Glossary: r

Roberto Plano

Roberto Plano – Italy/United States
2005 Cliburn Finalist

Italian native Roberto Plano has performed all over the world, appearing with prestigious orchestras (Kremerata Baltica, Houston Symphony, Berliner Philarmoniker Camerata, Festival Strings Luzern) under the direction of renowned conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, James Conlon, Pinchas Zuckerman, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. As a recitalist he played at Lincoln Center, Sala Verdi, Salle Cortot, Wigmore Hall, and Herculessaal, and at the internationally acclaimed Newport Festival, Portland Piano Festival, Ravinia Festival, Gilmore International Keyboard Festival (USA), Chopin Festival (Poland), Gijon International Piano Festival (Spain), and Bologna Festival (Italy). An avid chamber musician as well, Roberto played with some of the most prestigious string quartets in the world such as the Takács, Cremona, St. Petersburg, Fine Arts, Jupiter, and Muir.

First Prize Winner at the 2001 Cleveland International Piano Competition, Prize Winner at the Honens, Dublin, Sendai, Geza Anda, and Valencia Competitions, and Finalist at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Roberto’s engaging personality has made him a favorite guest on radio programs such as NPR’s Performance Today, and on TV shows for PBS, France’s Mezzo and Japan’s NHK. Plano was also named the Best Ensemble Performer at the Honens Competition for his performances with cellist Shauna Rolston and soprano Ingrid Attrot, and he was the winner of the Best Recital and Best Performance of a Commissioned Work prizes at the Dublin International Piano Competition.

He has recorded for Decca, Brilliant, Azica, Arktos, Sipario, DaVinci, and Concerto labels, being awarded the maximum 5-star rating by several music magazines. Amadeus, the most widely-read music magazine in Italy, featured Roberto twice on the magazine’s cover, with CDs of music by Alexander Scriabin and forgotten Italian composer Andrea Luchesi. In 2013, he performed the world premiere of Luchesi’s two piano concertos with the Busoni Chamber Orchestra in Trieste, Italy, with Massimo Belli conducting; the performance included a never-before heard cadenza written for the concerto by Mozart. Roberto’s debut award-winning recording for DECCA Classics was released in 2016, featuring the Harmonies Poétiqueset Religieuses by Liszt, which have not been recorded by Decca since the 1960s.

Roberto Plano studied at the Verdi Conservatory in Milan, the Ecole “Cortot” in Paris, and the Lake Como Academy. During his career he has been awarded several prizes, including the Lumen Claro, previously assigned to influential Italian people like soprano Barbara Frittoli, stylist Ottavio Missoni, and economist Mario Monti. He has been described by The Chronicle in Glens Falls, NY, the “Pavarotti of the Piano” for his lyricism, and also defined by Chicago radio commentator Paul Harvey, Jr. as the heir to Rubinstein and Horowitz. The New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini wrote: “This Italian pianist showed artistic maturity beyond his years… there was a wonderful clarity and control of inner voices in his performances.” A member of the faculty at Boston University since 2016, Roberto joined Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music as Associate Professor of Piano in August 2018. In 2023, Roberto became Professor of Piano at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland, and International Visiting Professor of Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.

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Rico Gulda

Rico Gulda – AUSTRIA

Born in Zurich as the youngest son to a family of musicians, Rico Gulda grew up in Munich, where he studied the piano first with his mother Yuko, then continued with legendary German virtuoso Ludwig Hoffmann. At the Vienna Music University, he then studied with Noel Flores, whilst also working with his father, the late pianist-composer Friedrich Gulda.

