sipc2017.

org

Scottish
International
Piano Competition
1 – 10 September 2017

sipc2017.org

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 Contents
Welcome 4

UNESCO City of Music 5

Why Glasgow? 5

Scottish International Piano Competition 6

A Festival of Piano Music 7

Sponsors and Donors 8

Patrons and Friends 9

Competition Calendar 11

The Jury 13

The Competitors 21

Frederic Lamond 38

Competition Repertoire 39

Gordon McPherson and the Test Piece 40

The Orchestra 42

Thomas Søndergård, Conductor 44

Scottish International Piano Competition
Welcome
It is my pleasure to welcome the Scottish
International Piano Competition to the city.
This triennial event is an established and highly
regarded musical fixture that attracts gifted
competitors from across the globe to Glasgow.
Glasgow is a city with a reputation for musical
excellence. As a UNESCO City of Music we pride
ourselves on our musical diversity. Hosting events
that cross musical genres and styles including Celtic
Connections, Proms in the Park, TRMNSMT and the
Kelvingrove Bandstand concerts.
The Scottish International Piano Competition held in
memory of Frederic Lamond, a Glasgow born pianist
and pupil of Liszt, is an event Glasgow City Council is
delighted to support.
I would like to thank everyone involved in the
planning and organising of this prestigious event
which is always a great success.
The Rt Hon Councillor Eva Bolander
Lord Provost of Glasgow
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Welcome to the Scottish International Piano
Competition 2017.
As ever we look forward to a veritable feast of piano
music from our hugely talented competitors from
across the world. It is a huge honour for Glasgow,
UNESCO City of Music, to serve once more as the
host of SIPC.
Clearly our competition could not take place
without the support and diligent efforts of our many
supporters. Thanks are due to the trusts, businesses,
local authorities, city organisations and individuals
who have made generous contributions to SIPC.
As ever we are indebted to the Royal Conservatoire
of Scotland with whom SIPC works closely. I should
like to express my gratitude to Professor Aaron Shorr
the Artistic Director of the Competition, Professor
Fali Pavri and Ian Mills, our Administrator.
I am forever conscious of the huge support from
and the hard work undertaken by my fellow Board
Members of SIPC and take this opportunity to
express to each of them my grateful thanks.
I know you will all enjoy greatly our SIPC 2017.
Liz Cameron
Chair, Scottish International Piano Competition
Glasgow was named UNESCO City of Music in
August 2008. It is the second Scottish city to join
the Creative Cities Network beside Edinburgh City of
Literature.
What is UNESCO? Founded in 1945, currently 193
member states – cultural arm of the United Nations.
What is the Creative Cities Network? 41 cities across
the world with 6 existing Cities of Music (Glasgow,
Bologna, Bogota, Brazzaville, Seville and Ghent).
Our Aims:
• Enhance the city’s creative potential by using
the title to promote ambition and excellence in
music of all genres;
• Stimulate interest in musical education with the
resulting social benefits;
• Culturally transform the city by using the
universal language of music;
• Improve access to music for all ages and social
and ethnic backgrounds
• Actively contribute to the UNESCO Creative
Cities network.
sipc2017.org
Why
Glasgow?
Glasgow’s legendary music scene stretches
across the whole spectrum from contemporary
and classical to Celtic and Country. Its venues are
equally varied and include King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
(consistently voted the top live music venue in the
UK), the Barrowlands, 02 Academy, the Hydro, the
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow
Royal Concert Hall and many pubs and clubs
throughout the city.
Glasgow is home to four of the five National
Companies (including Scottish Opera and the Royal
Scottish National Orchestra) alongside other national
organisations including the BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra, BBC Scotland, National Youth Companies,
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Scottish
Ensemble.
The city hosts an average of 130 music events each
week (more than any other Scottish city) and it is
estimated that music businesses generate some
£75 million a year for Glasgow’s economy.
Glasgow has the highest density of higher education
institutions offering courses in music, and the
largest population of music students in Scotland.
Five of the biggest Scottish employers in the music
industry are based in Glasgow and the city employs
over half the country’s entire music workforce.
Scottish International Piano Competition sipc2017.org

Scottish International A Festival of

Piano Competition Piano Music
Honorary President Honorary Friends Administration The eleventh Scottish International Piano Competition First Prize
Raymond M Williamson Dmitri Alexeev has again attracted interest from a large number of £10,000
John Lill Administrator talented young pianists from around the world. The The Patrons and Friends Prize
Honorary Vice Presidents Bernard d’Ascoli Ian Mills international jury will be chaired by Professor Aaron Sir Alexander Stone Memorial Trophy
Lady Stone James Loughran Shorr, Head of Keyboard and Collaborative Piano at the Frederick Lamond Gold Medal
Mrs Helen Chalmers Sergei Babayan Scottish International Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. As a member of the
Hamish Milne Piano Competition World Federation of International Music Competitions, Second Prize
Board of Directors Daniel Barenboim c/o RCS SIPC regulations comply with the highest standards set £7,500
Bryce Morrison 100 Renfrew Street for international music competitions Lawrence Glover Silver Medal
Chair Alfred Brendel Glasgow Supported by the Merchants House of Glasgow
Liz Cameron Cristina Ortiz G2 3DB For SIPC 2017, all competitors play in stages 1 and 2
Arnaldo Cohen E-mail sipc@rcs.ac.uk thus providing an opportunity to design a 30-minute Third Prize
Directors Cecile Ousset Website www.sipc2017.org recital programme in which they can demonstrate £5,000
Richard Clark Bella Davidovich Charitable Trust SC 009346 their breadth and depth of repertoire. The jury will The Douglas McKerrell Memorial Prize and Trophy
Ian Dickson Steven Osborne Company Number SC185425 then select ten semi-finalists who perform a free
Ann Lever Nikolai Demidenko choice of repertoire in their 60-minute recital although Semi Final Prizes
Lizanne McKerrell Maurizio Pollini Registered Office they must include the commissioned piece written £1,000
James Y. Miller Barry Douglas Macroberts by Gordon McPherson. A special prize is awarded The Barcapel Foundation Prize
Dr Lynn Noble Christopher Seaman Capella Building (Tenth Floor) to the competitor who, in the opinion of the jury and The William Brown Prize
Aaron Shorr Peter Frankl 60 York Street the composer, gives the best performance of the The AMW Charitable Trust Prize
Howard Shelley Glasgow commissioned piece. The W A Cargill Fund Prize
Andrei Gavrilov G2 8JX The Hugh Fraser Foundation Prize
Jean-Yves Thibaudet The initial stages of the competition take place in the The J R Gibbs Trust Prize
Anthony Goldstone Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Competitors will play The Syson Foundation Prize
Valerie Tryon each of three grand pianos – Steinway, Bosendorfer
Ingrid Haebler and Fazioli – during the competition. Special Prize
John Wallace £500
Philip Jenkins These stages will be streamed live. For the best performance of the commissioned work.

Three finalists then go forward to the concerto final
where they will perform in the Glasgow Royal Concert
Hall with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
conducted by Thomas Søndergård. The concert will be
recorded by Classic FM for broadcast at a later date.
In addition to a cash prize, the winner also receives a
concert engagement with the RSNO during the 2018-19
season.
In conformity with the rules of the World Federation
of International Music Competitions, the monetary
prizes awarded on the final evening of the
competition will be judged on the basis of the
competitors’ overall performances throughout the
competition week.
The jury is not obliged to award all the prizes.

We hope you enjoy what is sure to be a thrilling week,

watching some of the world’s finest young pianists
compete here in Glasgow.

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Scottish International Piano Competition sipc2017.org

Sponsors Patrons
and Donors and Friends
Gold Patrons Patrons Friends

Robin Barr Allan and Moyra Barns - Graham Dr A G Aitken

Donald and Nan Blair Elizabeth Boyd Janet Baird
The Scottish International Piano Nancy Brown’s Charitable Trust Mr & Mrs Douglas T Boyd Miss J Ann Boyd Marilyn Boyd
Competition gratefully acknowledges Alison & Anthony Brown Laura Buist Mrs Bridget Butter
the support of the following: The Inches Carr Trust Colin Clark Helen Chalmers Richard Clark

The William Syson Foundation Lord Cameron of Lochbroom Mr Russell Crichton Albert Cowie
Glasgow City Council
Mrs Beth Gibb Dr Frances Dryburgh Simon & Liz Freebairn-Smith
Jennie. S. Gordon Memorial Foundation The AMW Charitable Trust Dr David Greenhough Sir Kerr Fraser Adele Granet
Nick and Sally Kuenssberg Mrs Ailene S Hunter Norah R Gray
Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust The W. A Cargill Fund
Mrs Katharine M E Liston Mrs Inez Hutchison The Rt Hon Lord Hamilton
JTH Charitable Trust The Tay Charitable Trust Iain McGlashan Dr Helen M Laird Susan Hemmens
Maureen Michie Robert Love Mrs Kirsten Holmes
The McKerrell Family The R K T Harris Trust
Neil R Murray Dr A G Mathieson Colin Holroyd

The Merchants House of Glasgow The James Wood Bequest Fund Mr & Mrs Charles M Scott Stewart MacKay Diane Howie
The Hon. Lord and Lady Weir Elaine McLaren Mrs Ann Lever
Commonweal Fund Chardon Trading Limited
Raymond & Brenda Williamson Mr Duncan McGhie Ewan Love

Barcapel Foundation Limited VWM Wealth Ian Morrison Miss Jean C MacKenzie
Dr Lynn Noble Mrs Maeve McGlynn
The Hugh Fraser Foundation Arts&Business Scotland
Ms Jean Reid Mrs E A McKerrell

J.R Gibb Charitable Trust Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Mrs E M Robertson Mr James W McNeill
Mrs Feodor Wolfe Mr David Morgan
Cruden Foundation Limited ArtsPR Dr Jill Morgan
Dr & Mrs Michael Moss
The Binks Trust
Mr & Mrs J. B. Pettinger
Andrew O Robertson
Alastair & Elaine Rolland
Patricia Sogbanmu
Patricia Waite

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 sipc2017.org

Competition
Calendar
Friday 1 September Guest Recital by SIPC 2014
Stage 1 recitals winner Jonathon Fournel
Stevenson Hall, RCS Stevenson Hall, RCS
10am, 2.30pm, 7.30pm 1pm

Saturday 2 September Wednesday 6 September

Stage 1 recitals Semi- final recitals
Stevenson Hall, RCS Stevenson Hall, RCS
9.25am, 2.30pm, 7.30pm 2pm, 7.30pm

Sunday 3 September Thursday 7 September

Stage 2 recitals Semi-final recitals
Stevenson Hall, RCS Stevenson Hall, RCS
10am, 2.30pm, 7.30pm 2pm, 7.30pm

