Composers: Maurice Ravel

Yukine Kuroki – Cliburn Junior 2015 Semifinal Round Concerto

YUKINE KUROKI
Japan  |  Age 16

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

Program:
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G Major
accompanied by Evan Mitchell

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.

Wei Luo– Cliburn Junior 2015 Semifinal Round Recital

WEI LUO
China  |  Age 16

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

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

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

Evelyn Mo – Cliburn Junior 2015 Quarterfinal 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:
BACH Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Major, Book I, BWV 848
MOZART Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576: I. Allegro
CHOPIN Nocturne in E-flat Major, op. 55, no. 2
CHOPIN Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, op. 23
RAVEL “Ondine” from Gaspard de la nuit

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.

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.

Michael Slavin– Cliburn Amateur 2016 Semifinal Round Recital

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

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Semifinal Round – Thursday, June 23, 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:
RAVEL, Le Tombeau de Couperin, op. 68

Jorge Zamora – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

JORGE ZAMORA, 43
Sales director
Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico

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

Jorge Zamora studied piano privately for years before earning his bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies in Monterrey, Mexico. When he was 25, he entered the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied piano performance and audio recording for three years. Mr. Zamora returned to Mexico and embarked on a career in telecommunications. Currently, he is a sales director at Qualcomm International Inc. Mr. Zamora took a 10-year break from the piano prior to the 2011 Cliburn Amateur Competition, in which he was a semifinalist. Last year, he took first prize (2nd category) in the 2015 Piano Bridges Amateur International Piano Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Program:
CHOPIN Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, op. 47
SCRIABIN Etude in C-sharp Minor, op. 42, no. 5
RAVEL “Ondine” from Gaspard de la nuit

Xavier Aymonod – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

XAVIER AYMONOD, 40
Strategy consultant
Paris, France
France

2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round – Wednesday, June 22, 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:
CHOPIN, Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52
RAVEL, “Alborada del gracioso” from Miroirs

Shinji Wada – 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

Shinji Wada, 40
Human resources director
Foster City, California
Japan

Largely self-taught, Shinji Wada learned how to read music himself and began playing piano in elementary school. By 13, he started private lessons, and he continued them after a move to the New York/New Jersey area. At that time, he met his longtime teacher, Seymour Bernstein, who continues to be a source of much inspiration for Mr. Wada. Back in Japan, he finished his bachelor’s degree (Keio University) in economics, and returned to the United States in 2014. A career loyalist to the Sony Corporation, Mr. Wada is a human resources director for Sony Interactive Entertainment (aka PlayStation) in Foster City, California. He views entering this Competition as a means to add balance to his work-heavy life. A father of two, he enjoys traveling to new places throughout the United States with his family in tow.

Program:
SCHUMANN-LISZT, Widmung
RAVEL, La Valse

Tessa Knipe – 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

Tessa Knipe, 53
Attorney
San Diego, California
South Africa/United States

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Tessa Knipe achieved much pianistic success from ages 8 to 18. Highlights included appearing on the “Young South Africa” show at age 9; performing the first movement of the Kabalevsky Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra at 11; and receiving a four-year undergraduate scholarship at age 17 to the Royal College of Music in London—one of just eight offered per year. Instead of furthering her musical pursuits, Ms. Knipe turned the scholarship down to forge a career in law. Now a deputy attorney general for the department of justice in California, she has returned to music after 35 years away, realizing “how central the piano is to my life.” A mother of two grown daughters, Ms. Knipe is a lover of the performing arts, movies, and books, as well as a fan of good food and wine.

Program:
CHOPIN, Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 31
RAVEL, Jeau d’eau

Gorden Cheng – 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

Gorden Cheng, 35
Systems engineer
San Diego, California
United States

An information technology and network security executive, Gorden Cheng received a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2003 from the University of Texas at Dallas, and worked at two Dallas-area computer companies until 2004 before relocating to Southern California. He has taken private piano lessons for years, and the practice has netted results: From 2011–2015, he placed in amateur competitions in Paris (2011), Chicago (2012), Colorado Springs (2012), Warsaw (2012), Washington, D.C. (2012), and Boston (2015). Currently head of technology operations for eMolecules, Inc., Mr. Cheng calls himself a computer nerd and Internet plumber. He enjoys spending time with his wife and children and is a huge fan of FC Barcelona and the UFC.