Initially embarking on a career as pianist, he performed with international orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, Czech Philharmonic of Brno, Verdi Orchestra Milan, Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, Radio Orchestra Svizzera Lugano, and New Japan Philharmonic, and released recordings on the Naxos, Deutsche Grammophon, Orplid, and Amphion labels. Highlights have included televised performances of Mozart´s Triple Concerto with Martha Argerich (also released on CD/DVD), as well as performances with Renaud Capuçon, Matthias Goerne, Michael Schade, and the late Paul Badura-Skoda. His arrangement of Rossini´s Semiramide Overture for Eight Pianos was performed and recorded at the Verbier Festival, featuring pianists Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Leif Oves Andsnes, and Emanuel Ax, amongst others.

Mr. Gulda taught piano at Mozarteum University (Salzburg), Hansei University (Seoul), and in masterclasses in Vienna, Vietnam, and Japan. He now regularly holds music management workshops and is frequently invited as juror at major international piano competitions. He served on the jury of the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

In 2000, Rico Gulda began developing a career in music management: first in artist management and then as manager of Kristjan Järvi´s Absolute Ensemble in New York. In 2007, he joined the Wiener Konzerthaus as executive assistant to the CEO. In 2013, he was promoted to head of artistic planning and dramaturgy of Wiener Konzerthaus, responsible for over 600 concerts per season. He is also artistic director of the Oberösterreichische Stiftskonzerte summer festival.

konzerthaus.at

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Roberto Plano

ROBERTO PLANO – ITALY

Italian native Roberto Plano has performed all over the world, appearing with prestigious orchestras (Kremerata Baltica, Houston Symphony, Berliner Philarmoniker Camerata, Festival Strings Luzern) under the direction of renowned conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, James Conlon, Pinchas Zuckerman, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. As a recitalist he played at Lincoln Center, Sala Verdi, Salle Cortot, Wigmore Hall, and Herculessaal, and at the internationally acclaimed Newport Festival, Portland Piano Festival, Ravinia Festival, Gilmore International Keyboard Festival (USA), Chopin Festival (Poland), Gijon International Piano Festival (Spain), and Bologna Festival (Italy). An avid chamber musician as well, Roberto played with some of the most prestigious string quartets in the world such as the Takács, Cremona, St. Petersburg, Fine Arts, Jupiter, and Muir.

First Prize Winner at the 2001 Cleveland International Piano Competition, Prize Winner at the Honens, Dublin, Sendai, Geza Anda, and Valencia Competitions, and Finalist at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Roberto’s engaging personality has made him a favorite guest on radio programs such as NPR’s Performance Today, and on TV shows for PBS, France’s Mezzo and Japan’s NHK. Plano was also named the Best Ensemble Performer at the Honens Competition for his performances with cellist Shauna Rolston and soprano Ingrid Attrot, and he was the winner of the Best Recital and Best Performance of a Commissioned Work prizes at the Dublin International Piano Competition.

He has recorded for Decca, Brilliant, Azica, Arktos, Sipario, DaVinci, and Concerto labels, being awarded the maximum 5-star rating by several music magazines. Amadeus, the most widely-read music magazine in Italy, featured Roberto twice on the magazine’s cover, with CDs of music by Alexander Scriabin and forgotten Italian composer Andrea Luchesi. In 2013, he performed the world premiere of Luchesi’s two piano concertos with the Busoni Chamber Orchestra in Trieste, Italy, with Massimo Belli conducting; the performance included a never-before heard cadenza written for the concerto by Mozart. Roberto’s debut award-winning recording for DECCA Classics was released in 2016, featuring the Harmonies Poétiqueset Religieuses by Liszt, which have not been recorded by Decca since the 1960s.

Roberto Plano studied at the Verdi Conservatory in Milan, the Ecole “Cortot” in Paris, and the Lake Como Academy. During his career he has been awarded several prizes, including the Lumen Claro, previously assigned to influential Italian people like soprano Barbara Frittoli, stylist Ottavio Missoni, and economist Mario Monti. He has been described by The Chronicle in Glens Falls, NY, the “Pavarotti of the Piano” for his lyricism, and also defined by Chicago radio commentator Paul Harvey, Jr. as the heir to Rubinstein and Horowitz. The New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini wrote: “This Italian pianist showed artistic maturity beyond his years… there was a wonderful clarity and control of inner voices in his performances.” A member of the faculty at Boston University since 2016, Roberto joined Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music as Associate Professor of Piano in August 2018.