Monday 4 September Friday 8 September

Stage 2 recitals Announcement of Finalists
Stevenson Hall, RCS Stevenson Hall, RCS
9.25am, 2.30pm, 7.30pm 11am

Tuesday 5 September Sunday 10 September

Announcement of Concerto final
Semi finalists Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Stevenson Hall, RCS 3pm
11am

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The Dawning of a new age...
Since settling in the United Kingdom in 1984, Aaron
Shorr has established an international career as
soloist, chamber musician and educator. As well
as appearing as soloist at London's South Bank in
over thirty concertos, he has toured extensively as
a recitalist and chamber musician worldwide. More
recent performances have included tours of Italy,
Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Holland,
Turkey, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico and
the United States. He has performed extensively
in the United Kingdom appearing in concerti,
solo recitals and chamber music concerts at the
Wigmore Hall, St. Martins in the Field and St. John’s
Smith Square and festivals throughout Britain. He
has also appeared in major European Festivals
including the BBC Proms, Menuhin Festival, Munich
Biennale, Hanover Expo, Paganiniana in Genoa,
Venice Biennale, Instrumenta Festival Mexico, the
Skopje Days of New Music, Cyprus International
Contemporary Music Festival and the Istanbul
Biennale. He has broadcast frequently for radio,
including BBC Radio 3, BBC Scotland, Classic FM,
Bavarian Radio, Swiss Classical Radio, ABC Australia,
and WQXR New York.
“… allows your imagination
to take flight and soar …” Aaron Shorr has recorded for Naxos, Mettier,
Olympia, NMC and Meridian. His recordings of
Angela Hewitt Beethoven with duo partner, Peter Sheppard
Skaerved, have won wide acclaim. Research on
composers in Beethoven’s inner circle of friends
“Sensational Instruments…” and contemporaries has yielded modern recording
premieres of works by Mayseder, Ries and Archduke
Daniil Trifonov Rudolph as well as unknown chamber version of
Beethoven’s Third Symphony. He has also enjoyed
close associations with composers and has given
countless premieres and performances of works,
including those by Hans Werner Henze, George
Rochberg, Sadie Harrison, David Matthews, Paul
Moravec, Elliott Schwartz, Jorg Widmann, Michael
Jaques Samuel Pianos is UK’s sole supplier of Fazioli Pianos Alec Rose, Jeremy Dale Roberts, Judith Bingham,
Rory Boyle, Marek Pasieczny, and Sidika Ozdil.
TEL. 020 7723 8818
Jaques Samuel Pianos Ltd,
142 Edgware Road/Marble Arch, London W2 2DZ,
www.jspianos.com, info@jspianos.com
sipc2017.org
The Jury
Chair
Aaron Shorr
Aaron Shorr studied at the Manhattan School of
Music in New York and the Royal Academy of Music
in London, where he received their most prestigious
prizes for performance. His teachers have included
Alexander Kelly, Solomon Mikowsky, Gary Graffman,
André Watts, John Browning and chamber music
with Joseph Seiger, former duo partner of legendary
violinist Mischa Elman.
Aaron Shorr was a professor and researcher at
the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1992
before going on to lead the keyboard department
at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2006.
His students have gone on to win major prizes at
international competitions including the Rubinstein
International Piano Master Competition, Tel Aviv,
UNISA, Pretoria, Rio, Brazil, Munich, St. Petersburg,
Tokyo, Vines - Spain, Piano Campus - Paris, Redding-
Piette and the Schubert Competition in the Czech
Republic. His students have also won prizes in major
UK competitions, including the Royal Overseas
League, Brandt, Bromsgrove, Park Lane Debut
Series and the Moray Piano Competition. In 2011, he
became Artistic Director and Chair of the Jury for the
Scottish International Piano Competition.
In 2006, Aaron Shorr was appointed Head of
Keyboard at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In
2013, he was awarded a Professorship from RCS
and from 2013-2015, also served as Acting Director
of Music at RCS.
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Scottish International Piano Competition
The Jury
Ivari Ilja
Professor Ivari Ilja studied at the Tallinn State
Conservatoire with Professor Laine Mets and at the
Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire with Professor
Vera Gornostayeva and Professor Sergey Dorensky.
He held the position of the Head of Keyboard Studies
in 2000-2015 and, in 2017, he was elected as the
Rector of the Estonian Academy of Music and
Theatre. Ivari Ilja has given masterclasses, among
other places, at the Guildhall School of Music in
London, Latvian Academy of Music in Riga and
the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He has also
served as a jury member in several international
competitions. Ivari Ilja’s students include several
prize winners in international piano competitions.
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Ivari has held solo recitals in France, United Kingdom,
Germany, Estonia, Russia, Sweden, Finland and
performed as a soloist with several symphony
orchestras. He is a recognised accompanist and
ensemble musician. His collaboration with renowned
singers Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Irina Arkhipova, Maria
Guleghina, etc. has been particularly successful and
acclaimed. Together they have performed on many
of the great concert stages of the world, including
Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall of New York, the
Kennedy Center of Washington DC, Queen Elizabeth
Hall and Barbican Hall in Londo and Suntory Hall of
Tokyo,c. In 2001, Ivari Ilja won the Estonian National
Culture Award and in 2006, the prize of the Estonian
Music Council.
Russian-American pianist Olga Kern is recognised as
one of her generation's great artists. With her vivid
stage presence, passionately confident musicianship
and extraordinary technique, the striking pianist
continues to captivate fans and critics alike.
Olga was born into a family of musicians with direct
links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, and began
studying piano at the age of five. She jump-started
her US career with her historic Gold Medal at the
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort
Worth, Texas, as the first woman to do so in more
than thirty years.
Steinway Artist and First-Prize winner of the
Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition
at the age of seventeen, Ms. Kern is a laureate
of many international competitions and tours
throughout Russia, Europe, the United States,
Japan, South Africa, and South Korea. The first Olga
Kern International Piano Competition took place
in Albuquerque in 2016. Olga is a corresponding
member of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Division of the Arts, and served as Jury Chairman
of the Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano
Competition in June 2016.
In the 2016/2017 season, Ms. Kern premiered her
first American concerto, the Barber Piano Concerto,
with the Saint Louis Symphony and Leonard Slatkin.
She also appeared with the Pacific Symphony,
Colorado Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra,
Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, and Copenhagen
Philharmonic. Recital appearances include the
Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, Scottsdale Center
for the Arts, Virginia Arts Festival, Milan, and
Glasgow. Ms. Kern opened the Baltimore Symphony’s
2015/2016 centennial season with Marin Alsop.
Other season highlights included returns to the Royal
Philharmonic with Pinchas Zukerman, Orchestre
Philharmonique de Nice with Giancarlo Guerrero,
performances with the Rochester Philharmonic and
San Antonio Symphony, a month-long tour of South
Africa for concerts with the Cape and KwaZulu
sipc2017.org
The Jury
Olga Kern
Natal Philharmonics, an Israeli tour with the Israel
Symphony, solo recitals at Sarasota’s Van Wezel
Hall, New York’s 92nd Street Y, and the University
of Kansas’s Lied Center, and recitals with Renée
Fleming in Carnegie Hall and Berkeley.
Ms. Kern has performed with Tokyo’s NHK
Symphony; Orchestre National de Lyon; Orquestra
Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo; the Detroit
Symphony for Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos 1, 2,
and 3; and the Symphonies of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati,
Nashville, Colorado, Madison, and Austin. Ms. Kern
has also given recitals in New York, San Francisco,
Seattle, and Louisville, with performances alongside
Renée Fleming and Kathleen Battle. Ms. Kern's has
performed in many of the world's most important
venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the
Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Salzburger
Festspielhaus, La Scala in Milan, Tonhalle in Zurich,
and the Châtelet in Paris.
Her discography includes Harmonia Mundi recordings
of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Christopher
Seaman (2003), her Grammy-nominated recording
of Rachmaninoff’s Corelli Variations and other
transcriptions (2004), a recital disc with works by
Rachmaninoff and Balakirev (2005), Chopin’s Piano
Concerto No. 1 with the Warsaw Philharmonic and
Antoni Wit (2006), Brahms’s Variations (2007), and a
2010 release of Chopin’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3
(2010). Most recently, SONY released their recording
of Ms. Kern performing the Rachmaninoff Sonata for
Cello and Piano with cellist Sol Gabetta. She was also
featured in the award-winning documentary about
the 2001 Cliburn Competition, Playing on the Edge,
as well as in Olga’s Journey, A Musical Odyssey in St.
Petersburg, and in They Came to Play. In 2012, Olga
and her brother, conductor and composer, Vladimir
Kern, co-founded the “Aspiration” foundation, whose
objective is to provide financial and artistic assistance
to musicians throughout the world.
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Scottish International Piano Competition
The Jury
Meng-Chieh Liu
A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career
Grant, Meng-Chieh Liu first made headlines in 1993
as a 21-year-old student at the Curtis Institute
of Music when he substituted at last minute's
notice for André Watts at the Academy of Music in
Philadelphia. The concert earned high acclaim from
critics and audience alike, and was followed by a
number of widely praised performances, including a
recital at the Kennedy Center and a concert on the
Philadelphia All-Star Series. Already an accomplished
artist at the time, Mr. Liu had made his New York
orchestral debut two years earlier.
The stellar beginning of his career was abruptly
halted by a rare and debilitating illness that affected
his connective tissues. Hospitalised and almost
immobile for a year, doctors believed his chances
for survival were slim and, should he survive, playing
the piano would be "absolutely impossible." With
arduous determination and relentless physical
therapy, Mr. Liu has been restored to full health
and is now once again performing on the concert
stage. Since then, he has performed throughout the
world as a soloist in recitals and with orchestras
under conductors Christoph Eschenbach, Gustavo
Dudamel and Alan Gilbert. In 2002, Liu received
the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Philadelphia
Musical Fund Society Career Advancement Award.
A sought-after musician and strong advocate of
chamber music, Liu performs in music festivals
across the globe and has worked with international
musicians Shmuel Ashkenasi, David Soyer, Bernard
Greenhouse, James Buswell, Wendy Warner as well
as the Borromeo and St. Lawrence Quartets.
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Liu also collaborates with artists in varied disciplines,
such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak
Dance Project, among other dance companies. His
concerts have been heard over the airwaves around
the world, and a biography on his life was broadcast
on Taiwanese National Television.
During the 2016-17 season, Liu appeared with
orchestras in Miami, Philadelphia, Beijing, Shenzhen,
Kunming, Qindao and Taichung, collaborating with
conductors Long Yu, Daye Lin, Kah Chun Wong,
Guoyong Zhang and David Wetherill. He was the
featured soloist with the Forbidden City Chamber
Orchestra in the world premiere of works written for
him by Xiaogang Ye.
His reputation as a teacher/mentor has brought him
across the globe in summer festivals, masterclasses,
and lecture recitals. Since 1993, Liu served on the
piano and chamber music faculties at the Curtis
Institute of Music, and recently added the New
England Conservatory to his itinerary. For the last
three summers, he was also a faculty member for
the Tanglewood Music Center. Also a faculty member
at Roosevelt University in Chicago from 20016-2014,
Liu joined Chicago Chamber Musicians in the fall of
2009, and served as Artistic Director of the ensemble
from 2011-2014, where performances have already
been acclaimed for his "faultless, discreetly balanced
pianism" (Chicago Classical Review).
Steven Osborne is one of Britain’s most notable
musicians whose insightful and idiomatic
interpretations of diverse repertoire show
an immense musical depth. His numerous
awards include The Royal Philharmonic Society
Instrumentalist of the Year (2013) and two
Gramophone Awards for recordings of Britten’s
works for piano and orchestra and of solo works by
Prokofiev and Mussorgsky.
Concerto performances take Steven Osborne to
major orchestras all over the world including recent
visits to the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin,
Salzburg Mozarteum, Oslo Philharmonic, Finnish
Radio Symphony, Danish National Radio, London
Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Yomiuri
Nippon Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra,
Aspen Music Festival and Mostly Mozart Festival
at Lincoln Center. He has enjoyed collaborations
with conductors including Christoph von Dohnanyi,
Alan Gilbert, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Stéphane Denève,
Ludovic Morlot, Juanjo Mena, Leif Segerstam,
Andrew Litton, Ingo Metzmacher, Vladimir Jurowski,
Ed Gardner and Jukka-Pekka Saraste.
He is a favourite soloist of British orchestras and for
the 16/17 season is Artist in Residence with the City
of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Reflecting his
eclectic musical taste, Osborne brings concertos
by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Messiaen, Britten and
Tippett to Birmingham. He regularly works with
the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC
Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra,
with whom he recently completed a Beethoven Piano
Concerto cycle, and last August made his thirteenth
appearance at the Proms.
Steven Osborne’s recitals of carefully crafted
programmes are publicly and critically acclaimed
without exception. In recent seasons he has held
residencies at both De Singel in Antwerp and at
Wigmore Hall and has performed in many of the
sipc2017.org
The Jury
Steven Osborne
world’s prestigious venues including the Konzerthaus
Vienna, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Philharmonie
Berlin, de Doelen Rotterdam, Palais des Beaux
Arts Brussels, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Kennedy Center
Washington and Carnegie Hall. His chamber music
partners include Alban Gerhardt, Paul Lewis, James
Ehnes, Dietrich Henschel and Alina Ibragimova.
Highlights of 16/17 season include performances
with the Oslo Philharmonic/Mena, Tokyo
Metropolitan Symphony/Brabbins, Dresden
Philharmonic/Francis, Royal Flemish Philharmonic/
Märkl. St Louis Symphony/Denève, Oregon
Symphony/Kalmar, Hallé/Langrée and BBC
Symphony/Oramo. Recital tours take him to Japan,
Italy, Belgium, the US and Wigmore Hall.
This season also sees the release of his 25th CD on
Hyperion spanning an 18-year partnership. These
releases have accumulated numerous awards from
the UK, France, Germany and the USA including two
Gramophone Awards, three Preis der Deutschen
Schallplattenkritik Awards, a Choc in Classica Magazine
and many ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone. His
recordings span a wide range of repertoire including
Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy, Ravel, Liszt, Stravinsky,
Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Medtner, Messiaen, Britten,
Tippett, Crumb and Feldman. His second disc of
Beethoven sonatas, opps 90, 10 and 106 is released
in October 2016 and his recording of the Ravel Piano
Concertos coupled with de Falla Nights in the Gardens
of Spain is released in spring 2017.
Steven Osborne won first prize at the prestigious
Clara Haskil Competition in 1991 and the Naumburg
International Competition in 1997. Born in Scotland,
he studied with Richard Beauchamp at St. Mary's
Music School in Edinburgh and Renna Kellaway at
the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
He is a Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of
Music and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
of Edinburgh in March 2014.
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Scottish International Piano Competition
The Jury
Peter Tuite
Praised for his “astonishing technical facility”,
“singing line” and “perfect sense of balance”, Peter
Tuite is now widely regarded as one of Ireland’s
leading classical musicians and one of the
outstanding talents of his generation. Over the past
decade, he has garnered considerable international
acclaim for his recital and concerto appearances
throughout the world.
More recently, his twelve-concert joint-traversal of
the complete 52 Sonatas for Keyboard by Joseph
Haydn was met with exceptional reviews; and
he has just completed a new multi-media filmed
performance of the Goldberg Variations at the
famous Long Room Library—a unique project
scheduled for release next year.
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Educated at Trinity College Dublin, the University of
Oxford and as a Fulbright scholar at the Peabody
Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, he
subsequently went on to become Head of the
Keyboard Faculty and later the first Senior Dean of
the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He is currently the
Head of Piano and Keyboard Instruments at Trinity
Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.
Along with numerous further concert appearances,
upcoming projects include the recording and filming
of the complete Haydn Sonatas for Keyboard and
a new series of piano compositions based on short
portraits of Dublin entitled Palm of the hand Portraits,
premiered in 2016.
 