Program:
RAVEL, Jeux d’eau
CHOPIN, Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante, op. 22

J. Spencer Thompson – 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

J. Spencer Thompson, 55
Radiation oncologist
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
United States

Born in Bountiful, Utah, J. Spencer Thompson studied piano with Lennox Larson and Gladys Gladstone Rosenberg at the University of Utah and received bachelor’s degrees in music, zoology, and Spanish from Brigham Young University in 1985. After attending the University of Utah School of Medicine, he completed his residency in radiation oncology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Currently, he is an associate professor in the department of radiation and oncology at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in Oklahoma City. Dr. Thompson says: “Even though I chose not to make music my profession, I can’t really imagine my life without music in it,” and to that end, studies with Sergio Monteiro. A 2011 Cliburn Amateur competitor, he enjoys cooking, skiing, traveling, reading, and rooting for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Program:
RAVEL, “Alborada del gracioso” from Miroirs
RACHMANINOV, Prelude in D Major, op. 23, no. 4
RACHMANINOV, Étude-Tableau in D Major, op. 39, no. 9

Janet Sommerfeld – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Janet Sommerfeld, 53
Freelance writer/producer
Palos Verdes Estates, California
United States

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:
RAVEL, Jeux d’eau
PROKOFIEV, “Mercutio” from Romeo and Juliet, op. 75

Ken Isaka – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Ken Iisaka, 47
Software engineer
Foster City, California
Japan/Canada

Ken Iisaka, a Cliburn Amateur finalist in 2007 and 2011, says his previous participation was during “the most tumultuous time of my life.” But he views competing as a necessary vehicle for his musical improvement, and for his soul. Born in Tokyo, he immigrated to Canada with his family and took private lessons while studying computer science at the University of Ottawa. In recent years, he has appeared at Fullerton College Piano Ensemble Festival (2014) and at the Newport Music Festival (2015). Most recently, he performed in an ensemble concert in Tokyo with his partner, Yvonne Liu, whom he met at the Amateur Competition in 2011. Currently, he is a lead engineer for a software company whose clients are advertisers and publishers, in Sunnyvale, California. Mr. Iisaka enjoys writing concert reviews, photography, cooking, and wines from Northern California.

Program:
RAVEL, Sonatine

Keiko Kircher – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Keiko Kircher, 35
College physics instructor
Champaign, Illinois
Japan

A physics instructor at Parkland College, Dr. Keiko Kircher’s area of study is astrophysics, and her long-term research goal is to understand the final moments of black-hole evaporation. Her goal for participating in the Amateur Competition is to increase the enjoyment in her life. Dr. Kircher began learning music by playing the organ (called the “electone” in Japan), and she switched to the piano at 19. After having children, she put her practice on hold, finding she did not have the time. She recently returned to playing because she “had forgotten how satisfying it is to practice an instrument,” and her kids are older. Not lost on Dr. Kircher is the effect her playing has on her brain, she says. Other hobbies she finds equally stimulating are composing music for her family and practicing magic tricks.

Program:
RAVEL, “Fugue” from Le Tombeau de Couperin
RAVEL, Jeux d’eau

Adrienne Johnson – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Adrienne Johnson, 62
Elementary music school teacher/playwright
Minneapolis, Minnesota
United States

Around the time Adrienne Johnson’s fourth and youngest son left home five years ago, she realized she wanted to return to the piano. Thirty years ago, armed with a master’s from The Juilliard School where she studied under Adele Marcus, Ms. Johnson went on to forge a career as a playwright and elementary school music teacher while raising her children. Each year at her school, she writes two plays, one in the fall, one during spring; her most recent work focuses on tolerance and freedom, and highlights the music of Beethoven, The Supremes, and Woody Guthrie. As she inspires the next generation of music-makers, Ms. Johnson is humbled to have been nominated for a 2017 Grammy® Music Educator award. She placed second in solo piano at the Chicago Amateur Competition in 2014, and last year, she participated in PianoTexas International Academy & Festival.

Program:
RAVEL, “Ondine” from Gaspard de la nuit
RACHMANINOV, Prelude in G-sharp Minor, op. 32, no. 12

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.

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

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.

François Dumont- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital I

FRANÇOIS DUMONT
France | Age 27

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

Program:
MOZART Sonata in A Minor, K. 310
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp Minor, op. 39

Born in Lyon, François Dumont entered the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique when he was fourteen years old, and later studied at the International Piano Academy Lake Como in Italy. He has performed in many of the major venues in France, and has been invited to perform as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Poland with Antoni Wit, and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has taken the stage in Belgium, China, France, Germany, Latvia, Poland, and the United States. Mr. Dumont’s recording of the complete Mozart sonatas for Anima Records received the Maestro Award from Pianiste magazine. Other solo recordings include works by Chopin and the complete piano works of Ravel. Mr. Dumont currently resides in Brussels, Belgium.