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Robin Bangert

Robin Bangert

As a professional dancer for 14 years and a student of ballet since age 5, Robin Bangert has been moved by music most of the waking hours of her life. Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Robin left home at 15 to pursue professional ballet training, first at Harid Conservatory in Florida, then the North Carolina School of the Arts and The Houston Ballet Academy, before joining Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) in 2004. During her career in ballet, in the corps and then as a soloist, Ms. Bangert had the opportunity to dance a wide range of repertory from the great classics such as Artistic Director Ben Stevenson’s Swan Lake to ultra-contemporary works.

Ms. Bangert loves the collaborative conversation between dancer, choreographer, conductor, and orchestra and the laser focus and care it takes to bring them together. She remains in awe of music’s ability to transform a mood or to inspire movement. Dancing to live music, both in the studio and onstage with the Fort Worth and Dallas Symphony Orchestras, was a joy she never took for granted. Some of her favorite roles include Ingrid in Stevenson’s Peer Gynt (Edvard Grieg), Russian Girls and Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade (Tchaikovsky), Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse (Michael Nyman), and an original role in Jonathan Watkin’s Crash (Ryan Cockerham). She delighted in teaching adults and children in Dallas-Fort Worth, and back on Cape Cod during each summer season break.

Ms. Bangert retired from Texas Ballet Theater in 2018. She is honored to join the Cliburn in the Classroom team and appreciates the opportunity to share her enthusiasm for music and movement with kids across DFW!

Arseniy Gusev

Arseniy Gusev

Russia  |  Age 23

When Arseniy Gusev was 5 years old, an upright piano was brought into his St. Petersburg home, and he immediately started playing and experimenting with it. He wrote his first piece—a romance on a Pushkin poem—shortly thereafter, and his grandmother asked him if he would like to go to music school. He went on to study both composition and piano performance at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Upon graduation in 2018, he moved to the United States, where he attends the Cleveland Institute of Music, under the tutelage of Sergei Babayan (piano) and Keith Fitch (composition).

He has performed in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Slovakia, Germany, and the United States, and his compositions have been heard in Mariinsky Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Dortmund, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and other major venues. Arseniy is a laureate of many prestigious competitions, such as the Dorothy McKenzie Artist Award, Cleveland Piano Virtu(al)oso Competition, Singapore International Piano Competition, Three Arts Piano Competition, Cleveland Composers Guild Contest, “Another Space” Composition Competition, International Gavrilin Competition, International Competition “Performer-Composer,” and others.

Arseniy has an exclusive publishing contract with Kompozitor, one of the biggest publishers in Eastern Europe. He says: “I hope to do everything I can to bring the tradition of composer-pianists back on a new level.”

REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round

GIBBONS Lord Salisbury’s Pavane
FROBERGER Aria in D Minor, FbWV 636
FRANCK Prélude, Choral et Fugue
HOUGH Fanfare Toccata
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 7, op. 64 “White Mass”

Quarterfinal Round

RACHMANINOV Prelude in D-flat Major, op. 32, no. 13
SCHUMANN Symphonic Etudes, op. 13 and op. posth.
GUSEV Toccata No. 1

Semifinal Round – Recital

MESSIAEN “Le baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus” and “Regard de l’Esprit de joie” from Vingt Regards sur l’enfant-Jésus
LIGETI Etude No. 7 “Galamb Borong”
LIGETI Etude No. 13 “L’escalier du diable”
KURTÁG “Les adieux” from Játékok
SCHUBERT Sonata in C Minor, D. 958