Soo-Jung SHIN received her musical training at the
Seoul National University, the Vienna Academy of
Music (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst
in Wien) and the Peabody Conservatory of Music,
Baltimore, USA. Her teachers include Chung Jin-Woo,
Josef Dichler, Leon Fleisher, Wilhelm Kempff and
Maria Curzio Diamond. She won many prizes in
music competitions including the Dong-A National
Competition in Korea, the Elena Rombro Stepanow
Competition in Vienna, the Deutsch Industrie
Vanband Scholarship Competition among others.
She was also awarded the Korean Academy of Arts
Award. She received Das Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse
from German Government in 2011.
She made her debut at the age of 13, playing
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 with Navy Symphony
Orchestra (Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, today)
She has performed with orchestras such as
London Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Seoul
Philharmonic, KBS and NHK Symphony under the
batons of Lim Won-Shik, Leon Fleisher, Wolfgang
Sawallisch, Sir John Pritchard, Asahina Takashi,
Iwaki Hiroyuki, Myung-whun Chung and others. She
performed together with Ruggiero Ricci, Nicolai
Gedda, Janos Starker, Chung Kyung Wha and others.
sipc2017.org
The Jury
Soo-Jung Shin
She has served as jury of international competitions
including ARD, Seoul, Tokyo, Köln, UNISA, Dublin,
Hamamatsu, Sendai and Leeds International Music
Competitions.
At the age of 26, she became the youngest faculty
member at her alma mater, College of Music, School
National University. She taught also at Seoul High
School of Arts and Kyung Won University where she
served as Dean of the School of Music. In 2000, she
returned to Seoul National University, where she
taught until her retirement in 2007. Soo-Jung was
also elected as Dean of the College of Music, the first
woman in its history. In 2009, she was elected as
member of the National Academy of Arts, Korea. She
is Professor Emeritus of Seoul National University
and chairperson of Great Mountain Music Festival
and School’s Managing Committee.
19
Scottish International Piano Competition
The Jury
Dr Krishna
Thiagarajan
Dr Krishna Thiagarajan was appointed Chief
Executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
(RSNO) in August 2015. Dr Thiagarajan joined at a
pivotal moment in the Orchestra’s 125-year history,
overseeing the final stages of the company’s move
from Henry Wood Hall – its home since 1979 –
to the purpose-built, state-of-the-art rehearsal,
recording and education facilities of the RSNO
Centre, in the heart of Glasgow, Scotland’s UNESCO
City of Music.
Dr Thiagarajan joined the RSNO from the New York
City-based Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, where he
served as Executive Director since January 2013.
Whilst there, he was responsible for increasing
audiences, including sold-out performances at
Carnegie Hall, commissioning new work, touring
the Orchestra to Japan, Colombia and throughout
Europe, ensuring financial stabilisation and
overseeing the orchestra’s first self-produced
recording.
20
Previously Dr Thiagarajan served as President of
Symphony in C ¬– one of three professional training
orchestras in the United States – as well as Senior
Director of Artistic Operations for the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), based in Rochester,
New York state’s third largest city.
Born in Karlsruhe, Germany, Dr Thiagarajan trained as
a pianist and performed throughout the USA, Europe
and Asia. He graduated from Indiana University with
a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music, where
he studied with Leonard Hokanson and taught as
an associate instructor of piano. He later received
his doctorate from the University of Maryland,
College Park where he studied with pianists Santiago
Rodriguez and André Watts. In 1997, he founded and
directed Kammermusikkurs in Dortmund, Germany,
a chamber music festival with internationally
acclaimed faculty and students.
Scottish International Piano Competition sipc2017.org

The Competitors Since 2014 she lives in Germany

and studies recently at the Hanns
Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin
in the class of Prof. Stefan Arnold.
In-Ju Bang, South Korea Ludovica de Bernardo

Awards:

• Third prize and special

Piotry Alexewicz, Poland
Piotry Alexewicz was born in
2000 in Wroclaw. He began his
musical training at the Grażyna
Bacewicz Elementary School of
Music in Wroclaw with Małgorzata
Borkowska, and graduated from
here in 2013. Currently, he is a
student of Prof. Paweł Zawadzki
at the Karol Szymanowski High
School of Music in Wrocław.
In 2010 and 2011, Piotr won
1st prize and the special prize
for the best interpretation of a
contemporary piece at the 10th
and 11th J.A. Hiller International
Piano Competition in Goerlitz.
He also received 2nd prize at
the 11th International Piano
Festival of Young Pianists in
Głubczyce. In 2013 he was
awarded the 1st prize at the 12th
International Piano Festival of
Young Pianists in Głubczyce and
the title of a laureate at the in
21st International Chopin Piano
Competition in Sochaczew.
In 2014 he received the 3rd
prize at the 2nd International
Subcarpathian Chopin
Competition for Young Pianists.
In the same year Piotr received
the 1st prize and the special
prize ”European Piano Teachers
Association Poland” at the 8th
National Piano Competition
“EPTA” in Cracow. In 2015
Piotr appeared as a part of the
anniversary celebration of the
Wrocław Technical University
and the National Forum of Music
Symphony Orchestra performing
Piano Concerto in f minor op.
21 of Frederic Chopin under the
baton of Benjamin Shwartz. In
2016, Piotr received the 1st prize
at the 5th International Piano
Competition in Augustów and the
2nd prize at the 23rd Jeunesses
International PIANO Competition
Dinu Lipatti in Bucharest. In
2016, he was also accepted to
take part at the “Internationale
Mendelssohn Akademie” – Leipzig
where he had the privilege to
study in the class of Prof. Pavel
Gililov. This year, Piotr received
the Fontys Hoogschool in Tilburg
Award at the Anton Rubinstein
International Piano Competition in
Düsseldorf. He also gained Grand
Prix, Audience Prize and Musideco
Prize at the 3rd “Concours
International de Piano Ville de
Gagy” in Paris.
Svetlana Andreeva, Russia
Svetlana Andreeva was born in
Crimea (Ukraine). In 2000, after
music school, she became a
student of Lyceum (Music College)
of the Rostov Rachmaninov
Conservatory (Anna Zhirikova’s
class, Prof. Sergey Osipenko's
class). Since 1999 Svetlana
studies also as a composer.
From 2004 till 2007 she studied
in the Central Music School
of the Moscow Tchaikovsky
Conservatory, was the pupil of
Andrei Limaev and Prof. Natalia
Troull.
Since 2007 Svetlana is a student
of Moscow State Conservatory
as a pianist (Prof. Natalia Troull)
and as a composer (Prof. Leonid
Bobylev). In 2012 she graduated
from the Conservatory and
continued her post-graduate study
at the Moscow Conservatory.
prize for the best semi-final
recital at the Paderewski
International Piano
Competition
• Grand Prix, prize of the
Goethe-Institute and prize
of the Embassy of France
for the best performance
of contemporary music
at the International Piano
Competition H. R. H. Princess
Lalla Meryem (Rabat, Morocco
2014)
• Grand Prix and Schubert-
prize at the Rosario
Marciano International
Piano Competition in Vienna
(Austria, 2011),
• Second prize at the
Campillos International Piano
Competition (Spain, 2015)
• third prize at the IPC “Euregio
Piano Award” (Germany, 2014)
• third prize at the “Tkaczewski”
IPC (Poland 2016)
• fifth prize at the Southern
Highlands International Piano
Competition (Australia, 2013),
• Honorable diploma at the
Scriabin International Piano
Competition (Moscow, Russia
2012),
• Honorable diploma at
the International Piano
Competition “Premi Principat
d’Andorra” (Andorra, 2006)
In-Ju Bang has won various
awards including first prize in
the Puigcerda International
Piano Competition, the New York
Bradshaw and Buono International
Piano Competition, and third prize
in the New York International
Artists Piano Competition. At
14 years of age, Ms. Bang was
given the opportunity to record
Kabalevsky's Piano Concertos
No. 1 and No. 2 with Naxos. From
then on, she has given many
performances in places such as
the Seoul Arts Center Recital Hall,
Juilliard School, Yamaha Artist
Services in New York, Mannes
College of Music, Weill Recital Hall
at Carnegie, Merkin Hall, as well
as recital in Heidelberg, Germany.
She has also performed chamber
works at the Peter Jay Sharp
Theater in Lincoln Center.
Ms. Bang began playing the piano
at the age of five, and entered the
Music Academy in Seoul at eleven
years old. She later continued
her intensive studies at the
Juilliard Pre-College Division, and
furthered her education at Mannes
College of Music obtaining her
Bachelor’s Degree under Victor
Rosenbaum, Master’s Degree
at the Hochsuhule fur Musik,
Theater und Medien in Hannover
with Bernd Goetzke and Ewa
Kupiec, and is now pursuing her
Konzertexamen at the Hochschule
für Musik Detmold with Alfredo
Perl.
Ludovica de Bernardo is
considered to be one of the most
interesting young pianists of her
generation. Since 2012, under
the tutelage of the pianist Mario
Coppola, she has participated
in many competitions, winning
the 1st prize at the International
Piano Competition "Ischia", the
25th European Music Competition
"Moncalieri", the 4th International
Piano Competition "Clara Wieck"
(Asti), the National Competition
"Piana di Cavaliere" (Carsoli), the
National Competition "Hyperion"
(Ciampino), where she also
recieved the "Sonja Pahor" special
prize for outstanding musical
sensibility and the International
Competition "Contea of Vidor"
(Treviso).
In May 2016 she won the First
Prize and special prize for the
interpretation of the Etudes
Tableaux of Rachmaninov at the
International Piano Competition
"Martucci " (Novara).
She has performed concerts
for important associations and
festivals including Società dei
Concerti di Milano, Amici della
Musica di Novara, Festival
Pianistico di Galliate, Festival
Pianistico di Barletta, Ravello
Concert Society, Naxos in Musica
di Taormina, Alpen Classica
Euroregional Festival performing
the 2’ concert of Chopin with
Alpen Classica Orchestra, and with
Sestetto Stradivari dell’Accademia

22 23
Scottish International Piano Competition sipc2017.org

Nazionale "S. Cecilia" di Roma
for Federimusica in Naples.
She has also performed at the
Steinway House in Munich, at the
Hochschule in Nuremberg and
at the Italian Cultural Institutes in
Hamburg and Wolfsburg.
She currently attends the two-year
specialisation at the Conservatory
of Trento with Mario Coppola.
Sung-Soo Cho
Pianist Sung-Soo Cho continues
to captivate audiences with
profound interpretations of musical
depth. Praised for his technique
and command at the piano, his
wide musical perception has
drawn critical acclaim. Awarded
“Best American Contemporary
Performance” at the Cincinnati
World Piano Competition and “Best
Performance of the Commissioned
Work” at the Texas State
International Piano Competition, he
especially enjoys broadening his
passion for contemporary music.
One of his recent projects includes
a CD "Minimum | Maximum |
Modern Piano Music by American
Composers" which was released in
2016 by Albany Records.
Dr Cho has been a worldwide prize-
winner in numerous competitions
including the International Piano
Competition "Delia Steinberg"
in Madrid, Spain, the Suri Music
Concours, the JoongAng Music
Concours in Korea, the Bradshaw
& Buono International Piano
Competition, the 5 Towns Music
and Art Foundation Young
Musician Competition in New
York, New York International Music
Concours, Glasgow International
Competition for Young Pianists,
the United States Virtuoso
International Piano Competition,
Texas State International Piano
Competition, and the Cincinnati
World Piano Competition.
Dr Cho has appeared as a soloist
throughout the world, including
appearances with the Prime
Philharmonic of Korea, the
Festival Chamber Orchestra of
Lublin Philharmonic, the Ashdod
Symphony Orchestra, and the
Round Rock Symphony. His
performance highlights include
solo performances in various
venues throughout Korea, the
United States and Europe. He has
performed at the Weill Recital Hall
at Carnegie Hall, Yamaha Artist
Service Seoul, and the Kumho
Art Hall. He is also a pianist at
Lake George Music Festival, a
strong supporter of contemporary
classical music.
Dr Cho started his musical studies
at the age of five in Seoul, South
Korea and graduated from Yewon
Arts Middle School, Seoul Arts High
School, Seoul National University,
and Manhattan School of Music.
His teachers include Antonio
Pompa-Baldi, Phillip Kawin and
Hyoung-Joon Chang. He recently
earned a Doctor of Musical Arts
degree from the Cleveland Institute
of Music.
Dr Cho serves as adjunct faculty in
piano and class piano at New York
University, as well as an adjunct
faculty in music history (online)
and a visiting artist-in-residence at
Notre Dame College.
Can Cakmur, Turkey
Born in 1997 in Ankara, Can’s
first musical impulses came
from pianists Emre Sen, Marcella
Crudeli and Jun Kanno. He
participated in numerous
masterclasses, working with
important personalities like Ewa
Kupiec, Robert D. Levin, Arie Vardi
or Alan Weiss. Since 2015, Çakmur
has been working with Grigory
Gruzman at the Hochschule für
Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, whilst
continuing his studies with Diane
Andersen in Belgium.
In 2012, Can Çakmur won the
first prize at the XXII. International
Rome Piano Competition. 2014
brought him further prizes such as
the EMCY Prize and a scholarship
at the PIANALE Junior Academy
and Competition, and third prize
and Bartók Prize at the 4th Franz
Liszt Competition for Young
Pianists Weimar. His critically-
acclaimed performances and
prizes brought him the award "The
Young Musician of the Year" at the
annual Donizetti Classical Music
Awards in Istanbul. In 2016, he
became a laureate of the X. Balys
Dvarionas Competition for Young
Pianists and won two special
awards.
Since 2013, Çakmur has been a
part of the programme "Young
Musicians on the World Stages"
founded and led by renowned
pianists Güher and Süher Pekinel.
Being a part of this programme
gave him numerous performance
chances and the opportunity
to meet important musical
personalities. Can has performed
in almost every important
classical music festival in Turkey.
In 2014 he was invited as a soloist
for the season opening concert
of Eskisehir City Symphony
Orchestra under the baton of
Ender Sakpinar.
In 2015, Çakmur was the soloist
in the opening concert of the
43rd Istanbul Music Festival,
accompanied by Borusan
Istanbul Philarmonic Orchestra
under Sasha Goetzel. He
performed in halls like Eindhoven
Muziekgebouw, Romanian
Atheneum in Bucharest, Albert
Long Hall in Istanbul, Bilkent
Concert Hall in Ankara or Adnan
Saygun Concert Hall in Izmir.
His concerts have been often
recorded for the Turkish National
Radio.
Can has performed rarely-
played masterworks such as
Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire
and Steve Reich's Music for 18
Musicians (Thuringia Premiere) in
different ensembles. He is an avid
speaker and regularly moderates
his own concerts as well as other
concerts by renowned artists.
Since 2015 he writes monthly
for the classical music magazine
"Andante".
Can Çakmur, as a scholar of "G
& S Pekinel Young Musicians on
the World Stages" is supported by
TÜPRAŞ.
Vivianne Cheng, USA
Vivianne Cheng is among the
five youngest official Steinway
Artists in the world to have
joined the legendary roster. She
is praised by critics as "a veteran
performer, playing with unfailing
concentration and purpose"
(The News & Observer) and
“dazzling and riveting... an artist
with sensibilities far beyond
her years" (CVNC Arts Journal).
Rachmaninoff's final pupil,
Ruth Slenczynska, describes
Vivianne as having "unlimited
promise through her interpretive
imagination". Born in 1990 in
North Carolina, she gave her
debut solo recital at the age of
ten and has since performed
throughout the United States,
Austria, France, Germany, Italy,
Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the
Netherlands and New Zealand.
Vivianne has appeared in venues
including Carnegie Hall, Steinway
Hall, Symphony Hall, Musikverein,
Wiener Saal, Mirabell Palace,
Arenberg Castle, Lincoln Center,
Kimmel Center for the Performing
Arts, Festival Ljubljana and La Cité
Internationale des Arts. She has
participated in the International
Keyboard Institute and Festival,
Verbier Festival Academy and
International Musicians Seminar
Prussia Cove.
Vivianne is a prizewinner
of numerous competitions
including Tureck International
Bach Competition, New York
International Piano Competition,
Concurso Internacional de Piano
CLAMO, Bartók-Kabalevsky-
Prokofiev International Piano
Competition, Wideman
International Piano Competition
and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s
Albert M. Greenfield Concerto
Competition with Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 1. In 2012,
she was named the winner of
the inaugural Arts Arena–Curtis
Institute of Music Award in Paris.
Vivianne was the recipient of the
David H. Springman Memorial
Fellowship, Vladimir Horowitz
Piano Scholarship, and Frank
Huntington Beebe Fund Grant.
Vivianne's performances have
been broadcast on PBS, Y Arts
'On Stage at Curtis’, The Classical
Network (WWFM), Good Morning
Television New Zealand, and in
documentaries "On a Personal
Note" (2010) and “Die Martins-
Passion” (2004). An avid chamber
musician, Vivianne has performed
alongside artists such as Ani
Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, Efe
Baltacigil, and has studied with
Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman,
Pamela Frank, Gábor Takács-Nagy
and Aaron Rosand.
Vivianne holds a Postgraduate
and Master of Arts degree from
the Mozarteum as a student of
Andreas Groethuysen and Pavel
Gililov, and a Bachelor of Music
degree from the Curtis Institute of
Music where she studied with Gary
Graffman and Leon Fleisher. Prior
to entering Curtis, Vivianne studied
at The Juilliard School where, at
fifteen years old, she became one
of the youngest students in their
history to be accepted as a college
student. Previous major teachers
have included Ruth Slenczynska,
Yoheved Kaplinsky and Arkady
Aronov.