Ilya Shmukler – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

ILYA SHMUKLER
Russia | Age 22

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

Program:

HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
HAYDN Sonata in F Major, Hob  XVI:23
BACH-SILOTI Prelude in B Minor, BWV 855a
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit

Moscow native Ilya Shmukler studies piano with Elena Kuznetsova at the Moscow Conservatory. He has frequently performed in the leading concert halls of Russia, including in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, and Kazan, as well as in Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, and Kazakhstan. Mr. Shmukler has won awards at a number of piano competitions, including grand prizes of the 2009 Musica Classica and the 2012 Scriabin-Rachmaninoff competitions in Russia, and second prize in the 2012 International Rachmaninov Music Competition. He has played with several orchestras, most notably the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. When not playing piano, he enjoys cinema, literature, art, swimming, and table tennis.

Yekwon Sunwoo – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

YEKWON SUNWOO
2017 CLIBURN GOLD MEDALIST
South Korea | Age 28

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Tuesday, May 30, 2017 – 4:25 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

SCHUBERT Sonata in C Minor, D. 958
RAVEL La Valse

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.

Tristan Teo – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

TRISTAN TEO
Canada | Age 20

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Monday, May 29, 2017 – 3:20 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

BACH Toccata in D Minor, BWV 913
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit
KAPUSTIN Variations, op. 41

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.

Ilya Shmukler – Cliburn 2017 Quarterfinal Recital

ILYA SHMUKLER
Russia | Age 22

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Quarterfinal Round Recital – Monday, May 29, 2017 – 11:55 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

BACH-BUSONI Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004
RAVEL Pavane pour une infante défunte
STRAVINSKY Trois mouvements de Petrouchka

Moscow native Ilya Shmukler studies piano with Elena Kuznetsova at the Moscow Conservatory. He has frequently performed in the leading concert halls of Russia, including in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, and Kazan, as well as in Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, and Kazakhstan. Mr. Shmukler has won awards at a number of piano competitions, including grand prizes of the 2009 Musica Classica and the 2012 Scriabin-Rachmaninoff competitions in Russia, and second prize in the 2012 International Rachmaninov Music Competition. He has played with several orchestras, most notably the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. When not playing piano, he enjoys cinema, literature, art, swimming, and table tennis.

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.

Dasol Kim – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

DASOL KIM
South Korea | Age 28

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Friday, May 26, 2017 – 10:00 a.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

HAYDN Sonata in E Major, Hob. XVI:31
ALBENIZ “Triana” from Iberia, Book II
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit

Dasol Kim has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and many more, and with notable conductors including Alan Gilbert, Marin Alsop, and David Zinman. He was a first-prize winner of the 2015 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, 2010 Young Concert Artists European Auditions, and 2011 Epinal International Piano Competition. Mr. Kim has appeared at festivals including La Roque-d’Anthéron in France, the Kissinger Sommer in Germany, and the PyeongChang Music Festival in Korea. His chamber-music collaborators include cellists Gautier Capuçon and Myung-wha Chung, violinist Svetlin Roussev, and violist Maxim Rysanov, among others. His debut CD, Dasol Kim Plays Schumann, was released on Deutsche Grammophon in 2015. He currently studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with Arie Vardi. Away from the piano, Mr. Kim loves literature, movies, and running, as well as restaurants and wine.

Madoka Fukami – Cliburn 2017 Preliminary Recital

MADOKA FUKAMI
Japan | Age 28

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Preliminary Round Recital – Thursday, May 25, 2017 – 3:20 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

GINASTERA Sonata No. 1, op. 22
BEETHOVEN Rondo in G Major, op. 51, no. 2
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
RAVEL “Ondine” from Gaspard de la nuit
CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Major, op. 61

Madoka Fukami studied at the Tokyo National University of the Arts, then earned two master’s degrees at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, and a concert artist diploma at the Ecole normale de musique de Paris. She has been artist in residence at Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium under the direction of Maria João Pires. Ms. Fukami has won prizes at more than 10 international competitions and has performed with the NHK Orchestra, Porto National Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, and the Chamber Orchestra of Paris. Her recent recital and concerto appearances include the Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, among others. She has a particular passion for French music. She won the Maurice Ravel Foundation prize for her Ravel performances at the Long-Thibaud-Crespin competition, and her recital of Debussy’s complete etudes was broadcast by Radio France’s France Musique. She loves cooking, fitness, musical theater, and visiting art galleries.

Yekwon Sunwoo- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

YEKWON SUNWOO
South Korea | Age 14

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

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

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