Semifinal Round – Mozart concerto

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K. 491

Final Round – Concerto I

RAVEL Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major

Final Round – Concerto II

BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, op. 15

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Rachel Cheung

Rachel Cheung
2017 Cliburn Audience Award Winner
Cliburn Competition Preliminary Round Recital
(originally broadcast May 27, 2017)

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”

ABOUT RACHEL
In the three years since the Competition, Rachel has grown her reputation for “stunningly imaginative” performances marked by “flights of both beauty and virtuosity.” She has been recognized as Artist of the Year (Music) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council; made her play/conduct debut with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris; joined the Asian Youth Orchestra on a friendship tour throughout the continent; and been in residence with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, RTHK Radio 4, and the Chamber Music Heidelberger Frühling. An amateur photographer, she enjoys documenting her tours across Europe, North and South America, and Asia with her analog camera.

RICHARD REID

RICHARD REID                                      

AGE 71  I  CARY, NORTH CAROLINA  I  UNITED STATES
SOFTWARE ENGINEER

In the summer of 1970, Richard Reid was a student at the Chautauqua School of Music and Arts in upstate New York, when his winning of a major award—combined with a happy coincidence—afforded him the opportunity to meet Van Cliburn in person after the legend’s recital appearance. He complimented Van on his performance of Beethoven, and, in turn, Van complimented him on his compliment, an encounter the 19-year-old would never forget. Richard went on to earn music degrees from Oberlin College (B.M.) and The Juilliard School (M.M.) before transitioning to computer science with a graduate degree from the University of South Carolina. He’s worked in software engineering for more than 30 years, the last 13 with SNAP Appliance. His other interests include breadmaking, photography, and coin collecting.

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 7 in D Major, op. 10, no. 3 (I)
GRANADOS “Los requiebros” from Goyescas, op. 11

Semifinal Round 

CHOPIN Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, op. 58

Final Round 

PROKOFIEV Concerto No. 3 in C Major, op. 26 (III)

RIE MOORE

RIE MOORE

AGE 47  I  LEXINGTON PARK, MARYLAND  I  JAPAN
TRANSLATOR

After earning her B.A. in international politics, economics, and business from Tokyo’s Aoyama Gakuin University, Rie Moore spent a decade working in Japan in various marketing, translation, and executive assistant positions at major international companies, including Microsoft, Starbucks, and Nissan. During that time, she also returned to piano lessons after a 10-year hiatus—but the nature of her career made dedication to music extremely difficult. When her husband’s job moved their family to Maryland in 2007, she came across the Piano Festival by the River at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She credits this experience with leading her back to the path of serious piano studies; in 2019, she completed a degree in music through the college’s second bachelor’s degree program, an accomplishment that took six years, while also raising a small child and working as a freelance translator. Rie loves hiking—to be immersed in nature—as well as rediscovering various Japanese art forms such as noh, ukiyo-e, and sado, and philosophy behind them.

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

SCRIABIN Prelude in B Major, op. 16, no. 1
PROKOFIEV “Lento irrealmente” from Visions fugitives, op. 22
VIERNE “La lumière rayonnait des astres de la nuit, le rossignol chantait…” from Trois Nocturnes, op. 34

Semifinal Round 

BERIO Wasserklavier
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, op. 110

Final Round 

MOZART Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 (I)

AARON MILLER

AARON MILLER

AGE 42  I  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA  I  UNITED STATES
ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATOR

Aaron Miller is a scholar of East Asia, focusing on the modern history of Korea. This concentration has directed much of his life: his undergraduate and graduate studies at Harvard University; a year teaching English in Korea as a Fulbright Scholar; and now a decade in academic administration (primarily in Asian studies) in positions at the University of California Berkeley, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, and, currently, the University of California Los Angeles. In addition to his piano performance training, which includes two years of private lessons at the New England Conservatory, Aaron’s music studies include theory, history, and ethnomusicology—particularly the music of China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. The National YoungArts Foundation is playing a key role in his musical journey; a 1998 finalist, he’s recently been helping facilitate YoungArts programs for young musicians in Los Angeles and Miami. He says that reconnecting with fellow alumni of the program encouraged him to become more active as a collaborative pianist, and—a longtime Cliburn fan—he’s looking to the 2022 Amateur as a reinvigoration of his solo playing.