24 25
Scottish International Piano Competition
Andrei Dubov, Russia
Andrei Dubov was born in
Moscow, in 1987.
In 2006 he finished the Gnessins
Music School (College) (under the
class of L.Grigorieva). In 2011 he
graduated with honors from the
Russian State Gnessins Academy
of Music and in 2014 finished
this academy as a postgraduate
student (class of Prof. S. Senkov).
In 2016 Andrei Dubov graduated
from Mozarteum (Salzburg),
postgraduate course, with Prof. A.
Groethuysen. Now he is a student
of Accademia Pianistica Siciliana
with Prof. E. Comis.
Andrei has taken part in
masterclasses with professors:
D. Bashkirov (Russia), P. Gililov
(Russia/Germany), A. Vardi
(Israel), L. Natochenny (Germany),
F. Gottlieb (Latvia), E. Comis (Italy),
A. Mamriev (Russia/Germany), V.
Viardo (USA), P. Donohoe (GB), M.
Salazar (Mexico) and others.
In 2012 he became a 3rd prize
winner in the 5th International A.
Rubinshtein Piano Competition
(Dresden, Germany). In 2014
Andrei won the main prize in the I
International Music Competition
"eMuse" (Athens, Greece). The 1st
prize winner in "The Grand Prize
Virtuoso" piano competition in
Paris (France, 2015) and many
others including 3rd prize of the
4th Hong Kong International Piano
competition, 2nd prize of the
23th Epinal International Piano
26
competition and 1st prize of the
7th Almaty International Piano
competition.
Andrei Dubov has participated
in important festivals including
"Beethovenfest" (Germany),
"Brucknerfest" (Austria), "Autumno
musicale" (Italy), Trecastagni
International Music Festival
(Italy), International Festival of
Piano Transcriptions (Russia),
"Russian Evenings" International
Music Festival (Russia), "The
Cherry Wood" International festival
(Russia), Malta International Piano
Festival. In 2016 Andrei got the
1st prize in the "Internationale
Klavier Akademie Freiburg
Pianofest" (Germany) etc. In 2016
Andrei performed concertos by
Rachmaninov no.2, no.3 and
"Rhapsody on the theme of
Paganini”.
In 2017 Andrei Dubov gave
masterclasses in Tel-Aviv and
Ashdod (Israel), Bethlehem
(Palestine), Astana and Almaty
(Kazakhstan), Kishinev (Moldova).
He has played with such well
known orchestras as Russian
National Orchestra, Mariinsky
Orchestra, Bratislava National
Orchestra, Orchestra of Hong
Kong International piano
competition etc.
Andrei Dubov is an author of a
lot of piano transcriptions, which
were highly appreciated by such
musicians as B.Berezovsky,
A.Vardi, M.Voskresensky,
J.Margulis, A.Volodin, F. Gottlieb,
E.Comis, M. Korstick and many
others. His repertoire consists of
works from the Age of Baroque to
contemporary pieces..
Anna Geniushene, Russia
Born in January 1991 in
Moscow, Anna Geniushene has
commenced her Master of Arts
degree at the Royal Academy of
Music, studying under Professor
Emeritus Christopher Elton. She
is generously supported by the
ABRSM Scholarship and the
English-Speaking Union.
Anna recently graduated from
the Moscow State Conservatory,
where she gained her Bachelor’s
degree under Elena Kuznetsova.
Since the age of eight, she has
been actively involved in the
cultural life of Moscow: her early
musical achievements included
second prize at the Shostakovich
Music Competition (1998), as well
as the Grand Prix at the Blütner
International Piano Competition in
Kaliningrad (2006).
Anna has been a prize winner at
many competitions, including
Shchedrin Music Competition
(first prize, Moscow, 2008), Musika
be sienu (first prize, Lithuania,
2009), Romantic Music Festival
for Young Musicians, (first prize,
Moscow, 2010), Citta di Padova
(second prize, Italy, 2012) and
Maria Yudina International
Music Competition (first prize, St
Petersburg, Russia, 2015). She
has been selected as one of six
finalists of the Patrons’ Award
2017 and had the privilege to
play a recital on the prestigious
stage of Wigmore Hall. She has
been awarded the Second Prize
in Mauro Monopoli Competition
in May, 2017 (Barletta, Italy) as
well as the First and the Audience
Prizes in Sheepdrove Competition
(Newbury, UK)
Anna is delighted to have featured
several times in the encyclopedia
A Talented Youth; The Future of
Russia (2010). She is actively
involved in promoting Russian
culture throughout the world: she
was elected as a representative of
the Moscow State Conservatory
and has taken part in the Kyoto
International Music Students
Festival in Japan in 2014. In the
autumn of 2015 Anna became
a soloist at the St Petersburg
House of Music, having received
an invitation to play in several
concerts throughout Russia.
She regularly takes part in
masterclasses and collaborates
with such renowned artists as
Ferenc Rados, Kirill Gerstein,
Imogen Cooper, Rita Wagner,
Pavel Nersessian, Alexandre
Rabinovitch-Barakovsky, Alexander
Sandler, Haenk Gouttard, Steven
Osborne and Wolfgang Redik.
George Harliono, UK
British pianist George Harliono was
invited to make his first one-hour
long, solo recital at the age of nine
and since then has performed in
numerous locations both in the UK,
USA, Europe and Asia, including
Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival
Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, Chicago
Symphony Centre and the Great
Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
He has been awarded prizes in
many competitions throughout
the world including the Grand
Piano Competition in Moscow,
Royal Overseas League Music
Competition in London, Gina
Bachauer Piano Competition
in Utah and Dinu Lipatti Piano
Competition in Bucharest.
A regular performer with
orchestras including the Moscow
State Symphony Orchestra, New
Millennium Orchestra of Chicago,
Tyumen Philharmonic Orchestra,
Ealing Symphony Orchestra and
Tatarstan National Symphony
Orchestra George has also
performed alongside eminent
artists such as Lang Lang and
Denis Matsuev.
sipc2017.org
George studies with Professor
Vanessa Latarche (Chair of
International Keyboard Studies
and Head of Keyboard, Royal
College of Music in London) and
travels to Switzerland to work
with his mentor, renowned pianist
Professor Vovka Ashkenazy and
his father Vladimir Ashkenazy.
He has been accepted to enter
the Royal College of Music for
a BMus Degree on a full four-
year scholarship commencing
September 2017.
Upcoming engagements
include performances with the
Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra,
North Carolina Philharmonic and
Orquesta Provincial de Santa Fe,
among others.
Yixiang Hou, China
Winner of the 2016 New England
Conservatory Piano Concerto
Competition, pianist Yixiang
Hou has performed in China,
Japan and the US. Yixiang has
appeared as soloist with the
Taiwan Sanchong Orchestra in
He Luting Concert Hall and the
Shanghai Conservatory Orchestra
in Shanghai Concert Hall. In 2006,
Yixiang made his debut recitals at
the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre
and Shanghai Conservatory
Hall. Yixiang is also very active
as a chamber musician, having
performed chamber music
concerts in Shanghai, Ningbo,
Beijing and Boston.
27
Scottish International Piano Competition
Yixiang has been a prizewinner of
various competitions. At only ten
years of age, Yixiang became a
prizewinner of the 2004 Shanghai
Haydn Piano Competition, and in
2009, Yixiang won the Wiesbaden
Piano Competition in Shanghai.
Yixiang has also received awards
in the Tianjin "Flying Melody”
Competition and the Steinway
Competition of China in Beijing.
As a student in Shanghai, Yixiang
received the highest honors,
including the Tang Scholarship.
Born in China, Yixiang moved to
Shanghai at the age of eleven
to study with pianists Ting Zhou
at the Shanghai Conservatory.
Following his studies in Shanghai,
Yixiang moved to Boston in
2012, where he began his studies
with Wha-Kyung Byun at New
England Conservatory. Yixiang
completed his Bachelor of Music
degree at NEC, as a recipient of
the Carol and Robert Henderson
Presidential Scholarship. He is
currently enrolled in NEC’s Master
of Music degree program on a
full tuition scholarship funded by
the Saj-nicole A. Joni Endowed
Scholarship Fund, in honor of
Patricia Zander. Yixiang continues
to study with Ms. Byun.
28
Luke Jones, UK
Luke Jones is a Welsh pianist.
Originally from Wrexham in
North Wales, he started playing
the piano at the age of five and
made his debut recital at the
Wrexham Arts Centre aged 10.
Since then he has performed all
over Britain in venues such as
Eaton Square (London), Dora
Stoutzker Hall (Cardiff), Barber
Institute (Birmingham) and the
Pump Room (Bath). He has
also performed in Italy, Austria
(Wienersaal, Salzburg) and
Slovenia and has won prizes in
competitions around Europe
notably 1st Prize in "Aci Bertoncelj"
International Piano Competition,
Slovenia, 1st Prize in "Section A"
Chopin-Roma International Piano
Competition, Italy, and 3rd Prize
in the Manchester International
Concerto Competition, UK. Most
recently, Luke was awarded
the RNCM Chopin Prize for
his performance of the 12
Etudes, Op.10. Furthermore,
his performances have been
broadcast on BBC Wales Radio,
S4C Television, Radio Vaticana
and Telepace in Italy.
He has performed Beethoven's
3rd Piano Concerto with the
Manchester Camerata and the
Liszt No.1, Mozart K488 and
Grieg concertos with other British
orchestras. At the age of five he
studied with Eva Warren, and then,
at the age of 8, began studying
with concert pianist Andrew Wilde.
At the age of 11, he was awarded
a place at Chetham's School of
Music where he studied under
the Head of Keyboard, Murray
McLachlan from 2006-2013.
Between 2013-2015 he studied at
Conservatorio di Musica 'Lorenzo
Perosi' Campobasso under the
tutelage of Maestro Carlo Grante.
Currently he is studying at the
Royal Northern College of Music,
Manchester where he has studied
with Prof. Frank Wibaut and Prof.
Dina Parakhina.
Luke has been fortunate to have
had masterclasses/lessons with
notable pianists such as Leslie
Howard, Vladimir Tropp, Sergejs
Osokins, Bernard Roberts, Hamish
Milne, Peter Donohoe, Stephen
Hough, Llyr Williams, David Wilde
and Philippe Cassard.
Nejc Kamplet, Slovenia
Nejc Kamplet, born in 1996, is
the son of a composer and a
flautist. He has been learning
the piano from the age of five
and graduated in 2015 with
a distinction from the Music
Conservatory in Maribor under
Prof. Mag. Sasa G. Donaldson. In
the same year, he also received his
high school certificate from the
