Franz Liszt Archives - The Cliburn

Evelyn Mo – Cliburn Junior 2015 Semifinal Round Recital

EVELYN MO
United States | Age 16

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

Program:
MENDELSSOHN Variations sérieuses, op. 54
CHOPIN Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52
LIEBERMANN Gargoyles, op. 29: I. Presto
LISZT Concert Paraphrase on Waltz from Gounod’s Faust

Evelyn Mo made her orchestra debut at age 13 with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, and has since performed with the Orchestra of Northern New York, Camerata New York, and Shenandoah University Symphonic Orchestra. Currently under the guidance of John O’Conor, she has previously studied with Thomas Mastroianni, and attended the Lee University and Southeastern Piano Festivals and the International Institute for Young Musicians. In addition to piano, Evelyn plays the violin and is active at her school as member of the yearbook staff, writer for the newspaper, and coordinator for Tomorrow’s Women in Science and Technology.

Yukine Kuroki – Cliburn Junior 2015 Semifinal Round Recital

YUKINE KUROKI
Japan | Age 16

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

Program:
LISZT, Transcendental Etude No. 11 “Harmonies du soir”
SAINT-SAENS-LISZT Danse macabre, op. 40
TOKUYAMA Musica Nara for Piano
LIERBERMANN Gargoyles, op. 29

Yukine Kuroki has performed with the Astana State Philharmonic, Tatarstan National Symphony, Lithuanian National Symphony, and Polish Silesian Philharmonic Orchestras. She has appeared at the International Music Festival “Stars on Baikal” in Irkusk, Russia at the invitation of Denis Matsuev, as well as the Vilnius Piano Festival and in recitals throughout her native Japan. Competition credits include top prizes at the International Balys Dvarionas, Hanoi International Piano, and International Festival “Astana Piano Passion” Competitions. Yukine studies with Fumiko Eguchi at the Showa Music University Piano Art Academy since 2008. She delights in spreading joy through music, and her hobbies include calligraphy and monochrome drawing.

Arsenii Mun – Cliburn Junior 2015 Semifinal 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:
BEETHOVEN 32 Variations in C Minor, WoO 80
SCHUBERT Moment musicaux in C Major, D. 780, no. 1
DEBUSSY Pour le piano
SHCHEDRIN Rodion, Humoresque
LISZT “Tarantella” from Venezia e Napoli

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.

Tony Yike Yang – Cliburn Junior 2015 Quarterfinal Round Recital

TONY YIKE YANG
Canada | 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 G-sharp Minor, Book II, BWV 887
CHOPIN Nocturne in B Major, op. 62, no. 1
LISZT Après une lecture de Dante (Fantasia Quasi Sonata)

Tony Yike Yang has appeared with The Cleveland Orchestra under Jahja Ling, Hilton Head Symphony with Chelsea Tipton, and the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Academy Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Sinfonietta. He has performed throughout Canada, and was honored to play for Her Royal Highness Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. He has won top prizes at the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Piano, Hilton Head International Piano, Bosendorfer and Yamaha USASU International Junior Piano, and Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competitions. Tony enrolled in the Pre-College Division at The Juilliard School in 2014 under the guidance of Julian Martin, having previously attended the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of James Anagnoson and taken master classes with Richard Goode, Dang Thai Son, and Dan Zhaoyi.

Clayton Stephenson – Cliburn Junior 2015 Quarterfinal Round Recital

CLAYTON STEPHENSON
United States | 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 D Major, Book I, BWV 850
CHOPIN Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1
LISZT Après une lecture de Dante (Fantasia Quasi Sonata)

Born in New York, Clayton Stephenson enrolled in The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program in 2007 and graduated to its Pre-College Division in 2009. He has attended the Morningside Music Bridge Festival in Calgary and the International Keyboard Festival in Manhattan, receiving lessons and master classes with Marc Durant, Krysztof Jablonski, André Laplante, and Alexander Braginsky, among others. He made his concerto debut with the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony Orchestra at Lincoln Center, and has performed with the Midwest Young Artists Symphony Orchestra as part of Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, and in concerts in Munich, Calgary, and New York. Currently a student at the Dalton School, he is involved in the Boys Club of New York, Men of Color Club, and the math team and Transformation Geometry Club at his school.

Adam Balogh – Cliburn Junior 2015 Quarterfinal Round Recital

ADAM BALOGH
Hungary | Age 17

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

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Minor, Book I, BWV 849
CHOPIN Berceuse in D-flat Major, op. 57
LISZT Scherzo and March

Adam Balogh has performed with the Budapest Festival (2010), Berlin Konzerthaus (2012), and Pannon Philharmonic (2010, 2012) Orchestras, working with such conductors as Iván Fischer and András Vass. He has been featured in recitals in Amsterdam, Basel, Berlin, Budapest, Dortmund, and Philadelphia, and gives both solo and chamber recitals annually in his hometown of Pécs, Hungary. Currently studying with Attila Némethy and Gábor Echkardt at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music’s Preparatory School for Exceptionally Gifted Children, he has participated in master classes and lessons with Dmitri Bashkirov, Zoltán Kocsis, and Jerome Lowenthal, among others. In addition to winning prizes in every major national piano competition in Hungary, he has garnered awards at the PianoTalents (Milan 2013), Jeno Takács (Graz 2010), and “Young Virtuoso” (Zagreb 2008) International Piano Competitions.

Misha Galant– Cliburn Junior 2015 Quarterfinal Round Recital

MISHA GALANT
United States | Age 17

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
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, op. 31, no. 3: I. Allegro
CHOPIN Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1
LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

Born in California to a family of musicians, Misha Galant has already performed with the Utah, Oakland, Peninsula, and Livermore Symphony Orchestras, as prizewinner of several concerto competitions. He is one of ten recipients of the Chopin Scholarship from the Chopin Foundation of the United States. Currently studying with both his mother, Olya Katsman, and Sharon Mann at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Misha has participated in the Music@Menlo and Foulger International Music Festivals. He has had lessons with Nelita True, Boris Berman, Yu-Jane Yang, and most recently has had coaching with Yoshikazu Nagai. He also enjoys math and is an accomplished swimmer.

Alim Beisembayev – Cliburn Junior 2015 Quarterfinal Round Recital

ALIM BEISEMBAYEV
Kazahkstan | Age 17

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

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in D Major, Book II, BWV 874
CHOPIN Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1
LISZT Ballade No. 2 in B Minor

Born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Alim Beisembayev has given recitals in London, Moscow, and Sacile (Italy), and performed with the Svetlanov Orchestra of Moscow, New Russia Orchestra, and the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors Mark Gorenstein, Evgeny Bushkov, and Dmitry Liss. Competition credits include third prize at the 2014 International Liszt Competition for Young Pianists in Weimar and first prize in the 2008 International Televised Competition for Young Musicians “Nutcracker” in Moscow. Alim began piano lessons at age 5, and moved to the United Kingdom in 2010 to attend the Purcell School for Young Musicians, first studying with Rustem Hayroudinoff and now with Tessa Nicholson. In his spare time, he pursues ballroom dancing, acting, and learning languages.

Gregory Martin – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

GREGORY MARTIN
United States | Age 17

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 4 in E-flat Major, op. 7: I. Allegro molto e con brio
TCHAIKOVSKY Dumka in C Minor, op. 59
LISZT Paganini Etude No. 6 in A Minor

Born in Houston, Gregory Martin began piano lessons at age 4 while in California. At age 7, he performed with a chamber group of the Colorado Symphony, and has since also appeared with the New Mexico, Albuquerque, San Juan Four Corners, Omsky, and Yaroslavsky Academic Symphony Orchestras, among others. He has studied at the Central School of Music at the Moscow State Conservatory since 2011, under the guidance of Mikhail Voskresensky and Andrei Diev. Gregory made his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the Golden Key Music Festival in 2007, and has also participated in the Vladimir Spivakov International Festival “Moscow Meets Friends,” PianoTexas International Academy and Festival, Euro Music Festival in Germany, and Summer Music Studies in Urbino, Italy. He is a scholar of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation.

Anastasia Magamedov – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

ANASTASIA MAGAMEDOVA
Tajikistan | Age 17

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

Program:
LISZT Sonetto 104 del Petrarca
CHOPIN Etude in A Minor, op. 25, no. 11 (“Winter Wind”)
BEETHOVEN, Sonata No. 7 in D Major, op. 10, no. 3: I. Presto
RAVEL “Toccata” from Le tombeau de Couperin

Anastasia Magamedova made her Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Concert Hall in 2014 and performed with the Utah Symphony and several times with the American West Symphony. Competition awards include first prize at the International Keyboard Odyssiad, as well as finalist at the MTNA National and Yamaha USASU International Piano Competitions. A recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, she has been featured on From the Top and on BYU Radio. Born in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Anastasia began studying piano at age 5 and is currently under the guidance of Dr. Heather Conner. Besides playing the piano, she studies violin and enjoys ceramic arts.