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

HAYDN Sonata in A-flat Major, Hob. XVI:46 (I)
JANÁČEK In the Mists (IV)
SCHUMANN Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, op. 22 (I)

Semifinal Round 

ESMAIL Crystal Preludes
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 30 in E Major, op. 109

Final Round 

SCHUMANN Concerto in A Minor, op. 54 (I)

ROBERT FINLEY

ROBERT FINLEY

AGE 72  I  NORTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS  I  UNITED STATES
ELECTRONICS ENGINEER (RETIRED)

Robert Finley was born in Hull, England, and studied electronic engineering at the University of Sussex. After graduation he worked as an engineer in the United Kingdom and United States. He was a junior exhibitioner at Trinity College of Music in London and gained the ARCM diploma with Honors at the Royal College of Music. In 1980, he immigrated to the United States. He took part in the first Cliburn Amateur Competition in 1999, as well as others in the United States and Europe, taking first prize in the Yamaha Pianist Magazine Competition (UK) and reaching the finals in Warsaw (Chopin), Colorado Springs, and Washington. He has given recitals in Paris, London, Israel, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Buenos Aires, Budapest, Bayreuth, Warsaw, and Yokohama, Japan. He has performed concertos by Liszt, Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich with orchestra and, earlier this year, played Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Brockton Symphony Orchestra. He is the founder and president of the Boston International Piano Competition for highly talented amateur pianists, which takes place every two years since 2001.

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

BACH–PETRI “Sheep may safely graze”
FAURÉ Impromptu No. 3 in A-flat Major, op. 34
BRAHMS Hungarian Dance No. 2 in D Minor

Semifinal Round 

CHOPIN Nocturne in B Major, op. 62, no. 1
LISZT Au bord d’une source
SCRIABIN Fantasy in B Minor, op. 28
GRIEG Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, op. 65, no. 6

Final Round 

TCHAIKOVSKY Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, op. 23 (III)

RICKER CHOI

RICKER CHOI

AGE 45  I  TORONTO, CANADA  I  CANADA
IT BUSINESS CONSULTANT

Though he’s developed a successful career in financial risk management, Ricker Choi calls classical music his first love. He discovered it at age 12 while still living in his native Hong Kong and starting piano studies the following year after immigrating to Canada. After earning an associate’s diploma in piano performance at 18, he enrolled in business school at York University, eventually earning an undergraduate degree and an MBA. He came back to the piano some 12 years later, and that commitment has brought top-3 prizes at amateur competitions in Berlin, Paris, Boston, and Washington, D.C. At the Cliburn he hopes to “grow by going through such an intense yet friendly environment.” Now a business consultant with 20 years of experience in financial risk management, he also enjoys composition for piano, as well as painting and reading.

Arnaldo Cohen

ARNALDO COHEN – Brazil

The Brazilian-born pianist Arnaldo Cohen, now living in the United States, has long had a reputation for astonishing his audiences with the musical authority and blistering virtuosity of his performances. He has appeared regularly as soloist with major orchestras, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His solo recitals everywhere draw enthusiastic crowds of cognoscenti. Critics, too, marvel at his mixture of musical complexity and élan.

“A model of balance and imagination” was Steve Smith’s verdict in his review of Mr. Cohen’s Town Hall recital in The New York Times.

Mr. Cohen performed Brahms’ Concerto No. 1 in D Minor with the Milwaukee Symphony and was reviewed by Tom Strini of the Milwaukee Journal: “The combination of technical command and expressive insight he demonstrated Friday is every musician’s goal.”

