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Glossary: v

Vitaly Starikov

Vitaly Starikov

Russia  I  Age 27

After Vitaly Starikov completed his studies at the Ural Special Music School in his native Yekaterinburg, his “dream came true” when he began studying with Vera Gornostayeva, one of the world’s most venerated teachers, at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. At that time, her student, Vadym Kholodenko, had just won the 2013 Cliburn Competition, which “greatly inspired” Vitaly: “and it was then that the thought was born to someday participate in this competition.”

He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree at the Conservatory and is now completing his master’s degree, under the tutelage of Eliso Virsaladze. He also credits his studies with Boris Petrushansky at the Accademia Internazionale di Imola “Incontri col Maestro” in Italy and masterclasses with Dmitry Bashkirov and Dmitry Alexeev for his musical development.

Vitaly’s journey in music started when his parents enrolled him in a children’s music group at age 3, and he went on to a school for talented children at 7. He made his concerto debut at age 10 with the Ural State Russian Folk Orchestra, and his recital debut three years later, in the small hall of the Ural Special Music School. It was at 14 that he committed his life to music, and has since performed with the Antwerp and Belgian National Orchestras, Belarusian State Symphony Orchestra, and St. Petersburg Symphony, and toured with the Orchestre national de Metz. Recital and chamber music appearances have taken him around the world, notably to Austria, Slovakia, Israel, Cyprus, Italy, France, Belgium, and Malaysia. He has won top prizes at nine international competitions, including a recent finals appearance in the 2021 Queen Elisabeth (fifth prize).

REPERTOIRE

Preliminary Round

HOUGH Fanfare Toccata
DEBUSSY Estampes
WAGNER–LISZT Overture to Tannhäuser

Quarterfinal Round

BACH Fantasia and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 904
LISZT “Die Loreley”
BRAHMS Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp Minor, op. 2

Semifinal Round – Recital

CHOPIN Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, op. 54
SCHUMANN Symphonic Etudes, op. 13
SCHUBERT–LISZT “Du bist die Ruh”
SHOSTAKOVICH Sonata No. 1, op. 12

Semifinal Round – Mozart concerto

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488

Final Round – Concerto I

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

Final Round – Concerto II

RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30

CLIBURN COMPETITON LINKS

COMPETITORS  I  TICKETS  I  COMPETITION SCHEDULE   I  JURY  I  ROUNDS & REPERTOIRE  I  ARTISTIC COLLABORATORS  I  CLIBURN COMPETITION HISTORY

Vadym Kholodenko

VADYM KHOLODENKO
2013 CLIBURN GOLD MEDALIST
Preliminary Round II recital
webcast live from Bass Performance Hall on June 4, 2013

PROGRAM
Bach-Siloti Prelude in B Minor, BWV 855a
Beethoven Sonata No. 30 in E Major, op. 109
Stravinsky Trois mouvements de Petrouchka

Vadym Kholodenko, 2013 Cliburn gold
Brentano Quartet
Final Round Quintet

PROGRAM
FRANCK Piano Quintet in F Minor

ABOUT VADYM KHOLODENKO

Since winning gold at the 2013 Cliburn Competition, Vadym has built a reputation as one of the most musically dynamic and technically gifted young pianists. He enjoys a career that spans five continents, performing in the world’s music capitals and collaborating with foremost conductors. Vadym’s lauded recordings for harmonia mundi international have been awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’année and Gramophone’s “Editor’s Choice,” while future plans include solo discs of works by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. vadymkholodenko.com

VINCENT LETOURMY

VINCENT LETOURMY

AGE 51  I  TOKYO, JAPAN  I  FRANCE
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Vincent Letourmy’s academic credentials include degrees in mathematics from Paris VI University, and from one of the leading French engineering schools, “Telecom Sud Paris,” with special emphasis on signals theory. Those studies propelled him to take different operational and management positions in THALES French international company—work that has, over the past two decades, stationed him in France, Italy, Malaysia, and currently Japan. He has also almost continuously maintained piano studies throughout his lifetime, since age 5, and earned a piano diploma from l’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris while at university. As an amateur pianist, he’s won prizes at competitions in France, Austria, and Italy, and—as a result of friendships with Japanese pianists made during the 2011 Cliburn Amateur—he helped develop and organize a piano marathon in different cities across Japan for the last nine years. A frequent traveler, Vincent is fluent in four languages.

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round

LISZT “Vallée d’Obermann” from Années de pèlerinage

Semifinal Round 

MESSAIEN “Première communion de la Vierge” from Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus
LISZT Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata

Final Round 

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

 

Verona Quartet

Jonathan Ong & Dorothy Ro, violins; Abigail Rojansky, viola; Jonathan Dormand, cello

Hailed by The New York Times as an “outstanding ensemble,” the Verona Quartet is dedicated to showcasing the art form of the string quartet and to elevating their music making to convey the poetic narrative of storytelling. The Quartet’s members represent four different nations (United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, and Canada), but their singular approach and unanimity of purpose in both musical and cultural cooperation has quickly earned the group a reputation for its “interpretive strength… robust characterization [and] commanding resonance” (Calgary Herald).