Gavin Bala – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

GAVIN BALA
Singapore | Age 16

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

Program:
HAYDN Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:51
MENDELSSOHN Rondo capriccioso in E Major, op. 14
LIZST Concert etude No. 3 “Un sospiro”

Born in Singapore, Gavin Bala has won top prizes at the Malta International Music, Thailand Mozart International, and Singapore Steinway Youth Piano Competitions. Top prize winner of the 2015 American Protégé International Concerto Competition, he will make his Carnegie Hall debut in December 2015. He has performed with the Torun Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Alicante, and in recitals in Perugia. Gavin currently studies with Rita Sze in Singapore and Stefano Miceli, the music director and piano chair of the Milano Metropolitan Orchestra. An avid chess player—including international, Chinese (xiangqi), and Japanese (shogi) chess—Gavin is also active in the school choir, has won many prizes for mathematics, and is fluent in English, Chinese, and French.

Eoín Flemin – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

EOÍN FLEMING
Ireland | Age 17

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, op. 13 (“Pathetique”): I. Grave: Allegro di molto e con brio
SCHOENBERG Sechs kleine Klavierstücke, op. 19
LIZST Paganini Etude No. 3 “La campanella”

Born in Dublin, Eoín Fleming began piano lessons at the age of 5 and gave his first public performance at age 7. He was honored to perform for Irish President Mary McAleese in 2009—the same year he played the part of “child pianist” in the film Parked. As a multiple prizewinner of the Feis Ceoil competitions in Dublin, he has performed in both the John Field Room and Main Auditorium of the National Concert Hall. He currently studies with John O’Conor and Réamonn Keary at the Royal Irish Academy of Music; he has played in master class for Martina Filjak, Christopher Elton, and Alexej Gorlatch. Outside of piano, Eoín is interested in languages, cooking, and film.

Yukine Kuroki – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

YUKINE KUROKI
Japan | Age 16

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 6 in F Major, op. 10, no. 2
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 8 “Wild Jagd”
KAPUSTIN Prelude, op. 40, no. 1 (from Eight Concert Etudes)

Arsenii Mun – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary 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:
MOZART Sonata No. 12 in F Major, K. 332
LISZT Paganini Etude No. 3 “La campanella”

Natasha Wu – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

NATASHA WU
United States/Taiwan | Age 15

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

Program:
MOZART Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576: I. Allegro
LISZT Paganini Etude No. 3 “La campanella”
CHOPIN Ballade No. 2 in F Major, op. 38

Born in California, Natasha Wu overcame idiopathic thrombocytopenia at an early age, which has informed her commitment to serving the community through music. Now living in Taiwan, Natasha has performed to raise funds for the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families and the Yong-Fu Elementary School education fund for the needy. She began lessons at age 6, at which age she also won her first national piano competition. At age 10, she won her first international prize at the Tureck International Bach Competition in New York, resulting in a performance at Lincoln Center. She has also won prizes in the Hong Kong Asian Piano Competition, Kawai Asia Piano Competition, International Chopin Piano Competition in Asia, and International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Moscow. Natasha currently studies with Grace Chung.

Adam Balogh – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

ADAM BALOGH
Hungary | Age 17

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

Program:
HAYDN Sonata in B-flat Major, Hob. XVI:41
CHOPIN Etude in C Major, op. 10, no. 1
SCRIABIN Etude in D-flat Major, op. 8, no. 10
LISZT “Tarantella” from Venezia e Napoli

Roger Shen– Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

ROGER SHEN
United States | Age 16

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

Program:
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, op. 14: IV. Vivace
HAYDN Sonata in C Minor, Hob. XVI:20: I. Moderato
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 4 “Mazeppa”

A winner of top prizes at the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, Walgreens National Concerto Competition, Aloha International Piano Concerto Competition, and Chicago Steinway Young Artist Competition, Roger Shen has played with the Northbrook Symphony, Midwest Young Artist Symphony, Hawaii Youth, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Most Arts Orchestras. He made his Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Hall in 2010, and has been featured on WFMT’s Introductions. Currently enrolled at Phillips Exeter Academy, Roger is a student of Dr. Jon Sakata; when at home in Illinois, he studies with Dr. Matt Hagle. As an active member of the Academy’s student music outreach group, he performs bi-weekly concerts for various nursing homes around New Hampshire. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, swimming, chess, fishing, and ping pong.

Misha Galant– Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

MISHA GALANT
United States | Age 17

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

Program:
HAYDN Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI:50: I. Allegro
RACHMANINOV Etude-Tableau in C Minor, op. 39, no. 1
RACHMANINOV Prelude in B Minor, op. 32, no. 10
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 10 in F Minor

Alim Beisembayev – Cliburn Junior 2015 Preliminary Round Recital

ALIM BEISEMBAYEV
Kazahkstan | Age 17

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 7 in D Major, op. 10, no. 3: I. Presto
RACHMANINOV Prelude in G Major, op. 32, no. 5
DEBUSSY Feux d’artifice from Preludes, Book II
LISZT Paganini Etude No. 6 in A Minor

Xavier Aymonod– Cliburn Amateur 2016 Semifinal Round Recital

XAVIER AYMONOD, 40
Strategy consultant
Paris, France
France

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Semifinal Round – Thursday, June 23, 2016
Van Cliburn Recital Hall
Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Xavier Aymonod began his music studies at Aix-en-Provence Conservatory of Music, under the guidance of Monique Oberdoerffer and Michel Bourdoncle, and then went on to study science and technology at the prestigious École Polytechnique, outside Paris. He was a laureate of the International Competition for Outstanding Piano Amateurs from 1998–2000 in Paris, and in 2000, he was a semifinalist at “Piano20ème siècle” in Orléans. Mr. Aymonod has participated in master classes with William Aide, Jean-François Heisser, and Eric Heidsieck. Currently a principal at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, his work involves advising transportation companies on strategic issues. In his free time, Mr. Aymonod enjoys playing with his children (ages 4 and 5), traveling, running, golfing, and indulging in fine wine.

Program:
BRAHMS, Rhapsody in G Minor, op. 79, no. 2
ROQUE ALSINA, Etudes Nos. 2 and 3 from Klaverstücke No. 7
LISZT, Mephisto Waltz No. 1

Jeanne Backofen Craig– Cliburn Amateur 2016 Semifinal Round Recital

JEANNE BACKOFEN CRAIG, 46
Homemaker/part-time minister of music and liturgy
Forest, Virginia
United States

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Semifinal Round – Thursday, June 23, 2016
Van Cliburn Recital Hall
Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Piano studies and competitions took up most of Jeanne Backofen Craig’s childhood, but after graduating from Virginia Tech, she stopped performing. In the ensuing 20 years, Ms. Craig stayed home with her three children while pursuing cooking, sewing, gardening, and home-improvement projects. At the encouragement of her husband and now-teenage children, Ms. Craig started to play again, and when she learned about amateur competitions, she says she was inspired to “dig out my old music and see if I could still play those pieces.” A self-taught webmaster, she designed and maintains websites for the Lynchburg Symphony Youth Orchestra as well as her church, where she is a part-time minister of music and liturgy. In her spare time, Ms. Craig enjoys long-distance running, and she qualified and ran in the 2011 Boston Marathon.

Program:
BRAHMS, Intermezzo in A Major, op. 118, no. 2
LISZT, “Vallée d’Obermann” from Années de Pèlerinage
LISZT, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A Minor

Michael Slavin– Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

MICHAEL SLAVIN, M.D., 65
Ophthalmologist
Manhasset, New York
United States

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round – Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Van Cliburn Recital Hall
Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Music has been a part of Michael Slavin’s life since he was 5, and at age 9, he attended The Juilliard School of Music’s preparatory division. When he was 11, he performed the Mozart Piano Concerto in D Major (“The Coronation”) with the Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center. He spent his undergraduate years at Cooper Union in New York, where he received a bachelor’s degree in physics, after which he attended medical school, and for the past 25 years, he has practiced ophthalmology and neuro-ophthalmology in Long Island. Following his retirement from medicine, Dr. Slavin has made time again for the piano. He was awarded first prize at the Chicago International Amateur Piano Concerto Competition in 2012, won the 12th Washington International Piano Artist’s Competition in 2014, and last year, he won first prize at both the Paris International Piano Competition for Amateurs and the Chopin International Amateur Piano Competition. Dr. Slavin is an avid reader, bridge player, and sports lover.

Program:
CHOPIN Impromptu in A-flat Major, op. 29, no. 1
LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in C-sharp Minor

Gregory Knight– Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

GREGORGY KNIGHT, 53
Software engineer
Morganton, North Carolina
United States

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round – Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Van Cliburn Recital Hall
Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Gregory Knight started playing piano at age 4, under his mother’s guidance. Formal instruction began seven years later, at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, where he went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in piano performance. While in school, he participated in a master class with Guido Agosti in 1981, and placed first in the Gardner-Webb College Concerto Competition one year later. Following graduation, Mr. Knight went on to pursue a career in software engineering, yet continued to take master classes and hone his musical hobby. He looks to the Amateur Competition as a means to test his aptitude: “It gives me not only a reason to learn new, challenging repertoire, but also an opportunity to perform it for people who truly understand and appreciate piano literature.” The motorcycle buff is a father of four and grandfather of three, and has been married 18 years to his wife, Cathy.