II. Gimnazija in Maribor. In 2012,
he started preparatory classes
at the University of Music and
Performing Arts Graz, Austria
and has since started pursuing
a Bachelor’s degree in 2014 in
the class of Prof. Dr. Zuzana
Niederdorfer.
Nejc has received awards in
more than twenty international
piano competitions including:
second prize in the 15th Ettlingen
International piano Competition
for Young Pianists (Germany,
2016), first absolute prize in the
category Euregio Piano Award
in the 4th Euregio International
piano competition in Geilenkirchen
(Germany, 2016), first absolute
prize and special EMCY prize
“Europe” for the best competitor
in the 6th international Young
academy award in Rome (Italy,
2016), golden plaques and two
special prizes in Slovenian national
piano competition TEMSIG (in
years 2010, 2013, 2016),
first absolute prize and two special
awards of 2nd International
piano competition Forum per
tasti in Banska Bystrica (Slovakia,
2015), first absolute and three
special prizes in the Jurica Murai
International piano competition
in Varaždin (Croatia, 2015), first
prize in GrandPprize Virtuoso
International Piano Competition in
London (2015), second prize in the
Giovanni Musicisti International
piano competition in Treviso
(Italy, 2013), first absolute prize
in T. Holmar International piano
competition (Italy, 2013).
Nejc has played piano concertos
with leading Slovenian orchestras
such as SNG Maribor symphonic,
Festine symphonic, and also the
Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra
in Qintai Golden Hall in Wuhan,
China. He has collaborated with
many renowned conductors
such as Jin Hyoun Baek, Taejung
Lee, Benjamin Pionnier, Slavko
Magdič, Živa P. Peršuh. He has
also performed enormous number
of solo concerts on stages in
Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Germany,
New York City, Liechtenstein,
Croatia, Slovakia, Estonia and
Lithuania. Nejc regularly attends
masterclasses including those
held by Grigory Gruzman, Daejin
Kim, Mikhail Voskresensky,
Aquiles Delle Vigne, Arbo Valdma,
Aleksandar Madžar, Ruben
Dalibaltayan and Sofya Gulyak.
He is a scholarship recipient
from the Slovenian Ministry of
Culture for his outstanding cultural
achievements.
sipc2017.org
Kang Tae Kim, South Korea
Kang Tae Kim was born in 1997
and began playing the piano at six.
He attended the Korea National
Institute for the Gifted in Arts at
the age of 12 and studied under
the guidance of Professor Yoonju
Oh from 2009 to 2014.
He has been a student of
Professor Heesung Ju since
2016 at the College of Music,
Seoul National University. He
made his performing debut at
age 11 in recital with the Wonju
Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition to being a prizewinner
in many domestic competitions,
Kang Tae Kim is a laureate of
several International competitions.
In 2008 he won the 1st prize at
the Osaka International Music
Competition in Japan, and in
2016 he won the 1st Prize at the
Concerto Competition held by
BIMFA (Beijing International Music
Festival & Academy) in China.
This year he has won the 1st Prize
at the Jirisan International Music
Festival Competition in South
Korea.
29
Scottish International Piano Competition
Marina Koka, Japan
Marina Koka was born in Japan
and studied at the Tokyo College
of Music before coming to study at
the Guildhall School of Music and
Drama, where she is now a fellow,
with Professor Ronan O'Hora and
Professor Noriko Ogawa.
Marina has been a top prizewinner
in several competitions including
the Tunbridge Wells International
Young Concert Artist Award where
she was the overall winner, the
Asia-Pacific International Piano
Competition in Korea, the PTNA
Piano Competition in Japan, and
the Dudley International Piano
Competition.
She has performed with the City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,
the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony
Orchestra, the Tokyo New City
Symphony Orchestra and the
Sendai Philharmonic, performing
in prestigious venues including the
Barbican Hall and Symphony Hall,
Birmingham, as well as playing
many recitals both in Asia and
Europe.
Recently Marina has been
awarded the Guildhall Wigmore
Recital Prize in 2016, as well
as the Worshipful Company of
Musicians' Silver Medal which
annually awards an exceptionally
talented Guildhall School musician
with a Wigmore Hall debut recital.
30
Ilya Kondratev, Russia
Ilya Kondratiev is the prize winner
of such renowned competitions
as the International F. Chopin
Piano Competition (Hannover
2011), International F. Liszt
Piano Competition (Budapest
2011), International F. Liszt Piano
Competition (Weimar 2011), the
Fifth Tbilisi International Piano
Competition (Tbilisi 2013) and Brant
International Piano Competition
(Birmingham 2015). He also won
the Beethoven Senior Intercollegiate
Competition in December 2015
and the Chappell Medal Piano
Competition in March 2016.
Ilya performs extensively as
a soloist and as a chamber
music player. The venues he
performed at include the Great
Hall of Moscow Tchaikovsky
Conservatoire, Gasteig Munich,
Weimarhalle, Palacio de Festivales
de Santander, the Palace of Arts
in Budapest, and the Great Hall
of Tbilisi Conservatoire. In 2009
he founded a chamber music
ensemble ‘Robert-Quintet’, which
successfully played at the Sixth
Stasys Vainunas Chamber Music
Competition (Vilnius 2009, Second
prize, First was not awarded)
and at the ‘Premio Vittorio Gui’
Chamber Music Competition
(Florence 2011,3rd prize).
His repertoire is mostly based on
classic and romantic music, but
also includes many contemporary
works.
In 2011 Ilya was invited to take part
in the Franz Liszt Piano Academy
in Schillingfurst (Germany) with
E. Leonskaya and in the Eppan
Piano Academy (Italy) with P.
Gililov. He frequently takes part
in masterclasses with Rolf-Dieter
Arens, Dina Yoffe, Konstantin
Shcherbakov, Willem Brons, Paul
Gulda, Dmitry Bashkirov, Jerome
Rose, Leslie Howard, Vanessa
Latarshe, Lang Lang, and ArieVardi.
In 2015 and 2017 Ilya took part in
‘Encuentro’ festival in Santander. In
the summer 2016 Ilya Kondratiev
was invited as a guest artist to
the Gumusluk Festival in Turkey
and Beethoven Music Festival and
Academy in Altaussee, Austria.
Ilya obtained a Master of
Performance and an Artist
Diploma from the Royal College
of Music (London) where he had
been studying with Prof. Vanessa
Latarche and Sofia Gulyak. He
previously studied with People
Artist of Russia Zinaida Ignatieva
at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky
Conservatoire, and Victoria Soifer
at the Samara College of Music.
Ilya is supported by Henry Wood
Trust Foundation, Future of Russia
Foundation, Talent Unlimited
Foundation and Mark Zetland
Foundation.
Siqian Li, China
Siqian Li, born in December 1992
in Chongqing China, started
her musical education at the
age of four. Annecy Classical
Festival acclaimed her: “Virtuosity
and talent. Elegant, subtle and
dynamic performance with
exceptional musical quality. A
rising star of the piano.’’
Starting her public performances
at the age of ten, Siqian has
performed recitals throughout
major cities in China as well as
cities in Spain, France, and Egypt.
She has also been invited to appear
in well-known venues and festivals,
such as Beijing’s Forbidden
City Concert Hall, Egypt’s Cairo
Opera House, New England
Conservatory’s Jordan Hall,
Hochschule für Musik und Theater
Hannover, Annecy Classical
Festival, Festival d’Auvers sur-Oise,
Puigcerda Festival, Dinard Festival
International de Musique, Shanghai
International Music Festival,
Guangren Zhou’s Pianist Awards
China Tour Concert, BNP Paribas
Rising Star Piano Festival, and
Shenzhen Public Benefit Concerts.
As a soloist, Siqian appeared
with chamber artists of China
National Symphony Orchestra and
performed concertos with Xiamen
Philharmonic Orchestra, Xiamen
Opera Symphony Orchestra, Kiev
Philharmonic Orchestra, Ukraine
State Symphony Orchestra, and
Central Conservatory of Music
Youth Symphony Orchestra,
among others.
sipc2017.org
Siqian is the First Prize winner
Robertas Lozinskis, Lithuania
of the Chinese-Works Piano
Competition, Italy Imola
International Piano Competition,
Yamaha China Piano Competition
Conservatoire, Puigcerda Festival
Competition; The Grand Prix and
the Special prize winner of the
International Vladimir Krainev
Competition for young pianists.
Robertas Lozinskis is a
She has also been awarded prizes
prizewinner of more than 20
at the International Chopin Piano
international piano competitions
Competition in Asia, International
in countries including the
Music Competition Jeunesses
United Kingdom, Germany,
Musicales Bucharest, International
the Czech Republic, Greece,
Competition for young pianists
Italy, Latvia and Lithuania. In
in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz,
May 2015 he won the 1st Prize
China National Symphony
and the Audience Prize at the
Orchestra Concerto Competition,
Sheepdrove Piano Competition
Shanghai International Piano
in England. In September 2015
Competition, Guangren Zhou
he won the 1st Prize at the
Pianist Award, and the Diploma
International M.K.Čiurlionis
at Tbilisi International Piano
Piano and Organ Competition
Competition.
as well as the Audience Prize,
National Philharmonic Prize and
Siqian was the student of
the Special Prize for the best
Professor Huiqiao Bao and
performance of M.K.Čiurlionis
received a Bachelor of Music
pieces.
Degree at Central Conservatory of
Music (Beijing, China). Currently,
In 2016/17 Robertas played with
she is continuing her study with
the Moscow State Symphony
Professor Alexander Korsantia
Orchestra, Royal Scottish National
at New England Conservatory
Orchestra, Lithuanian National
(Boston, USA), after obtaining her
Symphony Orchestra and Klaipeda
Master of Music Degree.
Chamber Orchestra. In addition, he
performed in Scotland as well as
Czech Republic, France, Israel, Italy,
Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands,
Belgium, Hungary and Lithuania.
In November 2016, Robertas
performed a piano concerto by
a Lithuanian composer Stasys
Vainiūnas in San José, National
Theatre of Costa Rica.
He was a participant in
masterclasses with renowned
pianists including Mikhail
Voskresensky, Dmitri Bashkirov,
Nikolai Lugansky, Pascal Devoyon,
Michel Beroff, Christopher Elton,
31
Scottish International Piano Competition sipc2017.org

