Composers: Piotr Illitch Tchaïkovsky

Alim Beisembayev – Cliburn Junior 2015 Semifinal Round Concerto

ALIM BEISEMBAYEV
Kazahkstan  |  Age 17

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

Program:
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, op. 23
accompanied by Evan Mitchell

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.

Thomas Maurice – Cliburn Amateur 2016 Preliminary Round Recital

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

Thomas Maurice, 56
Senior program manager
Baltimore, Maryland
Canada

Returning to this competition for the third time, Thomas Maurice is currently semi-retired from his career as a senior program manager at General Dynamics Information Technology. Mr. Maurice earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance at Towson University and the University of Maryland, College Park, respectively, and worked as a network engineer for years while also attaining honors at amateur competitions like the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition (2004) and the Vienna International Amateur Piano Competition (2008). In 2007 and 2011, he was a Cliburn Amateur semifinalist. Mr. Maurice says he was thrilled to learn the 2016 Cliburn Amateur features a concerto round, “as there are so few opportunities for amateur pianists to perform with an orchestra.” An active feral cat rescuer, Mr. Maurice also dabbles in home renovation and piano tuning, and is involved in his community association.

Program:
TCHAIKOVSKY-PLETNEV “Andante maestoso (Pas de deux)” from Concert Suite from The Nutcracker
SCHUMANN Toccata in C Major, op. 7

JiWon Yang – Cliburn Junior 2019 Semifinal Round Concerto

JiWon Yang
South Korea  | Age 17

Semifinal Round Concerto – Thursday, June 6, 2019 – 7:42 p.m. CDT
Caruth Auditorium, SMU  I  Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
TCHAIKOVSKY Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, op. 23 (I)

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.”

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

J J Jun Li Bui
Canada | Age 14

Semifinal Round Recital – Wednesday, June 5, 2019 – 8:12 p.m. CDT
Caruth Auditorium, SMU  I  Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
CHOPIN Etude in G-sharp Minor, op. 25, no. 6
CHOPIN Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52
TCHAIKOVSKY-PLETNEV Concert Suite from The Nutcracker

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 Final Round Concerto

JiWon Yang
South Korea |  Age 17

Final Round Concerto – Saturday, June 8, 2019 – 4:12 p.m. CDT
Dallas Symphony Orchestra  I  Ruth Reinhardt, Conductor
Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center  I  Dallas, Texas, USA

Program:
TCHAIKOVSKY Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, op. 23

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.”

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

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.”

Claire Huangci- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

CLAIRE HUANGCI
United States | Age 24

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

Program:
SCHUBERT Drei Klavierstucke, D. 946
TCHAIKOVSKY-PLETNEV Excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty

Born in Rochester, New York, Claire Huangci has made debuts with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and with various other orchestras across Europe and the United States. She has appeared in recital as part of the Ravinia, Verbier, International Keyboard Institute, and Kissinger Summer Festivals, and at the Salle Cortot in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Bonn Beethovenhaus, and in other venues throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. She recently recorded her first CD for Berlin Classics, which will be released in fall of 2013. Ms. Huangci graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2007 and has studied at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover since 2007.

Tomoki Sakata- Cliburn 2013 Preliminary Recital II

TOMOKI SAKATA
Japan | Age 19

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

Program:
MOZART Variations on a Minuet by Duport, K. 573
ALBENIZ Iberia, Book II
TCHAIKOVSKY-PABST Concert Paraphrase on Eugene Onegin

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.

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

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.

Honggi Kim -Cliburn 2017 Semifinal Recital

HONGGI KIM
South Korea | Age 25

Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Semifinal Round Recital – Friday, June 2, 2017 – 3:50 p.m.
Bass Performance Hall

Program:

VINE Sonata No. 1
SCHUMANN Kreisleriana, op. 16
TCHAIKOVSKY-FEINBERG Scherzo from Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique”

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.