Program:
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No. 1
LISZT Paganini Etude No. 3 in G-sharp Minor (“La Campanella”)

Janet Sommerfeld – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

JANET SOMMERFELD, 53
Freelance writer/producer
Palos Verdes Estates, California
United States

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round – Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Van Cliburn Recital Hall
Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Janet Sommerfeld began her studies at 6 and played throughout high school in California. During her sophomore year in college, she became an exchange student at Waseda University in Tokyo, where she studied with Hideo Sakoda and Hiroko Nakamura. While in Asia, she performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Edelweiss Symphony Orchestra. Upon her return to the United States, she completed her degree in broadcast journalism from USC and pursued a career in television news and marketing for Fox Broadcasting and CBS. After a nearly 25-year absence from the piano, Ms. Sommerfeld has returned to music making. Recent performances include appearances as a soloist with the California Concerto Weekend Festival Orchestra at the West Valley College Theater (Saratoga, California). Away from the piano, Ms. Sommerfeld also enjoys reading, traveling, watching anything related to Star Trek, and spending time with her husband and daughter.

Program:
SCHUBERT-LISZT Soirée de Vienne No. 6 in A Minor
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No. 1

John Gutheil – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

JOHN GUTHEIL, M.D., 59
CEO/Medical oncologist
La Jolla, California
United States

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round – Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Van Cliburn Recital Hall
Fort Worth, Texas, USA

John Gutheil recently returned to playing the piano after an absence of several decades. Originally on a musical track—he completed two years as a piano performance major at California State University Northridge—he went on to medical school and became an oncology clinical physician. Currently, he is president and CEO of SciQuus Oncology Inc. in La Jolla, California. Looking for a goal, and to give focus to his piano practice, Dr. Gutheil entered this Competition and says he has achieved much already just by preparing for the event. He notes his music has improved steadily and hopes the event will “give him additional ideas about how to continue improving my piano playing.” The avid marathoner and woodworker also enjoys Italian literature and the work of Caravaggio.

Program:
RACHMANINOV, Prelude in B Minor, op. 32, no. 10
LISZT, Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un sospiro”)
ALBÉNIZ, “Asturias (Leyenda)” from Suite Española, op. 47

Sean Sutherland – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

SEAN SUTHERLAND, 39
Entrepreneur/lecturer
Montréal, Québec
St. Vincent and The Grenadines/Canada

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round – Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Van Cliburn Recital Hall
Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Born in St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Sean Sutherland serendipitously discovered the piano as a child and was instantly enamored. His opportunities for pursuing his studies were limited on St. Vincent, however, so he resumed his studies upon his arrival at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while earning bachelor’s degree in music, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science; he went on to receive an MBA from McGill University in Montreal. Since graduating, he has founded a niche tutorial service and lectures at McGill University as an adjunct professor of international finance and information systems. Mr. Sutherland is keenly interested in “exploring opportunities for leveraging technology to promote learning” and is passionate about adapting classical music for the steelpan (drum).

Program:
SCHUBERT-LISZT, Soirée de Vienne No. 6 in A Minor
LISZT, Mephisto Waltz No. 1

Jeanne Backofen Craig – 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

Jeanne Backofen Craig, 46
Homemaker/part-time minister of music and liturgy
Forest, Virginia
United States

Program:
GRIEG, “Notturno” from Lyric Pieces, op. 54
HAYDN, Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:52: I. Allegro
LISZT, Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un sospiro”)

Joseph Mercuri – 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

Joseph Mercuri, M.D., 56
Hospitalist physician
Saint Joseph, Minnesota
United States

Born in Washington, D.C., Joseph Mercuri came to Texas for his schooling, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 and 1986. He turned his attention to medicine, however, graduating from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1994, and then completing a residency in internal medicine in Wisconsin. Since 2001, he was been a hospitalist in St. Cloud, Minnesota. In the many years since he stepped away from music, Dr. Mercuri has come to realize how intrinsic it is in his life and he began practicing again six years ago. A 2011 Cliburn Amateur semifinalist, he looks forward to the chance to grow artistically and personally. When he is not practicing his repertoire, Dr. Mercuri is an avid amateur golfer who enjoys road biking and all that Minnesota has to offer—especially in the summer.

Program:
LISZT, Sonnetto 104 del Petrarca
MENDELSSOHN, Fantasy in F-sharp Minor, op. 28

Stephen Stouder – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Stephen Stouder, 59
Healthcare executive
Apple Valley, Minnesota
United States

Stephen Stouder grew up performing music as a cellist, singer, and pianist. He began college as the principal cellist of the William and Mary College Community Orchestra, before transferring to the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland, where he studied under Julio Esteban and Edward Polochick, among others. Mr. Stouder graduated in a class of 10 student-pianists from Peabody and received his diploma from Leonard Bernstein in 1980. Currently, he studies with Julia Elkina and performs regularly at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. A return competitor from 2011, Mr. Stouder, a benefits consultant from Apple Valley, calls the competition “the greatest show on earth.” His diverse list of hobbies includes reading, traveling, golfing, and supporting the World Wildlife Fund.

Program:
BRAHMS, Intermezzo in B Minor, op. 119, no. 1
LISZT, Transcendental Etude No. 8 in C Minor “Wild Jagd”

Kuan-Chuen Wu – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Kuan-Chuen Wu, 42
Mechanical engineering Ph.D. student
Ames, Iowa
Taiwan/United States

Kuan-Chuen Wu was born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1973, and nine years of piano lessons constitute his musical studies. Mr. Wu has excelled in academia, receiving his bachelor’s degree in electrical computer systems engineering from Harvard University in a five-year honors program, an MBA from Iowa State University, and a master’s degree in computational and mathematical engineering from Stanford University. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Iowa State. (After graduating from Harvard, he spent five years surfing the dot-com wave before returning to school.) Mr. Wu competed in university-wide competitions at Iowa State. In 2014, he placed third in the American Protégé International Concerto Competition and in December 2015, performed at Carnegie Hall as part of a winner’s recital. Besides classical piano, Mr. Wu counts chess, mathematics, engineering, and physics among his interests.

Program:
CHOPIN, Prelude in B-flat Minor, op. 28, no. 16
LISZT, Transcendental Etude No. 4 in D Minor “Mazeppa”

Lana C. Marina – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Lana C. Marina, 47
Stay-at-home mother
New York, New York
United States

Lana C. Marina spent her childhood practicing the piano, under the assumption she would become a pianist. When she was 14, she won the Van Cliburn scholarship to the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan, where she met Mr. Cliburn at a ceremony: “He complimented my playing and, memorably, kissed my hand.” But an accident—in which she slipped on ice and broke her left wrist—during her junior year at Northwestern University sidelined her budding career, and Ms. Marina decided to pursue a law degree at Cornell Law School. For 20 years, she worked as a trademark lawyer until she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which forced her to take a step back. In participating at the Amateur Competition, Ms. Marina hopes to achieve her personal best and to be a role model for her 9-year-old daughter, Sydney, showing her that one can accomplish dreams in the face of obstacles.

Program:
HOROWITZ, Variations on Themes from Bizet’s Carmen
LISZT, Paganini Etude No. 3 in G-sharp Minor (“La Campanella”)

Julie Saito – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Julie Saito, 57
International civil servant
Ile-de-France, France
Japan

Julie Saito began playing the piano in Tokyo at age 6. She studied with great American pianists during her upbringing in several countries, including Carol Colburn in Nairobi, Kenya, Gary Hammond in New York, and Ada Kopetz-Korf at the Manhattan School of Music in 1985–1986. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in musicology from Hunter College, she decided to change direction and attend Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. During her 20-year career, she won an Emmy Award for NBC News and worked for The Asahi Shimbun in Japan. She moved to Paris in 2006 with her three children and is currently working at UNESCO. Her passion for piano was rekindled only three years ago; she met her partner who is also an amateur pianist. Ms. Saito gives regular recitals in homes for the elderly. She also enjoys ballet and still writes articles on dance and music.

Program:
TAKEMITSU, Rain Tree Sketch II
LISZT, Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un sospiro”)

Debby Pearlberg – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Debby Pearlberg, 68
Math tutor
Southfield, Michigan
United States

Debby Pearlberg, from Southfield, Michigan, currently studies with 1981 Cliburn Competition Silver Medalist Panayis Lyras and previously studied with Mischa Kottler, pianist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. A graduate from Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, she worked as a librarian at the New York Public Library and then stayed home full time to raise three children. Since learning about the Cliburn Amateur Competition, Ms. Pearlberg became determined to participate here, and she did just that in 2007. Four years later, she was also accepted into the Competition, but a tendinitis flare-up a few weeks before the event caused her to withdraw. Now, five years later, she is looking forward to performing for her grandchildren at the Competition. A math tutor who is taking some time off from crunching numbers, Ms. Pearlberg enjoys photography, reading, and dog training.

Program:
BARBER, Nocturne, op. 33 “Hommage to John Field”
LISZT, Paganini Etude No. 3 in G-sharp Minor (“La Campanella”)

Rebecca Kao Wang – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Rebecca Kao Wang, 47
Actuary
Tokyo, Japan
United States

Rebecca Kao Wang was born in Hong Kong and lives in Tokyo, but she grew up in the Boston area, studying music under Jade Lin in Newton, Massachusetts and Beatrice Erdely in Concord, Massachusetts. She minored in music and majored in computer science engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 1990. In the ensuing 25 years, Ms. Wang has worked in the corporate world, became an actuary, and then married and became the mother of two now-teenage boys. Asia beckoned again for Ms. Wang, so the family moved in 2007 for her husband’s job. She took some time off from work to stay home with her kids (including one who has learning difficulties), but now that they’re nearly grown, Ms. Wang has found herself with more time to devote to playing the piano. She currently studies with Kaoru Fukuda in Tokyo. Entering the Amateur Competition is a dream of hers, giving her the incentive to return her music to performance-level, she says.