Ivari Ilja, Oliver Kern, Philippe
Cassard, Stanislav Pochekin,
Dmitri Alexeev, Hortense Cartier-
Bresson, Steven Osborne, Elisabeth
Leonskaja and others.Robertas
currently studies with Prof. Fali
Pavri at the Royal Conservatoire
of Scotland. He previously studied
with Prof. Zbignevas Ibelgauptas at
the Lithuanian Academy of Music
and Theatre and also spent one
year as an exchange student at the
Berlin University of the Arts (UdK),
where he studied with Prof. Elena
Lapitskaja.
As a chamber musician, Robertas
has successfully participated
in international chamber music
competitions and festivals. He is
also a founding member of Trio
Agora with clarinetist Žilvinas
Brazauskas and cellist Natania
Hoffman. Formed in March 2016,
Trio Agora has already performed
in Holland, Belgium, Germany and
Lithuania, recorded their debut
CD “Youth” which was released
in January 2017, and performed
in the Kaunas Philharmonic Hall,
among other venues.
Robertas has been a recipient
of scholarships from Mstislav
Rostropovich and Roderick F.
Tuck support funds. He has also
received acknowledgements
from the President and the
Prime Minister of Lithuania
for international awards and
achievements.
Florian Mitrea, Romania
Romanian-born British pianist
Florian Mitrea’s early passion for
the piano led him to a scholarship
to study at the Royal Academy
of Music in London. He was
awarded the Second Prize at the
2016 RNCM’s James Mottram
International Competition and
shared the Second Prize ex-aequo
at the 2016 Verona International
Piano Competition. In 2015,
he was a double laureate at
the Hamamatsu International
Competition and was awarded
second prizes at both the Santa
Cecilia Competition in Porto, and the
Premio Città di Imola at the Imola
Academy. In 2014, Florian won third
prize and the Classical Concerto
Prize at the ARD International
Competition in Munich, and first
prize at Lagny-sur-Marne.
Previous awards include first
prizes at the Panmusica 2010
Vienna International Piano
Competition, the Beethoven
2010, and Sheepdrove 2011
Intercollegiate Competitions in
the United Kingdom. In Romania,
Florian won several first prizes in
the Romanian Music Olympics, the
grand prize in the Ada Ulubeanu
Piano Competition and third
prize in the Jeunesses Musicales
International Competition.
He has performed recitals
and concertos across the UK,
Romania, and in Austria, France,
the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Germany, Switzerland, Japan and
South Korea.
His concerto performances
include engagements with the
Philharmonia Orchestra in London,
Collegium Musicum in Basel, the
George Enescu Philharmonic and
the Romanian Radio Chamber
Orchestra in Bucharest.
He has benefited from
participation in masterclasses
given by Leif Ove Andsnes,
Angela Brownridge, Imogen
Cooper, Pascal Devoyon, Akiko
Ebi, Stephen Hough, Stephen
Kovacevich, John Lill, Joanna
MacGregor, Boris Petrushansky
and Michael Roll. After studying
with Boris Berman at the
International Holland Music
Sessions in 2013, Florian was
granted a fellowship at Yale
University – Norfolk Music Festival
for the 2014 summer, and enjoyed
intensive coaching from Peter
Frankl, Boris Berman, Wey-Yi Yang
and Melvin Chen.
Florian’s piano studies started in
Bucharest as a student of Flavia
Moldovan and Gabriela Enăşescu,
at George Enescu Music High
School. While studying at the RAM
with Diana Ketler, he obtained his
BMus with First Class Honours
and the Regency Award for
notable achievement. He obtained
his Master of Arts degree with
Distinction and a DipRAM for
his final recital, and received
the Alumni Development Award
for distinguished studentship.
He held the Hodgson Memorial
post-studentship Fellowship at
RAM in 2014-2015 and continues
to teach there as a chamber
music coach. Florian is currently
studying with Boris Petrushansky
at the Accademia Pianistica
Internazionale "Incontri col
Maestro" in Imola, Italy.
Florian remains an active chamber
musician. As a Sonoro Chamber
Music Festival scholar, Florian has
performed alongside Alexander
Sitkovetsky, David Cohen, Jan-Erik
Gustaffson and Nabil Shehata,
among others.
Florian has been generously
supported by the Rațiu Family
Foundation and held the
2010/2011 Enescu Scholarship
awarded by the Romanian Cultural
Institute in London and the
2012/2013 Roy King Scholarship
at the Academy. His postgraduate
studies were supported by the
Martin Musical Scholarship
Fund and the Tillett Trust and he
was awarded the Silver Medal
by the Worshipful Company of
Musicians.
Performances by Florian
have been broadcast on BBC
Radio 3, Romanian radio and
television (SRR and TVR), and
Südwestrundfunk (SWR2) and
Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR-
Klassik) in Germany. In March
2015 Nimbus Records released a
CD of chamber and organ works
by Sir Nicholas Jackson: Florian
accompanies soprano Mary Bevan
in recordings of Three Hymns and
the song cycle Six Elizabethan
Songs. Florian’s first solo CD with
music by Bartok, Liszt, Schubert,
and several Romanian composers
is due for release under the
Acousence Records label in
autumn 2017.
In 2016, Florian was appointed a
Kawai Global Artist.
Federico Nicoletta, Italy
Federico Nicoletta performed as
a soloist for the Maggio Musicale
Fiorentino (Liszt recital), the
Teatro alla Scala (Hindemith’s
Kammermusik n. 2), the Bologna
Festival (Messiaen’s Oiseaux
exotiques), with the Philharmonic
Orchestra “A. Toscanini” at the
Auditorium Paganini in Parma
(Liszt and Tchaikovsky’s Piano
Concertos), the Philharmonic
Orchestra “La Verdi” at Teatro
Manzoni in Monza (Schumann
Piano Concerto), the Orchestra
Giovanile Italiana (Beethoven’s
1st piano concerto) and at the
Theatre "Verdi" in Busseto with the
principal soloists of the Orchestra
della Svizzera Italiana. In 2016 he
won 2nd prize and critic prize at
XXIV "Rina Sala Gallo" International
Piano Competition (WFIMC). In
2006, for the 150th anniversary
birth of Neapolitan composer
Giuseppe Martucci, he played in
front of Maestro Riccardo Muti.
Federico has a passion for
chamber music, collaborating
with principal soloists of the
orchestras of the Teatro alla
Scala, Accademia di Santa Cecilia,
Opera di Roma, RAI and Teatro
Regio di Torino, Philadelphia,
Cleveland, Metropolitan Opera,
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana,
Berliner Philharmoniker, London
Philharmonic, Opera de Paris, with
musicians such as C. Giuffredi,
E. Fagone, P. Cuper, E. Daniels, B.
Grossi, U. Lemper, M. Marasco, R.
Morales, A. Persichilli, L.Vignali, U.
Ughi, A. Zemtsov.
Since 2008 he has played in an
ensemble specialising in the XXth
century’s repertoire, playing for
prestigious concert societies and
renowned theatres. The work with
this ensemble reached its highest
when they performed in a series of
concerts at Teatro alla Scala.
In 2007 he played the première
of G. Mancuso's Obra Maestra
(with RAI Trade, Rai-Radio 3 and
the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma),
A. Cera's Distacco and C. Pedini's
Pietra (Teatro Lirico Sperimentale
of Spoleto).
He has also performed opera
repertoire, collaborating with
Renato Bruson and Raina
Kabaivanska, for the Teatro Lirico
Sperimentale “A. Belli” in Spoleto
and Teatro del Giglio in Lucca.
He received distinguished
scholarships, including the Richard
Wagner Stipendienstiftung -
Bayreuth 2008, Paolo Barile, 2008
and Rudolf Serkin, 2010 - Scuola
di Musica di Fiesole, Roche
Continents - Salzburg 2009.
Graduating with top marks
and distinction at the Naples
Conservatory San Pietro a Majella
with S. Bertucci, at the Parma
Conservatory with P. Maurizzi and
at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole
under Bruno Canino and Pietro De
Maria, he is currently attending
the Accademia Nazionale di
Santa Cecilia in Rome where
he studies with M° Benedetto
Lupo. He is Piano Professor at
the Conservatoires in Bergamo
and Reggio Emilia and he is the
assistant of the Master courses in
Città di Castello.

