the Royal Academy was nearby. He began to study the instrument again, receiving his Licentiate diploma in piano from Trinity College in 2014, and entered amateur competitions, master classes, and festivals. Three years ago, Mr. Di Marzio, who works as a senior clinical pharmacist at a Dublin hospital, took a six-week course at the Buddhism Centre. Since then, he has practiced meditation daily, as well as yoga; both of which he says have had a huge impact on his piano practice.

Program:
GRANADOS, “Los requiebros” from Goyescas, op. 11

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.