Program:
LISZT, Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un sospiro”)
RACHMANINOV, Prelude in E-flat Major, op. 23, no. 6

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”)

Yvonne Liu – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Yvonne Liu, 45
Preschool music teacher
Foster City, California
China/United States

Born in Shanghai, China, in 1970, Yvonne Liu began private piano lessons at age 3. After immigrating to the United States as a teenager, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in international policy studies from Stanford University. Ms. Liu enjoyed being a full-time mother, but when her son was diagnosed with autism at 2, she discovered the healing power of music and began a career as an early childhood music educator. A competitor in 2011, she enjoys setting goals for herself and feels the Amateur Competition offers her an opportunity to become more disciplined in her practice, and she finds it inspirational. Ms. Liu likes to garden, hike, and cook in her free time.

Program:
BACH, “Sinfonia” from Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826
SCHUMANN-LISZT, Widmung

Deirbhile Brennan – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Deirbhile Brennan, 46
Accountant
Dublin, Ireland
Ireland

At age 5, Deirbhile Brennan began her piano studies at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and later studied with Frank Heneghan at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama for 10 years, winning many prizes and awards. Ms. Brennan holds a degree in music from Trinity College Dublin after which she took a lengthy break that included forging a career as an accountant; she currently works as senior operations manager at the National Treasury Management Agency. Ms. Brennan returned to the piano in 2009 studying with Dr. Hugh Tinney. She has won a number of awards at piano competitions including in the United Kingdom (finalist 2012), Ile De France, Paris (first prize 2012), and Chicago (first prize 2014). She performs regularly; but notably in 2014, she performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and last year she performed at the Les Amateurs Piano Festival in Morocco. The mother of four children ages 8 to 16, she enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as attending concerts and plays.

Program:
SOLER, Sonata in D Major, R. 84
LISZT, “Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este” from Années de Pèlerinage

Max Sung – 2016 Cliburn Amateur Preliminary Round Recital

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

Max Sung, M.D., 63
Physician
New York, New York
United States

In the early ’70s, Max Sung was the beneficiary of a German Academic Exchange Fellowship to study piano with Helmut Roloff at the College of Music and Dramatic Arts in Berlin, Germany. However, the call of medicine was too strong, and he left after one year to pursue premedical and medical studies at Harvard University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Since completing fellowships in hematology and medical oncology, Dr. Sung has been in full-time practice as a physician. He has continued playing the piano as much as his schedule allows and finds participating in amateur piano competitions stimulating. He was a semifinalist in the Chopin, Berlin, and Boston amateur competitions and a finalist in the Washington, D.C. amateur competition. A lifelong learner, Dr. Sung enjoys studying different cultures around the world.

Program:
BACH, Prelude and Fugue in D Major, WTC II, BWV 874
SCHUBERT-LISZT, Gretchen am Spinnrade

Joann Oh – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Joann Oh, 41
Office manager
Irvine, California
United States

Born in Los Angeles, Joann Oh earned degrees in German studies and pre-med at Pomona College (Claremont, California) and Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut). She was the winner of the Elizabeth Tishler prize in piano and a grant recipient of the Yale-Griffith Scholarship to study music and language in Vienna and Munich; in the former city, she studied piano with Rosario Marciano. Previously, Ms. Oh performed with orchestra in San Jose, California with the California Concerto Weekend Orchestra. Ms. Oh performed in recitals and participated in master classes at PianoTexas in Fort Worth this June. In addition to these honors, Ms. Oh was awarded a scholarship from the Korean-American Foundation for academic excellence. Currently a student of Anna Gliadkovskaya, Ms. Oh resides in Orange County, California, and works as an office manager. In high school, Ms. Oh was a nationally ranked synchronized swimmer.

Program:
LISZT Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat Major (“Un Sospiro”)
KORNGOLD “Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse ” from Märchenbilder, op. 3

Miyu Shindo – Cliburn Junior 2019 Quarterfinal Round Recital

Miyu Shindo
Japan | Age 17

Quarterfinal Round Recital – Monday, June 3, 2019 – 8:54 p.m. CDT
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
SCHUBERT Impromptuin G-flat Major, op. 90, D. 899, no. 3
LISZT Rhapsody espagnole
MOZART Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331 (I)

In addition to recitals in her home country of Japan, Miyu Shindo has performed in the Great Hall at the Moscow Conservatory and at Carnegie Hall, and in Austria and Italy. She has collaborated with the Nagoya Philharmonic, Central Aichi Symphony, and Obu Philharmonic Orchestras, and placed in several international competitions. Miyu recently moved to Russia to study with Valery Piassetski at the Central Music School in Moscow, where she notes that there are many different people from many different places. They speak Russian to each other, but “sometimes we can’t understand what the other person wants to say. When we talk about music, though, we can talk forever!” Outside of piano, she likes to listen to music and read books.

“If every human in this world will love music and tell each other ‘thank you for giving me wonderful happiness,’ we would not hate anyone. I believe that music has a big power to change the world.”

J J Jun Li Bui – Cliburn Junior 2019 Quarterfinal Round Recital

J J Jun Li Bui
Canada | Age 14

Quarterfinal Round Recital – Monday, June 3, 2019 – 7:30 p.m. CDT
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
CHOPIN Nocturne in E-flat Major, op. 55, no. 2
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 7 in D Major, op. 10, no. 3 (I)
LISZT Gnomenreigen from Two Concert Etudes
CHOPIN Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante, op. 22

Toronto-native J J Jun Li Bui won his first piano competition on the day he turned 7, which cemented his commitment to music: he went on to prizes in several Canadian contests, as well as the Hanoi (Vietnam), Aarhus (Denmark), and Midwest (United States) International Piano Competitions. Currently in his third year of full scholarship at The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists at The Royal Conservatory Toronto under Michael Berkovsky, he also studies privately with Dang Thai Son. He has performed in recital across Canada, and with orchestras, including the China Guiyang Symphony, Greater Toronto Philharmonic, and Oakville Chamber. In his time away from the piano, J J enjoys cycling, reading, and table tennis.

“I feel that learning music is like a journey that never ends. A journey that is so wonderful and rewarding.”

JiWon Yang – Cliburn Junior 2019 Quarterfinal Round Recital

JiWon Yang
South Korea | Age 17

Quarterfinal Round Recital – Sunday, June 2, 2019 – 8:54 p.m. CDT
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 11 in B-flat Major, op. 22 (I)
CHOPIN Nocturne in G Major, op. 37, no. 2
LISZT Réminiscences de Norma, S. 394

JiWon Yang made her recital debut in Seoul at age 9 and her concerto debut in Kazakhstan at 13. Among her competition accolades are several in her home country, as well as wins at the Zhuhai Mozart Competition in China, Astana Piano Passion Kazakhstan, and Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Pianists. She has participated in Russia’s International Music Festival “Stars on the Baikal,” as well as the St. Paul University Piano Festival. Notable performances include with the Salzburg Chamber Soloists and at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and Philippines Chopin Society. A current student of HyoungJoon Chang, JiWon counts traveling and flute performance among her interests outside of piano.

“Music gives me the feeling of joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, and many different emotions. Also, music helps people to communicate with each other with our hearts.”

Shunta Morimoto – Cliburn Junior 2019 Quarterfinal Round Recital

Shunta Morimoto
Japan | Age 14

Quarterfinal Round Recital – Sunday, June 2, 2019 – 2:30 p.m. CDT
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
HAYDN Sonata in B-flat Major, Hob. XVI:41
DEBUSSY L’isle joyeuse
CHOPIN Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, op. 27, no. 1
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514

Shunta Morimoto has won first in his category three times in the Piano Teachers’ National Association of Japan Piano Competition, as well as other competitions in his home country, which has led to multiple performances in Tokyo, Yokohama, and his home town of Kyoto. He also placed first in the 2018 Aloha International Piano Competition and subsequently gave concerts in Hawaii, including with the Hawaii Youth Symphony. He says that experience helped him believe in the “magical power of music,” because he could use it to communicate easily where a language barrier may have prohibited him. A student at Momoyama Junior High School, Shunta currently studies with Shohei Sekimoto.

“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.”

Miyu Shindo – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Miyu Shindo
Japan | Age 17

Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 8:54 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 870
LISZT La campanella from Paganini Etudes
TCHAIKOVSKY Theme and Variations in F Major, op. 19, no. 16

Ray Ushikubo – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Ray Ushikubo
United States/Japan | Age 17

Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 7:30 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in D-sharp Minor, BWV 877
CHOPIN Polonaise in A-flat Major, op. 53 (“Heroic”)
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 10 in F Minor

Ray Ushikubo made his recital debut at a Lang Lang and Friends concert at Segerstrom Concert Hall when he was 8 years old, and his Carnegie Hall debut the following year, playing piano and violin. Highlights of his already active performance career since include concertos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (the latter in a double piano concerto with Jeffrey Kahane). In 2012, he played with Lang Lang on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and has also performed for From the Top, NPR’s Performance Today, TEDx, and Radio France (with Jean-Yves Thibaudet). Ray has won several piano competitions and is a 2014 Davidson Fellow laureate. He studied piano (with Ory Shihor) and violin at the Colburn Academy, and now attends the Curtis Institute also in both instruments under the piano tutelage of Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald. He listens to heavy metal, watches classic action movies, and loves driving cars.