After performing a recital in Philadelphia, Mr. Cohen drew the following praise from distinguished critic David Patrick Stearns of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Cohen has the smarts, the emotional presence, and the technique of a major Chopin interpreter. Unlike many similarly exciting pianists, Cohen has built a loyal public with his annual Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concerts by presenting new variations on himself at every visit.”

And, in the words of no less a piano authority than former New York Times critic the late Harold C. Schonberg: “First of all there is his sound — a burnished, unforced bronze-like sound somewhat in the Rachmaninoff manner. In a day when so many pianists sound bleak and percussive, Cohen produces a big sound that never splinters and is capable of any kind of nuance. He understands the pedals. He has a world-class technique. His playing, color and all, has text-book clarity. And he understands the Romantic style.”

After winning First Prize at the 1972 Busoni International Competition, in Italy, Mr. Cohen scored a triumph at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Soon after he moved to London and went on to build a repertoire of some 50 concertos and to perform with such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome, collaborating with conductors Kurt Masur, Kurt Sanderling, Klaus Tennstedt, and Yehudi Menuhin (who described Cohen as “one of the greatest pianists I have ever heard”).

arnaldocohen.com

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Rico Gulda

RICO GULDA – AUSTRIA

Born in Zurich as the youngest son to a family of musicians, Rico Gulda grew up in Munich, where he studied the piano first with his mother Yuko, then continued with legendary German virtuoso Ludwig Hoffmann. At the Vienna Music University, he then studied with Noel Flores, whilst also working with his father, the late pianist-composer Friedrich Gulda.

Initially embarking on a career as pianist, he performed with international orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, Czech Philharmonic of Brno, Verdi Orchestra Milan, Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, Radio Orchestra Svizzera Lugano, and New Japan Philharmonic, and released recordings on the Naxos, Deutsche Grammophon, Orplid, and Amphion labels. Highlights have included televised performances of Mozart´s Triple Concerto with Martha Argerich (also released on CD/DVD), as well as performances with Renaud Capuçon, Matthias Goerne, Michael Schade, and the late Paul Badura-Skoda. His arrangement of Rossini´s Semiramide Ouverture for Eight Pianos was performed and recorded at the Verbier Festival, featuring pianists Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Leif Oves Andsnes, and Emanuel Ax, amongst others.

Mr. Gulda taught piano at Mozarteum University (Salzburg), Hansei University (Seoul), and in masterclasses in Vienna, Vietnam, and Japan. He now regularly holds music management workshops and is frequently invited as juror at major international piano competitions.

In 2000, Rico Gulda began developing a career in music management: in artist‘s management and then as manager of Kristjan Järvi´s Absolute Ensemble in New York. In 2007, he joined the Wiener Konzerthaus as executive assistant to the CEO. In 2013, he was promoted to head of artistic planning and dramaturgy of Wiener Konzerthaus, responsible for over 600 concerts per season. He is also artistic director of the Oberoesterreichische Stiftskonzerte summer festival.

konzerthaus.at

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RYAN ZHU

RYAN ZHU

Canada I Age 15

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.”

Competitor Profile

Repertoire

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

Quarterfinal Round

HAYDN Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:42

BRAHMS Intermezzo in A Minor, op. 116, no. 2

DEBUSSY “Reflets dans l’eau” from Images, Book I

LISZT Mazeppa from Transcendental Etudes

 

Semifinal Round

SCHUMANN Faschingsschwank aus Wien (Carnaval de Vienne), op. 26

SHCHEDRIN Basso Ostinato from Two Polyphonic Pieces

PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 3 in A Minor, op. 28

 

Final Round

LISZT Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, S. 124

RAY USHIKUBO

RAY USHIKUBO

United States / Japan I Age 17

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.”