Since winning the 2015 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Verona Quartet has established itself as one of the most sought-after string quartets of its generation, delighting audiences at venues worldwide including Wigmore Hall (London, UK), Izumi Hall (Osaka, Japan), the National Theatre (Abu Dhabi, UAE), Melbourne Recital Hall (Melbourne, Australia), and, in New York City, at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Its progressive approach to collaboration and programming includes numerous cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary enterprises. Past projects have included a performance art installation with visual artist Ana Prvacki, artistic exchange with traditional Emirati poets in the UAE, and collaborative work with dancers from Brooklyn’s Dance Heginbotham.

Among its many accolades, the Verona Quartet have been D’Addario Artists since 2017 and can be seen regularly on The Violin Channel as Violin Channel Artists. In addition to being named by Musical America as “New Artists of the Month” in May 2016, the group has garnered worldwide recognition by winning top prizes at international competitions across four continents including the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition (London), the 8th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition (Japan), and the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (Australia), in addition to its CAG victory in 2015. The Quartet is currently the quartet-in-residence at the New England Conservatory of Music’s Professional String Quartet Training program, under the mentorship of Paul Katz, and has previously studied at The Juilliard School under the Juilliard String Quartet and David Finckel, as well as at Indiana University under the Pacifica Quartet. Other notable mentors include Atar Arad, Donald Weilerstein, Martha Katz, Alex Kerr, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, and Gerhard Schulz.

The Verona Quartet’s “thoughtful, impressive” performances (Cleveland Classical) spring from the spirit and power of storytelling. The Quartet believes that the essence of storytelling transcends genre and so the name “Verona” pays tribute to William Shakespeare, one of the greatest storytellers of all time.

Valery Kuleshov

VALERY KULESHOV – UNITED STATES/RUSSIA
1993 CLIBURN SILVER MEDALIST

Valery Kuleshov was born in 1962 in Chelyabinsk, Russia. At the age of 7, he entered the Central Musical School of the Moscow Conservatory, and two years later made his concert debut with a symphony orchestra in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He earned his master’s degree at Gnessin Academy of Music and his doctoral degree from the State Jewish Academy, both in Moscow. He has studied with some of the best Russian pianists, including Dmitry Bashkirov, Nikolai Petrov, and Vladimir Tropp, and also attended the International Piano Foundation in Italy with the world’s most acclaimed piano teachers, including Karl Ulrich Schnabel and Leon Fleischer.

Mr. Kuleshov’s first major international success was at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Italy in 1987, where he was awarded second place. He also received the gold medal along with the first place winner. That year, he began intensive concert activity in Russia and abroad.

In his North American debut at the Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1993, he was awarded the silver medal as well as the Prize for Best Performance of the Commissioned Work, Ghost Waltzes, by American composer Morton Gould. His performance in the Final Round prompted the Le Monde reviewer to exclaim, “What sound! What allure! What a musician!”

Mr. Kuleshov has accomplished the unique and incredibly difficult work of writing out, from listening only to the LP recordings, Vladimir Horowitz’s unpublished piano transcriptions. After listening to the recordings of his transcriptions played by Mr. Kuleshov, he wrote to the young musician: “I was not only delighted by your fantastic performances, but I congratulate you on your keen ear and great patience that were required to write out, note by note, the scores of these unpublished transcriptions, by listening to my recordings.” (Oct. 1987).

Mr. Kuleshov’s performing art is based on the best Russian piano traditions. One can find in his playing emotional sincerity, rich colors, brilliant virtuosity, profound understanding of composers’ styles, and freshness of interpretation. His playing has been compared to the style of Mr. Horowitz with vast dynamic contrasts, consisting of tremendous double-fortissimos followed by sudden delicate pianissimos. Mostly he is attracted to the Romantic music of Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, Brahms, and Rachmaninov. The greatest place in his concert programs belongs to Scriabin’s works, as well as classical and contemporary music.

In 1997, by decree of the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, Valery Kuleshov was awarded the rare distinction “Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation.”

In addition to maintaining an international performing schedule, Valery Kuleshov is artist-in-residence at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma. In 2019, he served on the jury of the Second Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition. He also performs duo piano repertoire with his talented daughter, Tatiana Kuleshova.

AMATEUR COMPETITION LINKS
2022 AMATEUR COMPETITION   I  JURY   I   ARTISTIC COLLABORATORS  I  AMATEUR HISTORY

Avery Gagliano

AVERY GAGLIANO

United States I Age 17

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.”

Competitor Profile

 

Repertoire

Preliminary Round
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

Quarterfinal Round
HAYDN Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:52
CHOPIN Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante, op. 22

Semifinal Round
ADÉS Mazurkas for Piano, op. 27, nos. 1 & 2
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition

Final Round

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

AVIRAM REICHERT

AVIRAM REICHERT – Israel
1997 Cliburn bronze medalist

Aviram Reichert—acclaimed for his deeply intelligent interpretations, phenomenal technique, and ravishing tone—won the bronze medal at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997, after having won several major competitions in Asia, France, and Germany.