“Through my music, I hope to make the people all over the world believe in themselves and become the best of what they can be. Music brings the best of my life.”

Xingyu Zhou – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Xingyu Zhou
China | Age 14

Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 4:16 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 860
CHOPIN Etude in G-sharp Minor, op. 25, no. 6
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514

Xingyu Zhou made his recital debut at the age of 8 in his native Beijing, and his concerto debut two years later in Canada with the St. Andrews Festival Orchestra. That was his second successful appearance in St. Andrews, where he won all top prizes in his age category at its international piano academy and festival in 2013. Among his accolades, he counts several top finishes in Chinese competitions, as well as concert appearances in Beijing, Shanghai, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. He moved with his family three years ago to Philadelphia, where he studies with the Curtis Institute’s Meng-Chieh Liu. He also attends the Albert M. Greenfield School, where he excels academically, especially enjoying literature, math, and science, and is on the track team. He is also an adept athlete, having seriously studied badminton and speed skating, amongst others.

“When people converse, both sides talk. I think the case with music is similar. The performer does not simply give out everything he has—the music should also speak back to him. I often find my view on something has changed because of music.”

Eva Gevorgyan – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Eva Gevorgyan
Russia/Armenia | Age 15

Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 3:14 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in F Major, BWV 880
LISZT Chasse-Neige from Transcendental Etudes
LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, S. 244/12

Eva Gevorgyan has received prizes in more than 40 international competitions for piano and composition—in the United States, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Malta, Kazakhstan, Poland, Czech Republic, Georgia, Russia, and Serbia. Born and raised in Moscow, she has studied with Natalia Trull at the Central Music School of the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, and has performed across Russia, Europe (including a Royal Albert Hall debut in April), and in the United States. She also receives a scholarship from the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein and participates regularly in its intensive music weeks and activities. In 2017, Eva performed in front of Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and she has taken part in a national television show for young talent, advancing to the final as the only pianist. Last year, she appeared on live television with Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked him about education reform. She likes composing, growing exotic plants, jogging, and playing table tennis.

“When I play, I hope people can hear words which I would never say in my real life. Being on stage at the Cliburn Junior Competition will charge me with energy and love for a long time forward.”

Chung Yue Tien – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Chung Yue Tien
Hong Kong | Age 13

Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 2:52 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, SMU

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 861
CHOPIN Etude in G-flat Major, op. 10, no. 5 (“Black Key”)
CHOPIN Etude in G-sharp Minor, op. 25, no. 6
LISZT Chasse-Neige from Transcendental Etudes
LISZT La campanella from Paganini Etudes

Born in Hong Kong, Chung Yue Tien started playing piano at the age of 3 and gave his recital debut at Hong Kong’s Citibank Plaza when he was 8. The current Edmond, Oklahoma resident made his concerto debut two years later at the Eisemann Center in Dallas with the Plano Symphony Orchestra as a result of a grand-prize win at their Young Artist contest. He studies piano with Pamela Mia Paul and has twice participated in the International Keyboard Odyssiad, which yielded a 2016 gold medal in Solo Level A (13 and under) and a 2017 bronze medal in Concerto Division (all ages). Chung Yue currently attends Heritage Hall Middle School in Oklahoma City where he is active in the debate club and sings in the choir; he also enjoys hiking, fishing, cycling, jogging, swimming, reading, and table tennis.

“I think of music as my best friend. Not only have I been working hard to nurture it in my mind, but I feel it is also growing stronger in my heart by the day.”

Benjamin T. Rossen – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Benjamin T. Rossen
United States | Age 16

Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 31, 2019 – 9:16 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
STRAVINSKY Serenade in A
BACH Prelude and Fugue in E Major, BWV 878
LISZT Eroica from Transcendental Etudes

New Yorker Benjamin T. Rossen has won prizes in a number of U.S. competitions, including first-place finishes in contests held by Steinway & Sons, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Music Teachers National Association, and the National YoungArts Foundation. A student of Jeffrey Cohen at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division for five years, he made his recital debut at the school at age 9, and his concerto debut the following year with the New York Concerti Sinfonietta at Carnegie Hall. A junior at William A. Shine Great Neck South High School, Benjamin is founder and president of the Music Creators Society, which connects composers with artists to produce interdisciplinary works; plays piano in the school jazz band and French horn in operas and musicals; and is music editor for the school’s literary magazine.

“In society, music can bring awareness to many different facets of culture, from literature and art to political ideas and mathematical concepts. This medium allows for different communities to discover and acknowledge society’s achievements and challenges.”

Xiaoxuan Li – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Xiaoxuan Li
China | Age 17

Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 31, 2019 – 7:52 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 861
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 10 in F Minor
CHOPIN Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, op. 60

Since appearing as the youngest competitor in the first edition of the Cliburn Junior Competition in 2015, Xiaoxuan Li—the only returning competitor—moved from Shanghai to Philadelphia, where he studies with Gary Graffman and Robert McDonald at the Curtis Institute of Music. He is a laureate of several international young artist competitions, including Cleveland (senior division, first prize, 2018); Zhuhai Mozart (first prize, 2015); Hilton Head (second prize, 2015); and Ettlingen (2012). He began piano at the age of 4 and has performed extensively throughout China, with other notable concerts including Salzburg Chamber Soloists and the orchestras of Canton, Hilton Head, Ashdod, and Macao.

“I would gladly spend the rest of my life studying the beauty and nuances of every composer, every piece, every iteration. Piano is the media of my emotion. It drives me, shapes me, and propels me to a higher place.”

Avery Gagliano – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Avery Gagliano
United States | Age 17

Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 31, 2019 – 7:30 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp Minor, BWV 887
LISZT La leggierezza from Three Concert Etudes
SCHUMANN Variations on the Name ‘Abegg,’ op. 1

Avery Gagliano cannot remember a time that music wasn’t a part of her life; it has always been her “most natural form of expression.” At age 9, she made her Carnegie Hall debut and her orchestral debut at the Strathmore Concert Hall. The following year she appeared on the NPR’s “From the Top” and made her solo recital debut. Currently in her third year at the Curtis Institute of Music studying with Jonathan Biss and Gary Graffman, she has taken first prize at the Aspen Music Concerto, MostArts Festival Piano, and Chopin International Piano (Hartford) Competitions, was young scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, and is a 2019 National YoungArts winner in music. As a soloist and an avid chamber musician, the Washington, D.C.-native has performed in major concert venues in her hometown, as well as across the United States, and in Paris, Oxford, Munich, and Perugia in Europe. During her free time, Avery writes pop songs, and loves to sing, read, and play ultimate frisbee.

“This competition will provide me a chance to internalize music in a way that elevates it to a higher level of artistry and make it possible for me to successfully convey my ideas to audiences.”

Hao-Wei Lin – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Hao-Wei Lin
Taiwan | Age 14

Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 31, 2019 – 4:38 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
COUPERIN Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou Les Maillotins
BACH Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp Minor, BWV 863
SCRIABIN Etude in B Major, op. 8, no. 4
RACHMANINOV Prelude in G Major, op. 32, no. 5
DEBUSSY Pour les huit doigts from Etudes, Book I
LISZT La leggierezza from Three Concert Etudes

Hao-Wei Lin enjoys studying geography in his free time, which fits with one of his favorite results of playing the piano: “Music takes me all over the world to meet new friends.” He gave his first recital at the age of 10, and has performed in Taiwan, Canada, China, the United States, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. His international young artist competition achievements include first-place finishes at Bradshaw & Buono in New York and Grotrian-Steinweg in Germany, as well as prizes at Cleveland, Aarhus, Ettlingen, and Fryderyk Chopin (Poland). He currently attends Taipei Municipal Zhongzheng Junior High School and studies piano with Chun-Chieh Yen.

“Music is like air to me. It can calm my mind and allows me to mature. I love the French composer Ravel, whose music reflects the real world we live in—his work has vibrant emotions and vivid colors, full of imagination.”

Hao Rao – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Hao Rao
China | Age 15

Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 31, 2019 – 4:16 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU I Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
MENDELSSOHN Songs without Words, op. 67, nos. 1 & 5
BACH Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 870
CHOPIN Etude in G-sharp Minor, op. 25, no. 6
LISZT Valse de l’opéra Faust (after Gounod)

Hao Rao grew up in the mountainside town of Jishou, China. Every week, his mother would take him on a 16-hour train ride to his piano lesson; he never tired of the trip and instead saw it as “departing for a great music journey with unknown surprises.” He now attends the Middle School of Xinghai Conservatory of Music in the sprawling city of Guangzhou, but still studies with his teacher of almost seven years, Vivian Li (Suirong). He has won three major national competitions in China, received prizes at the 2018 Ettlingen Competition and the 2019 Aarhus Competition, and—at the age of 13—presented the complete Chopin etudes in recital. He listens to opera and enjoys reading fiction, playing sports, and sampling desserts.