Competitor Profile

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round
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

Quarterfinal Round

BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, op. 13 (“Pathétique”) (I)

CHOPIN Nocturne in B Major, op. 62, no. 1

LISZT Rhapsody espagnole

 

Semifinal Round

CORIGLIANO Etude Fantasy

CHOPIN Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, op. 58

 

Final Round

RACHMANINOV Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, op. 18

Randall Umstead, tenor

A specialist in baroque and concert repertoire, Randall Umstead has appeared as a soloist with Bach Society Houston and Dallas Bach Society, the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, Colorado Bach Ensemble, Cincinnati Baroque Orchestra, Catacoustic Consort, the Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa) Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dallas Choral Festival, and the Bach Society of Dayton. Randall twice won a vocal fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center, where he also was selected for Tanglewood’s Bach Institute.

As a recitalist, Randall has appeared in venues across the United States, Europe, and South Africa. Dr. Umstead was a quarterfinalist in the 2010 International Vocal Competition’s-Hertogenbosch, and in 2008 he was a finalist in the American Bach Society’s 5th Biennial Vocal Competition.

Dr. Umstead currently holds the Charles W. Evans Chair in Voice at Baylor University, where he also serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of Vocal Studies in the School of Music. He is chair-elect of the Baylor University Faculty Senate, and is governor of the Texoma Region of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Rolston String Quartet

Known for performances marked by “a maturity and cohesion rivaling the best string quartets in the world” (Musical Toronto), the Rolston String Quartet took home first prize in the 2016 Banff International String Quartet Competition, sending them on a concert tour that included Germany, Italy, Austria, Canada, and the United States. Performance highlights have included the Smithsonian, Kennedy Center, Koerner Hall at the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music, and the Esterhazy Palace. The Quartet—Luri Lee (violin), Jeffrey Dyrda (violin), Hezekiah Leung (viola), and Jonathan Lo (cello)—currently serves as quartet-in-residence for the Yale School of Music, having recently completed a tenure as graduate quartet-in-residence at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

ARNALDO COHEN

Brazilian-born pianist Arnaldo Cohen came to prominence after winning First Prize at the 1972 Busoni International Piano Competition and making his debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Since then, he has been in demand internationally, appearing with such major orchestras as the Philadelphia, Philharmonia, and Cleveland Orchestras; Chicago Symphony; and Los Angeles and London Philharmonics. Recitals have taken him to important music centers around the world. Also dedicated to chamber music, he was a member of the acclaimed Amadeus Trio and has performed with many string quartets.

His recent recordings include the Liszt and Rachmaninov piano concertos with the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, an all-Liszt solo disc, and his pioneering CD Three Centuries of Brazilian Music.

He currently holds a full professorship at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, having previously taught at the Royal Academy of Music. In October 2013, Mr. Cohen was appointed artistic director for the Portland International Piano Series.

Rachel Kudo

Rachel Kudo

United States | Age 30

A winner of the Gilmore Young Artist Award, Rachel Kudo gave her first performances with orchestra at age 16 in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and De Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She has since performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic in Poland and the RTE National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland, among others. She has appeared in recital at Chopin’s birthplace in Poland, Salle Cortot in Paris, Musikverein in Vienna, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Aspen Music Festival, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, and Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Carnegie Hall in New York. Born in Washington, D.C., to Japanese-Korean parents, Ms. Kudo began studying piano at age 4 with Emilio del Rosario and continued at The Juilliard School and the Mannes College of Music. Her past teachers include Richard Goode, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and Gilbert Kalish, and she currently studies with Leon Fleisher. She enjoys yoga, cooking, and traveling.

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COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Recital
BACH Overture in the French Style in B Minor, BWV 831
HAMELIN Toccata on “L’homme armé”
BARBER Sonata for Piano, op. 26

Quarterfinal Recital
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, op. 31, no. 3
SCHUMANN Carnaval, op. 9

Semifinal Recital
MOZART Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576
CHOPIN Nocturne in D-flat Major, op. 27, no. 2
CHOPIN Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, op. 52
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, op. 111

Semifinal Concerto
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467

Final Round Piano Quintet
DVOŘÁK Piano Quintet in A Major, op. 81

Final Round Concerto
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, op. 15

Rachel Cheung

Rachel Cheung

Hong Kong | Age 25

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.