Mr. Reichert performed as soloist with the leading orchestras in his native country, Israel, including the Israel Philharmonic, Haifa Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, and  Jerusalem Symphony. His prize-winning participation in competitions in Japan and Korea brought him numerous concert engagements in Asia where he has been earning immense applause for 20 years, performing with the Tokyo Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, KBS, Korean Symphony Orchestra, and Daegu and Suwan Symphony Orchestras, to name a few. He has also performed with the National Symphony of the Dominican Republic, all the major orchestras in South Africa, and numerous orchestras in the United States. Conductors he has worked with include Sergiu Commissiona, James Conlon, Peter Bay, James De Priest, Leslie Dunner, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, David Lockington, Ken-ichiro Kobayashi, Emmanuel Krivine, Meir Minsky, Mendi Rodan, Leon Botstein, Kevin Rhodes, Barry Wordsworth, Guillermo Figueroa, Michele Carulli, and Kim Daejin.

Described as “a big player with all the tension of a coiled spring suddenly unsprung….he has heft and he has poetry…,” in recital, Mr. Reichert has performed throughout the United States, Israel, South Africa, Asia, and Europe, where an appearance at the Herkules-Saal in Munich elicited an enthusiastic ovation and high critical praise. Festival performances include the Ruhr and Epinal Music, Tokyo Summer, Bear Valley Music, Steamboat Springs, Ravinia, Fontana, and Gilmore Keyboard Festivals. A fine chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as Anne Akiko Meyers, Maya Beiser, Guy Braunstein, Yuri Gandelsman, Vadim Gluzman, Dylana Jenson, Bill Purcell, Philippe Quint, Ron Selka, Chen Halevi, Song young Hoon, Mathieu Dufour, and Sejong Solosits.

In addition to his busy performing career, Mr. Reichert is a sought-after teacher who is frequently invited to conduct master classes in Japan, Korea, South Africa, Israel, and the United States. From 2001–2008 he held the positions of associate professor of piano and artist-in-residence at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI. He is currently serving as professor of piano at Seoul National University, College of Music, where more than 20 of his students have won major national and international awards.

Aviram Reichert, a Steinway artist, studied at the Rubin Academy of Music, Tel Aviv with Professor Arie Vardi.

Valery Kuleshov

Valery Kuleshov – Russia
1993 Cliburn Silver Medalist

Valery Kuleshov was born in 1962 in Chelyabinsk, Russia. At the age of 7, he entered the Central Musical School of the Moscow Conservatory. At the age of 9, he made his concert debut with a symphony orchestra in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He earned his master’s degree at Gnessin Academy of Music and his doctoral degree from the State Jewish Academy, both in Moscow. He studied with some of the best Russian pianists, including Dmitry Bashkirov, Nikolai Petrov, and Vladimir Tropp. In addition, Mr. Kuleshov studied at the International Piano Foundation in Italy with the world’s most acclaimed piano teachers, including Karl Ulrich Schnabel and Leon Fleischer.

Mr. Kuleshov’s first major international success was at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Italy in 1987, where he was awarded second place. He also received the gold medal along with the first place winner. That year, he began intensive concert activity in Russia and abroad.

In his North American debut at the Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1993, he was awarded the silver medal as well as the Prize for Best Performance of the Commissioned Work, Ghost Waltzes, by American composer, Morton Gould. His performance in the Final Round prompted the Le Monde reviewer to exclaim, “What sound! What allure! What a musician!”

Mr. Kuleshov has accomplished the unique and incredibly difficult work of writing out, from listening only to the LP recordings, Vladimir Horowitz’s unpublished piano transcriptions. After listening to the recordings of his transcriptions played by Mr. Kuleshov, Vladimir Horowitz wrote to the young musician: “I was not only delighted by your fantastic performances, but I congratulate you on your keen ear and great patience that were required to write out, note by note, the scores of these unpublished transcriptions, by listening to my recordings.” (Oct. 1987).

Mr. Kuleshov’s performing art is based on the best Russian piano traditions. One can find in his playing emotional sincerity, rich colors, brilliant virtuosity, profound understanding of composers’ styles, and freshness of interpretation. His playing has been compared to the style of Vladimir Horowitz with vast dynamic contrasts, consisting of tremendous double-fortissimos followed by sudden delicate pianissimos. Mostly he is attracted to the Romantic music by Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, Brahms, and Rachmaninov. The greatest place in his concert programs belongs to Scriabin’s works, as well as classical and contemporary music.

In 1997, by decree of the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, Valery Kuleshov was awarded the rare distinction “Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation.”

In addition to maintaining an international performing schedule, Valery Kuleshov serves as artist-in-residence at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma. He also performs duo piano repertoire with his talented daughter, Tatiana Kuleshova.

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