“I’ve been to several competitions or festivals abroad, and every time it was a life-changing inspiration with unforgettable memories, but the Cliburn Fort Worth… that’s almost like the Vatican for pianists. For me, it almost seems like a fairy tale, and I will treasure every moment of this journey.”

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.”

Ryan Zhu – Cliburn Junior 2019 Preliminary Round Recital

Ryan Zhu
Canada | Age 15

Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 31, 2019 – 2:30 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium, SMU

Program:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 875
LISZT La leggierezza from Three Concert Etudes
MENDELSSOHN Variations sérieuses, op. 54

In January 2014, Ryan Zhu made both his recital and concerto debuts in his hometown of Vancouver—just one week apart from each other. In addition to performances in Canada since, he was recently featured in the Mariinsky International Piano Festival in St. Petersburg and at the Oberlin School of Music as a prize-winner in the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Piano Competition. A winner of several other competitions, Ryan attends Magee Secondary School and studies piano with Mira Yevtich and Michelle Mares. He enjoys reading and writing—especially poetry and history—as well as swimming and badminton.

“Music provides a means for humans to reach deep into the profundities of the soul. However, to do so requires the utmost precision, attention, and perseverance. Only by developing one’s intellectual ability and mental maturity can the highest level of artistry be attained.”

Yury Favorin- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Round Recital II

YURY FAVORIN
Russia | Age 26

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

Program:
LISZT From Harmonies poetiques et religieuses

Yury Favorin has played in many of the world’s major concert halls, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Cite de la musique in Paris, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, and the Rachmaninov Hall at the Moscow Conservatory. He has given recitals in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, and Sweden, and has worked with such leading conductors as Marin Alsop, Pierre Boulez, and Kazuhiro Koizumi, among others. Currently a postgraduate student at the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Mr. Favorin began learning piano at age ﬁve, and entered the Gnessin Specialized Musical Primary School in Moscow three years later. Competition credits include major prizes at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition, the Olivier Messiaen Competition, and from the György Cziffra Foundation. He also received a diploma from Russia’s Ministry of Culture.

Alex McDonald- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Round Recital II

ALEX MCDONALD
United States | Age 30

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

Program:
RAVEL From Miroirs, Osieaux tristes, Alborada del gracioso
LISZT Les jeux d’eaux a la Villa d’Este
CHOPIN Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1
STRAVINSKY Trois Mouvements de Petrouchka

Alex McDonald gave his orchestral debut at the age of eleven, and has since taken the stage as soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México in Toluca, the Utah Symphony, and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras, among others. He has performed across the United States, as well as in Canada, Israel, South Korea, and in Japan, where he also organized relief concerts for displaced survivors of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Additionally, he has been featured on NPR, PBS, WQXR, and WRR. He received his doctoral and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School and earned his bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. His doctoral document, a source study on manuscripts and editions for Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor, has been cited in the most recent edition of the sonata by Alfred Publishers, edited by Nancy Bricard. Dr. McDonald currently resides in Dallas, Texas.

Lindsay Garritson- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Round Recital I

LINDSAY GARRITSON
United States | Age 25

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

Program:
LISZT Ballade No. 2 in B Minor
SCHUBERT Klavierstuck in E-flat Major, D. 946, no. 2
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, op. 83

Second-prize winner at the 2011 Montreal International Musical Competition and winner of the 2011 Yale School of Music Woolsey Concerto Competition, Lindsay Garritson has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and at Steinway Hall in New York. She has taken the stage as soloist with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, the European Philharmonic Orchestra in France, the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal, the Orquestra Sinfónica Barra Mansa in Brazil, the St. Louis Youth Orchestra, and the Yale Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Ms. Garritson holds a Bachelor of Arts in music from Principia College and a Master of Music and artist diploma from the Yale School of Music.

Kuan-Ting Lin- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Round Recital I

KUAN-TING LIN
Taiwan | Age: 21

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

Program:
HAYDN Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob VXI:52
SCHUBERT-LISZT Gretchen am Spinnrade
LISZT From Annees de pelerinage, Book I

Born in Taipei, Kuan-Ting Lin began piano studies at the age of four. Ten years later, he moved to Russia, first studying at Moscow’s Gnessin State Musical College, and then enrolling at the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He was awarded several prizes in Taiwan as a teenager, and recently received top prize at the International Competition ofYoung Artists “A Step Towards Mastery”and second prize at the International Vladimir Viardo Competition in Ukraine.Mr. Lin has performed with the Gnessin State Musical College Orchestra, the Parlarte Symphony Orchestra in Italy, the St. Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra, the Taipei SymphonyOrchestra, and in recital throughout Asia and Europe.

Steven Lin- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

STEVEN LIN
United States| Age 24

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

Program:
HAYDN Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI:50
CHOPIN Impromptu No. 1 in A-flat Major, op. 29 I Impromptu No. 2 in F-sharp Major, op. 36 I Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major, op. 51
LISZT Reminiscences de Don Juan (after Mozart)

Steven Lin made his debut with the New York Philharmonic in Avery Fisher Hall at the age of thirteen. Additional concerto appearances include those with the Baltimore Symphony, Hilton Head Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Sendai Symphony, and Tulsa Symphony Orchestras. He has made recital, chamber, and concerto appearances around the world at major venues, including the Louvre and Salle Cortot in France, National Dublin Hall in Ireland, Seoul Arts Center in South Korea, and Sendai Cultural Center in Japan, as well as at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. At the age of ten, he entered the pre-college division of The Juilliard School, where he continues his studies today.

Lindsay Garritson- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

LINDSAY GARRITSON
United States | Age 25

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

Program:
MOZART Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333
LISZT Les jeux d’eaux a la Villa d’este I Transcendental Etude No. 8: Wilde Jagd
CHOPIN Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52

Nikolay Khozyainov- Cliburn 2013 Semifinal Recital

NIKOLAY KHOZYAINOV
Russia | Age 20

Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Semifinal Round Recital
Bass Performance Hall

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, op. 110
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, op. 83
THEOFANIDIS Birichino
LISZT-BUSONI Fantasy on Two Themes from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro

Nikolay Khozyainov made his debut at age seven in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He has since garnered numerous prizes, including top prizes at the Dublin and Sydney International Piano Competitions and the Moscow International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition for Young Pianists. Additionally, he was the youngest ﬁnalist competing in the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2010. He has appeared with the Sydney Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestras, among others. Mr. Khozyainov released his ﬁrst CD, featuring works by Chopin and Liszt, on the Accord label in 2010. He followed this in 2012 with an all-Chopin disc released by the Chopin Institute in Warsaw and another recording on the JVC Victor label in Japan. He is currently enrolled at the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

Nikolay Khozyainov- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

NIKOLAY KHOZYAINOV
Russia | Age 20

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

Program:
CHOPIN
Barcarolle in F-fharp Major, op. 60
Etude in A Minor, op. 10, no. 2
Berceuse in D-flat Major, op. 57

LISZT
Sonata in B Minor

Nikolay Khozyainov- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital I

NIKOLAY KHOZYAINOV
Russia | Age 20

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

Program:
HAYDN Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:33
CHOPIN Étude in C Major, op. 10, no. 1
LISZT Transcendental Étude No. 5: Feux follets
SCRIABIN Étude in C-sharp Minor, op. 42, no. 5
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit

Oleksandr Poliykov- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital I

OLEKSANDR POLIYKOV
Ukraine | Age 25

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

Program:
LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 9
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition

Born in Kiev, Oleksandr Poliykov began studying piano at the age of three and gave his ﬁrst concert with orchestra when he was eight. Third-prize winner at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht, he also took third prize at the Vladimir Horowitz International Piano Competition in Kiev, ﬁrst prize at the Steinway Society Competition in Boston, and second prize at the Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar. As a member of the Lumière Piano Trio, he won third prize at the International New England Chamber Music Competition. Mr. Poliykov has appeared in solo recitals in Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and the United States, and has played with such orchestras as the Kiev Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. He recently toured Poland by invitation of the Polish Liszt Society. Mr. Poliykov is currently pursuing an artist diploma at the Boston Conservatory and postgraduate studies at the National Music Academy of Ukraine.

Jayson Gillham- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

JAYSON GILLHAM
Australia-United Kingdom | Age 26

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 21 in C Major, op. 53 (“Waldstein”)
LISZT Sonetto 123 del Petrarca
Spanish Rhapsody

Jayson Gillham has performed with the United Kingdom’s Hallé Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, China’s Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, and in major venues throughout Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He plays regularly in Australia, returning each year for recital, concerto, chamber music, and festival appearances. Mr. Gillham was named Commonwealth Musician of the Year in 2012, upon winning the Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition, and received a gold medal from HRH Princess Alexandra. A graduate of Queensland Conservatorium, Grifﬁth University, he relocated to London in 2007 to pursue a master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music. Mr. Gillham is also a cultural ambassador for the Hearts for Africa (Amani) Foundation.