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COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Recital
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”

Quarterfinal Recital
SIBELIUS Valse triste, op. 44, no. 1
CHOPIN 24 Preludes, op. 28

Semifinal Recital
SCHUMANN Kreisleriana, op. 16
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 6 in A Major, op. 82

Semifinal Concerto
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466

Final Round Piano Quintet
BRAHMS Piano Quintet in F Minor, op. 34

Final Round Concerto
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, op. 58

 

Rebecca Kao Wang

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.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

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

Quarterfinal Round
SCARLATTI   Sonata in D Minor, K. 9
MENDELSSOHN   Rondo Capriccioso in E Minor, op. 14
BARTÓK   Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm, from Mikrokosmos, Vol. 6, nos. 148-151

Semifinal Round
BEETHOVEN   Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, op. 53 (“Waldstein”)

Final Round
MOZART   Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467: III. Allegro vivace assai

Robert Seppy

Robert Seppy, 58
Healthcare executive
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States

Robert Seppy began piano lessons at age 9 and went on to study at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and The Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts. Since 1993, he has worked at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as a charge entry manager. In 2011, Mr. Seppy placed first in the Music Minus One YouTube Video Contest. He looks to the Cliburn Amateur Competition as an opportunity to improve his playing, since it provides motivation to practice. He is also looking forward to meeting other like-minded competitors at this year’s event. Besides playing the piano, Mr. Seppy enjoys spending time with his wife and family. He also likes to attend concerts and values the increasingly important role social media plays in performing arts.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
BACH-BUSONI   Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639
BEETHOVEN   Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, op. 31, no. 3: II. Scherzo: Allegretto vivace

Quarterfinal Round
CHOPIN   Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, op. 47
RACHMANINOV   Prelude in G Minor, op. 23, no. 5
CHOPIN   Etude in C Minor, op. 10, no. 12 (“Revolutionary”)

Semifinal Round
BACH-SILOTI   Prelude in B Minor, BWV 855a
CHOPIN   Nocturne in B-flat Minor, op. 9, no. 1
BACH   “Sarabande” and “Bourrée I & II” from English Suite No. 2 in A-Minor, BWV 807
MOZART   Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331: III. Rondo alla turca
KAPUSTIN   Concert Etude No. 3, op. 40 (“Toccatina”)

Final Round
MENDELSSOHN   Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, op. 25: III. Presto

Robert Biber

Robert Biber, M.D., 64
Retired physician
Evergreen, Colorado
United States

During Dr. Robert Biber’s 37-year medical career, there was little time for regular piano practice or performance. He and his wife of 38 years have four daughters—three of whom are triplets and two of whom are professional musicians (cello and clarinet). Dr. Biber’s musical pursuits were limited to collaboration with his two daughters throughout high school and college recitals, the pinnacle of which, he says, was performing the Beethoven piano, cello, and clarinet trio for their respective senior college recitals. Upon his retirement as a urologic surgeon and a move to Colorado, Dr. Biber refocused his time with the goal of competing in amateur piano competitions to raise the level of his musicianship. Dr. Biber loves “all Colorado mountain pursuits”—hiking, biking, skiing, and snowshoeing—and revels in spending time with the six of his eight grandchildren who live nearby.

COMPETITION REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round
CHOPIN   Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, op. 20

Quarterfinal Round
CHOPIN   Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 31
SCHUBERT   Impromptu in E-flat Major, op. 90, no. 2

Semifinal Round
MOZART   Variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman,” K. 265 (300e)
CHOPIN   Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, op. 54
DEBUSSY   Arabesque No. 1 in E Major

Final Round
SCHUMANN   Piano Concerto in A Minor, op. 54: I. Allegro affetuoso