Composers: Olivier Messiaen

Ken Iisaka – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Quarterfinal Round Recital

KEN IISAKA, 47
Software engineer
Foster City, California
Japan/Canada

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

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:
MESSIAEN, “La colombe” from Preludes
SCRIABIN, Sonata No. 5, op. 53
MEDTNER, “Danza rustica” from Vergessene Weisen, op. 38

Alessandro Taverna- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

ALESSANDRO TAVERNA
Italy | Age 29

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

Program:
MENDELSSOHN Sonata No.3 in B-flat Major, op.106
MEDTNER Sonata in F Minor, op. 53, no.2 (“Sonata minacciosa”)
LIGETI Etude No. 13: L’escalier du diable
MESSIAEN Regard de l’esprit de joie (from Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jesus)

Alessandro Taverna has performed throughout Africa, Europe, and North America, in such venues as Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica, Fazioli Concert Hall, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Salle Cortot in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, and the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York. He has also appeared with the Hallé, London Philharmonic, Minnesota, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras. In 2009, Mr. Taverna was chosen by the Keyboard Charitable Trust in London to perform at Steinway Halls in Berlin, London, Hamburg, Munich, and New York, and to open the season of Lorin Maazel’s Châteauville Foundation in Castleton—a performance that led to an invitation to tour with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2012–2013 season. A native of Venice, Mr. Taverna received his master’s degree from the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale “Incontri col Maestro” in Imola. He currently attends the International Piano Academy Lake Como and the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.