Tomoki Sakata- Cliburn 2013 Semifinal Recital

TOMOKI SAKATA
Japan | Age 19

Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Semifinal Round Recital
Bass Performance Hall

Program:
THEOFANIDIS Birichino
DEBUSSY Etudes, Book I
VERDI-LISZT Danza sacra e duetto finale di “Aida”
RACHMANINOV Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 44

Born in Nagoya, Tomoki Sakata received his ﬁrst piano lesson at the age of ﬁve. A prizewinner at various competitions throughout Asia and Europe, Mr. Sakata has appeared in concert in Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama, as well as in Geneva, Lugano, Paris, Prague, Utrecht, Vienna, and in Moscow for the twelfth International Festival “Musical Kremlin.” He has also performed as soloist with the Hamamatsu Symphony, Lubrin Philharmonic, and Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestras. Mr. Sakata currently studies at both the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and at the International Piano Academy Lake Como.

Tomoki Sakata- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital I

TOMOKI SAKATA
Japan | Age 19

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 22 in F Major, op. 54
LISZT Apres une lecture de Dante (Fantasia quasi sonata) La campanella (from Etudes d’execution transcendantes d’apres Paganini)
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 5, op. 53

Alexey Chernov- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

ALEXEY CHERNOV
Russia | Age 30

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, op. 111
LIGETTI Etude No. 6: Automne a Varsovie
GRIEG Waltz in A Minor, op.12, no.2
Waltz in E Minor, op. 38, no.7
Valse-impromptu in E Minor, op.47, no.1
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No.1

Born in Moscow to a family of musicians, Alexey Chernov began studying music at the age of four. A graduate of the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Royal College of Music in London, he has won prizes at more than twenty international piano competitions, including ﬁrst prize at the 2012 International Competition for Piano and Orchestra in Cantù, Italy; second prize at the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition; and ﬁfth prize at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition, also in 2011. Since his 2005 debut in Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, Mr. Chernov has performed under the batons of Mikhail Pletnev, Enrique Bátiz, Alexander Sladkovsky, and Dmitry Orlov, among others. He maintains a busy concert schedule, performing solo recitals and with orchestras throughout Russia and Europe.

Giuseppe Greco- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital I

GIUSEPPE GRECO
Italy | Age 23

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, op. 31, no. 3
LISZT Ballade No. 2 in B Minor
DEBUSSY L’Isle joyeuse

Giuseppe Greco began studying piano at the age of ten, and just five years later graduated with highest marks. He has performed at the Tuscia Opera festival with the Viterbo Orchestra and in major venues throughout Italy. He was first-prize winner at the 2009 Arcangelo Speranza International Piano Competition in Taranto, Italy, and in 2011, was awarded the Yamaha Scholarship, offered to the top Italian pianist by the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe. In 2010, he received a medal from the president of Italy. Mr. Greco recently graduated from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

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.

Yury Favorin – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

YURY FAVORIN
Russia | Age 30

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Monday, May 29, 2017 – 7:30 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

BACH-BUSONI Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639
RACHMANINOFF Variations on a Theme by Corelli, op. 42
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 10, op. 70
LISZT Scherzo and March

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”.

Tony Yike Yang – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

TONY YIKE YANG
Canada | Age 18

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Tuesday, May 30, 2017 – 3:20 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCRIABIN Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp Minor, op. 19
LISZT Sonata in B Minor

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.

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.

Sergey Belyavskiy – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

SERGEY BELYAVSKIY
Russia | Age 23

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

Program:

BEETHOVEN Variations and Fugue in E-flat Major, op. 35 (“Eroica”)
LISZT Faribolo Pasteur in G Minor
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, op. 14

Born in Moscow to a family of musicians, Sergey Belyavskiy began playing piano at age 5 and enrolled at Central Music School under the Moscow State Conservatory at age 9. He won his first piano competition at 11, and has since won prizes at the Liszt, Sydney, Canals, and eMuse competitions, among others. His concerto appearances include the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva, the Symphony Orchestra of Valles, and the Moscow and Kazakhstan state orchestras. His recitals at major concert venues include Carnegie Hall in New York, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, and Salle Cortot in Paris. Mr. Belyavskiy has attended master classes with Van Cliburn (in Moscow in 2011), Andrzej Jasinski, Leslie Howard, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and András Schiff, and completed studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Eliso Virsaladze in 2016. He now studies with Arie Vardi at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. Mr. Belyavskiy has released three solo CDs, most recently of Chopin’s 24 Etudes. Besides music, his passions include swimming, running, dancing, and reading.

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.

Leonardo Pierdomenico – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

LEONARDO PIERDOMENICO
Italy | Age 24

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Monday, May 29, 2017 – 10:50 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

LISZT Ballade No. 2 in B Minor
RACHMANINOFF Variations on a Theme by Chopin, op. 22

Leonardo Pierdomenico is studying for his master’s degree under Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Born in Pescara, he graduated from the Luisa D’Annunzio conservatory there, then studied at the Fiesole School of Music. Mr. Pierdomenico won the 2011 Premio Venezia piano competition in Venice and was a semifinalist at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition, where his Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G Minor was included on the best-of-competition CD, released by harmonia mundi. Mr. Pierdomenico was named a fellow of the 2016 Music Academy of the West Festival in Santa Barbara, where he worked with artists such as Jeremy Denk, Jerome Lowenthal, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Julian Martin, and Leon Fleisher. He also has played solo recitals in Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, and in the major venues of Italy, and his performances have been featured on the radio in Belgium, Italy, and Santa Barbara, California. In 2011, he was awarded a medal for his artistic achievements by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. When not at the piano, Mr. Pierdomenico especially enjoys painting and soccer.

Su Yeon Kim – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

SU YEON KIM
South Korea | Age 23

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Monday, May 29, 2017 – 10:00 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCHUMANN Kreisleriana, op. 16
LISZT Vallée d’Obermann

Su Yeon Kim began playing piano at age 5 and studied at the Korean Institute for the Gifted in Arts at Korea National University of Arts. Since 2013, she has continued her studies with Pavel Gililov at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. Ms. Kim was a semifinalist at the 17th Chopin International Piano Competition in 2015 and at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2016. She also won first prize at the 2014 Johann Nepomuk Hummel International Piano Competition. In 2015, Ms. Kim performed a recital at Hercules Hall in Munich, Germany. She has appeared on KBS Classic FM (the Korean Broadcasting System) and performed extensively in Korea, Japan, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Italy, and Slovakia, including on a concert series sponsored by Kawai Piano.

Alyosha Jurinic – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

ALYOSHA JURINIC
Croatia| Age 28

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Sunday, May 28, 2017 – 4:25 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

DEBUSSY Rêverie
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major, op. 27, no. 1 (“Quasi una fantasia”)
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
SCHUMANN-LISZT Widmung
LISZT Concert Etude No. 2 in F Minor “La Leggierezza”
LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A Minor

Alyosha Jurinic won the International Robert Schumann Competition in 2012, and was a fifth-prize winner of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition and a finalist at the 2015 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. He won the Best Young Musician Award from the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, and is the youngest-ever recipient of the Croatian Ministry of Culture’s Vladimir Nazor Award, given annually for highest achievement in the arts. Mr. Jurinic made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2015 and has performed with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosovo Philharmonic, and others. His festival appearances include Piano Fortissimo in Zagreb, Dubrovnik Summer Festival in Croatia, Kiev Summer Music Evenings, and Serate Musicali in Milan, as well as Chopin festivals in Serbia, France (the George Sand House), and Chopin’s birthplace in Poland. Mr. Jurinic is currently studying with Grigory Gruzman at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar. His passions include film, TV, pop music, books, fitness, and soccer tactics.

Honggi Kim – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

HONGGI KIM
South Korea | Age 25

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Sunday, May 28, 2017 – 2:30 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
CHOPIN Rondo in E-flat Major, op. 16
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit
LISZT-VOLODOS Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 in A Minor

Honggi Kim won the Isang Yun International Music Competition in Korea and also has earned top prizes at the Geneva International Music Competition and China International Piano Competition. He was born in Seoul and pursued music at the Seoul Arts High School and Korea National University of Arts. He is a graduate of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and is now studying at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt with Arnulf von Arnim. Mr. Kim has given recitals in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, China, Singapore, Japan, and Korea, and performed with orchestras including Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Macau Orchestra, Changwon Symphony Orchestra, Wonju Symphony Orchestra, and Korean Symphony Orchestra. Away from the piano, Mr. Kim enjoys jogging and cooking.

Han Chen – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

HAN CHEN
Taiwan| Age 25

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Sunday, May 28, 2017 – 11:55 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

CARTER Caténaires (2006)
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in G Minor, op. 33, no. 8
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in C-sharp Minor, op. 33, no. 9
HAYDN Sonata in D Major Hob.XVI:42
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
LISZT Réminiscences de Don Juan

Yekwon Sunwoo – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

YEKWON SUNWOO
2017 CLIBURN GOLD MEDALIST
South Korea | Age 28

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Sunday, May 28, 2017 – 10:50 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

HAYDN Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI:48
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
SCHUBERT-LISZT Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen
RACHMANINOFF Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 36 (1931)

Yekwon Sunwoo earned his bachelor’s degree at the Curtis Institute of Music and his master’s at The Juilliard School, and also studied with Richard Goode at the Mannes School of Music. He currently studies under Bernd Goetzke in Hannover. Mr. Sunwoo won first prizes at the 2015 International German Piano Award in Frankfurt, the 2014 Vendome Prize held at the Verbier Festival, the 2013 Sendai International Music Competition, and the 2012 William Kapell International Piano Competition. He has performed with the Juilliard Orchestra under Itzhak Perlman at Avery Fisher Hall, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, Houston Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra of Belgium, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, and others. He has given recitals at Carnegie Hall, Hamarikyu Asahi Hall in Tokyo, Wigmore Hall in London, Radio France and Salle Cortot in Paris, and Kumho Art Hall in Seoul. Mr. Sunwoo has been featured on WQXR’s McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase, and has performed chamber music for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with Ida Kavafian and Peter Wiley as part of Curtis On Tour, and with Roberto Diaz on the Bay Chamber Concerts.

Sergey Belyavskiy – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

SERGEY BELYAVSKIY
Russia | Age 23

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, May 27, 2017 – 9:25 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCHUBERT Fantasie in C Major, D. 760, op. 15 (“Der Wanderer”)
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
TANEEV Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp Minor, op. 29
LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp Minor

Rachel Cheung – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

RACHEL CHEUNG
Hong Kong | Age 25

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, May 27, 2017 – 7:30 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCHUBERT Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946
DEBUSSY Voiles from Preludes, Book I
DEBUSSY Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest from Preludes, Book I
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No. 1
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”

Rachel Cheung, who has been a Young Steinway Artist since 2011, has studied with Peter Frankl at the Yale School of Music and with Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. She has won numerous prizes and awards, including fifth prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition, and was a semifinalist at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. Last year, she won a Carnegie Weill Hall debut recital as a special prize in the New York Concert Artists Worldwide Debut Audition—that debut will take place in March 2018. She has collaborated with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Edo de Waart, Sydney Symphony with Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Chamber Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. She has performed recitals at the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, London’s Steinway Hall, and the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto, among others. Ms. Cheung has twice been honored by the Hong Kong government for her contributions to culture and performed in the gala concert in Kiev celebrating the centenary of Vladimir Horowitz.

Nikolay Khozyainov – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

NIKOLAY KHOZYAINOV
Russia| Age 24

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Saturday, May 27, 2017 – 10:50 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

HAYDN Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:33
CHOPIN Etude in C Major, op. 10, no. 1
RACHMANINOFF Étude-Tableau in C Minor, op. 39, no. 1
LISZT Après un lecture de Dante (Fantasia quasi sonata)
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”

Nikolay Khozyainov was born in Blagoveshchensk in far eastern Russia and made his debut at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory at age 7 in a Handel piano concerto. He won first prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition, second prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition, and was a finalist at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. Mr. Khozyainov has performed at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, and Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, the Théâtre de Champs-Élysées and the Louvre in Paris, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He has recorded several CDs and has performed concertos with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, and many others. Mr. Khozyainov is now pursuing an advanced degree at the Hochschule für Musik Theater und Medien Hannover, where he studies with Arie Vardi. When he’s not playing piano, he likes listening to opera and often visits opera theaters.

Yury Favorin – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

YURY FAVORIN
Russia | Age 30

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 26, 2017 – 8:20 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

PROKOFIEV Four Etudes, op. 2
TCHAIKOVSKY Two Pieces, op. 10
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
LISZT Réminiscences de Puritains de Bellini

Philipp Scheucher – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

PHILIPP SCHEUCHER
Austria | Age 24

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 26, 2017 – 2:30 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

BEETHOVEN Fantasia in G Minor, op. 77
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
AUERBACH Prelude in D Minor, op. 41, no. 24
LISZT Consolation No. 3
LISZT Rhapsodie espagnole

Philipp Scheucher was born in Graz, Austria, and began music studies at age 5. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and is now in the master’s program there under the tutelage of Markus Schirmer. Mr. Scheucher has performed in some of Europe’s most important concert halls, including the Golden Hall at the Vienna Musikverein, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Hercules Hall in Munich, and Konzerthaus Berlin. He also has performed in France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. He won first prizes at the 2015 Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark and at the 2014 Cologne International Piano Competition, and second prizes at the 2015 Ferenc Liszt Competition in Italy and the 2016 UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa. Mr. Scheucher has performed with the Graz Philharmonic, the K&K Philharmonic, and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestras. His other passions include books, skateboarding, movies and TV, and driving.

Caterina Grewe – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

CATERINA GREWE
Germany | Age 29

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 26, 2017 – 11:55 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

HAYDN Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:33
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 3 in F-sharp Minor, op. 23
LISZT Trübe Wolken (Nuages gris)
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 8 “Wilde Jagd”

Born in Tokyo, German-Japanese pianist Caterina Grewe is a Steinway Artist who has given recitals at Royal Albert Hall, at Steinway Halls in London and Hamburg, and at venues in Dublin, Barcelona, and Moscow. Her recitals have been broadcast by the BBC, NDR in Hamburg, and Radio France in Paris. She has made concerto appearances with the Classic Philharmonic Orchestra Hamburg, Oldenburg State Orchestra, Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya (Barcelona), and RTE National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland). She was a prize winner at the 2015 Maria Canals International Piano Competition and the 2015 Dublin International Piano Competition. Ms. Grewe was listed as “an artist to watch” by Gramophone after her debut CD (2016), which features Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze and his Sonata No. 3. Ms. Grewe studied at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal College of Music, where she was awarded the HRH Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Rose Bowl by the Prince of Wales for her achievements. She is completing her Konzertexamen under the tutelage of Alfredo Perl at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold. Ms. Grewe enjoys travel and all forms of art, from painting to fashion, and is a big tennis fan.

Tristan Teo – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

TRISTAN TEO
Canada | Age 20

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 26, 2017 – 10:50 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, op. 110
LISZT Totentanz for Solo Piano

Tristan Teo was born in Vancouver, where he started piano lessons at age 6. He graduated from high school with honors at 15 and is now enrolled in the accelerated bachelor’s/master’s program at The Juilliard School, studying with Jerome Lowenthal. He is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship at Juilliard, where he is also a Secondary Piano Teaching Fellow, teaching instrumentalists at all degree levels. Since his orchestral debut at age 10, Mr. Teo has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He has won awards at several international piano competitions, including second place at the 2016 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and prizes at the Virginia Waring, ePiano International, Bösendorfer and Schimmel USASU, Cooper, and PianoArts competitions. Mr. Teo has given recitals in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy in venues such as Salle Cortot in Paris and the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and watching movies.

Kenny Broberg – Cliburn 2017 Semifinal Recital

KENNY BROBERG
2017 CLIBURN SILVER MEDALIST
United States | Age 23

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Semifinal Round Recital – Monday, June 5, 2017 – 3:50 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCHUBERT Four Impromptus, D. 899, op. 90
LISZT Sonata in B Minor

A native of Minneapolis, Kenneth Broberg studied piano from age 6 through high school under Dr. Joseph Zins. He continued his studies with Nancy Weems at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree. He is now a graduate student working with 2001 Cliburn gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University in Parkville, Missouri. Mr. Broberg has won first prizes at the Hastings and Dallas international piano competitions, in addition to medals at the Sydney, Seattle, New Orleans, and Wideman (Shreveport) competitions. Several of his performances at last year’s Sydney International Piano Competition were released on CD on the Universal Music label. He has performed as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Chamber Symphony, and the Louisiana Philharmonic, among others. Mr. Broberg has had solo, chamber, and concerto performances broadcast on NPR and ABC (Australia) radio. His passions include hockey, baseball, books, and movies.

Yutong Sun – Cliburn 2017 Semifinal Recital

YUTONG SUN
China | Age 21

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

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 26 in A-flat Major, op. 81a (“Les Adieux”)
LISZT Un sospiro
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition

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.

Kenny Broberg – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

KENNY BROBERG
2017 CLIBURN SILVER MEDALIST
United States | Age 23

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Tuesday, May 30, 2017 – 10:50 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 4 in F-sharp Major, op. 30
CHOPIN Three Mazurkas, op. 59
CHOPIN Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52
LISZT Après une lecture de Dante (Fantasia quasi sonata)

Daniel Hsu – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

DANIEL HSU
2017 CLIBURN BRONZE MEDALIST
United States | Age 19

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 26, 2017 – 7:30 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, op. 110
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
LISZT Réminiscences de Don Juan

A native of the San Francisco Bay area, Daniel Hsu began piano studies with Larisa Kagan at 6. He was accepted at age 10 to the Curtis Institute of Music, where he is the Richard A. Doran Fellow and studies with Gary Graffman and Eleanor Sokoloff. In 2016, Mr. Hsu was named a Gilmore Young Artist and won the bronze medal at the 9th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. As first-prize winner of the 2015 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, Mr. Hsu made his Carnegie Hall debut in April 2017. He made his solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in June 2016, and concerto appearances this season include concerts with the Grand Rapids Symphony, New Haven Symphony, and Symphonia Boca Raton. His notable recitals include appearances at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts; Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Concert Series; and Merkin Concert Hall’s Tuesday matinee series in New York. Mr. Hsu also is a film buff and enjoys computer programming. He contributed to the creation of the Workflow productivity app, which won a 2015 Apple Design Award and has improved the experience of mobile devices for visually impaired users.

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