32 33
Scottish International Piano Competition
Luka Okros, Georgia/UK
Luka Okros was born in 1991 in
Tbilisi, Georgia. In 2004, he moved
to Moscow, where he graduated
with a Bachelor’s degree at the
Tchaikovsky Conservatory under
the tutelage of Sergei Dorensky.
In 2013, he was awarded a full
scholarship for a Master’s degree at
the Royal College of Music where he
studied with Norma Fisher.
At the age of 18, Luka made his
US debut at the Carnegie Hall. He
has given concerts in many of the
world’s most famous halls, such
as the Wigmore Hall, the Cadogan
Hall and the Elgar Room of the
Royal Albert Hall in London, the
Salle Cortot and Radio France Hall
in Paris, the Roy Thompson Hall
in Toronto, the Palau de la Musica
in Valencia and Barcelona and
has also performed in Canada,
Italy, Switzerland, Germany,
Israel, Japan, Russia, Georgia,
South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine and
Kazakhstan.
34
During the last two years he
has won more than ten top
international prizes and awards,
including Grand Prix at the 4th
Hong Kong International Piano
Competition, first prize at the
Iturbi Prize Valencia Piano
Competition in Spain, first prizes
at both the Morocco Philharmonic
International Piano Competition
and the Piano Campus
Competition at Cergy-Pontoise in
France, and several prestigious
awards from the Hattori
Foundation, the Tillett Trust and
the Tabor Foundation Piano
Award at the Verbier Festival in
Switzerland.
In March 2017 Mr. Okros won the
First Prize at the Hannover Chopin
International Piano Competition.
As a winner of the Jaques Samuel
Intercollegiate Piano Competition,
Luka was interviewed by
Sean Rafferty on the “In Tune”
programme of BBC Radio 3,
during which he performed pieces
by Liszt and Rachmaninov
Akihiro Sakiya, Japan
Akihiro Sakiya was born in Japan,
in 1988. He has studied with J.
Watanabe, T. Torii, C. Soares and
M. Araki in Japan since 2008.
Then, he entered in Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Musique
de Paris and had studied with
Jacques Rouvier. After graduation
CNSM as the top student, he
continued his study at the Tokyo
University of the Arts, in a Docter's
degree, with Akiyoshi Sako.
He has won many international
competitions such as; 2nd Prize
in the 16th A.M.A. Calabria
International Piano Competition
(1st Prize not awarded) in
2006, 1st Prize in the 3rd Lyon
International Piano Competition
in 2011, 3rd Prize in the 59th
F. Busoni International Piano
Competition in 2013 and Laureate
in the 18th Santander Paloma
O’Shea International Piano
Competition in 2015.
In 2014, he won the 1st prize in
the 56th Jaén Prize International
Piano Competition with Spanish
Music Prize and Audience Prize.
He has given many recitals around
Europe, Asia, North and South
America including 34th Yokohama
International Piano Concert,
Festival de Nohant 2012, and Saõ
Paulo Beethoven Festival and
performed with many orchestras
such as; Osaka Sinfoniker,
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra,
Japan Symphony, Granada City
Orchestra, RTVE Orchestra etc.
He has also received cultural and
musical awards; Matsukata Music
Award, the New Face Award of
Aoyama Music Prize in Kyoto,
The Art Encouragement Award of
Hyogo Prefecture, The Cultural Art
Encouragement Award of Kobe
City and Leonid Kreutzer Award of
the Tokyo University of the Arts.
His performances were broadcast
on NHK TV, Australian ABC Radio,
RAI, RTVE etc. He has recorded
“Beethoven Complete Sonatas”
series by DPIC (Vol. 3 was
published last January). Naxos
also published his CD “Akihiro
Sakiya Piano Recital” in 2015.
sipc2017.org
Anna Szalucka, Poland She was selected by the
Musicians’ Company to give her
Wigmore Hall debut recital in
2016.
Anna Szałucka has given many
concerts across Poland and
abroad cooperating with such
institutions as The National
Anna Szałucka is a Polish Fryderyk Chopin Institute, Wiener
pianist who started her musical Beethoven Gesellschaft, The
education at the age of seven. Arthur Rubinstein International
She finished her Master's Degree Music Foundation, The Worshipful
and Artist Diploma course at Company of Musicians as well as
the Royal Academy of Music in BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4.
London under the supervision of
Ian Fountain and was recently The orchestra appearances
awarded the prestigious Hodgson include concerts with the Polish
Fellowship at this Academy. Radio Orchestra, Estonian
In November 2016, Anna won National Symphony Orchestra,
the 1st Prize together with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra,
Eller, Recital, Orchestra and Sinfonia Baltica, Pomeranian
Estonian Museum Awards at the Philharmonics, Górecki Chamber
3rd International Tallinn Piano Orchestra and others. In Poland
Competition. she was awarded the Ministry of
Science and Higher Education
She’s a prize winner of many other Prize as well as Ministry of Culture
competitions including the 1st and National Heritage Prize.
Prize in Young Pianists Forum
in Rybnik and the 2nd Prize in
IX International Competition for
Young Pianists “Arthur Rubinstein
in Memoriam”. In the last few
years she’s been awarded The
Jacob Barnes Piano Scholarship,
Musicians’ Company – Harriet
Cohen Bach Prize, Kenneth
Loveland Gift Prize as well as
the 3rd Prize in the International
Sussex Piano Competition. Her
recent successes include multiple
prizes: Janet Duff Greet, Walter
MacFarran and Alexander Kelly
Memorial Prizes, The Regency
Award as well as 2nd Prize and the
Audience Prize at the Sheepdrove
Intercollegiate Piano Competition.
35
Scottish International Piano Competition
Antonina Suhanova, Latvia
Since 2000, Latvian pianist
Antonina Suhanova has
given numerous national and
international performances
across Europe. She studied
with Gunta Boza and Professor
Juris Kalnciems at Jazeps Vitols
Latvian Academy of Music.
Antonina has appeared as a
soloist with orchestras in Latvia,
Great Britain and Russia under
the batons of Andris Nelsons
and Vladimir Spivakov, amongst
others. She has participated in
masterclasses of such world-
renowned pianists as Vladimir
Ashkenazy, Richard Goode,
Dmitri Bashkirov, Boris Berman,
Pavel Gililov and Matti Raekallio.
Antonina has appeared in
prestigious international festivals,
including the City of London
Festival, the International Piano
Stars Festival in Liepaja, the
International Holland Music
Sessions in the Netherlands,
and the Autumn Chamber Music
Festival in Riga.
36
She has performed at the Great
Guild Hall in Riga, Moscow
International House of Music,
Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke’s, St
Martin in the Fields, St James’s
Piccadilly and Milton Court
Concert Hall.
Antonina made her debut
performance at the Barbican
Hall with the Guildhall Symphony
Orchestra under the baton of
Adrian Leaper as a finalist of the
Guildhall Gold Medal Prize in May
2016, returning in December of
the same year to perform a solo
recital. In 2017 she won the Senior
Award of Hattori Foundation.
Currently she is a postgraduate
student at the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama with professor
Ronan O’Hora.
George Todica, Romania
George Todica is a Romanian
pianist based in the United
Kingdom. Born in Iasi in 1993, he
started his musical training when
he was six, under the guidance
of Silvia Panzariu. He attended
the Octav Bancila School of
Arts, later joining the classes of
Raluca Panzariu and then Andrei
Enoiu-Panzariu, and had lessons
with pianist Iulian Arcadi Trofin.
George came to the UK in 2010,
after winning the ‘Constantin
Silvestri’ Scholarship which
allowed him study for one year
at Stewart’s Melville College. A
year later he entered the Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland where
he would study for the next six
years, under the guidance of
Graeme McNaught, Norman
Beedie and Jonathan Plowright.
He finished his Bachelor’s Degree
in 2015 with First Class Honours
and his Master’s Degree in 2017.
His training was supported by
scholarships from RCS, The
Tillet Trust and The Colin Kerr
Trust, and a ‘Britten Award’ from
Help Musicians UK. He has been
chosen for the Tillett Young Artist
Platform scheme for 2017.
George has been participating
in competitions since the age
of eight, having obtained over
20 First Prizes in national and
international competitions.
During his time at RCS, he
won 1st prize at the Moray
International Piano Competition
in 2012, 1st prize at the Stefano
Marizza Competition in Trieste,
Italy in 2014 and 2nd Prize at
the International Piano Campus
Competition in Pontoise, France,
2016. He also won RCS’s
Classical Concerto Competition,
the Walcer Prize Competition
for Chopin Repertoire and the
Governors’ Recital Prize for
Keyboard.
As a concert pianist, he has
travelled to venues in Italy, Austria,
Croatia and the USA and has
performed in prestigious halls
such as the Teatro San Giuseppe
in Torino, the Philharmonic
Hall in Trento, the Mozarteum
Concert Hall in Salzburg, the
Fazioli Factory in Sacile, the
Conservatoiro Tartini di Trieste
and the Dôme de Pontoise in
France. George has also played at
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the
Edinburgh Society of Musicians,
the Brunton Theatre in Edinburgh,
the Erin Arts Centre on the Isle
of Man, the Hall at Yamaha
Music London, Inverness Town
Hal and the Ardkinglas Castle in
Argyll. Recent projects have been
with the Royal Scottish National
Orchestra, playing Saint-Saëns’s
Carnival of the Animals, and with
the All About Piano Festival in
London at the Institut Français du
Royaume-Uni and at St. Martin-
in-the-Fields. George will have his
debut at the Wigmore Hall in the
spring of 2018.
Hin Yat Tsang, Hong Kong
Born in Hong Kong, Hin-Yat
Tsang was admitted to the Hong
Kong Academy for Performing
Arts as a Junior Student under
the tutelage of Eleanor Wong. A
Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholar,
Hin-Yat attained his Bachelor of
Music Degree from the Academy,
graduating with first class
honours. A winner of various
international awards such as the
First and Audience Prize at the Third
Manchester International Concerto
Competition and the First Prize at
the Steinway & Sons International
Youth Competition in Beijing, Hin-
Yat was named ‘The Hong Kong
Young Musician of the Year’ in
2010. In early 2014, Hin-Yat received
the Gold Medal in the Asian Chopin
Competition in Tokyo. He is also
a laureate prizewinner in the Gina
Bachauer Young Artist, Manchester
James Mottram and Hong Kong
International Piano Competitions.
In early 2017, Hin-Yat was named
the Gold Prize d’or at the 16th
International ‘Piano-Campus’
Competition in Pontoise of Paris.
He will be returning to France for a
series of concert engagements in
the 2018 season. Hin-Yat was also
recently awarded the Second Prize,
the ‘Fundació Carulla Prize’, at the
63rd Maria Canals International
Competition held in Barcelona.
Hin-Yat has collaborated with
many ensembles and orchestras
including the Prima Vista
Quartet, the Logos Chamber
Group, Trinity Harrow Orchestra,
sipc2017.org
Shenzhen Symphony, the
Manchester Camerata, London
Chamber Orchestra, Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic, the Silesian
Philharmonic, Symphony Orchestra
Mélo’dix of Nanterre University, Jove
Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya of
Barcelona as well as the Hong Kong
City Chamber and Philharmonic
Orchestras. He has also worked
alongside many distinguished
conductors, including Ian Brown,
Hannu Lintu, Fabrice Parmentier,
Trevor Pinnock, Jose Serebrier
and Manel Valdivieso. Hin-Yat has
given recitals in China, Hong Kong,
Taiwan, Japan, as well as Germany,
including a performance at the
biannual International Steinway
Festival in Hamburg. Performances
in the United Kingdom have
also included many of London’s
prestigious venues, namely the
Cadogan Hall, Drapers Hall, the
Elgar Room of the Royal Albert Hall,
St. James Piccadilly, St. Lawrence
Jewry, St. Martin-in-the-Fields,
Steinway Hall London as well as the
esteemed Wigmore Hall.
A former Croucher Foundation
Hong Kong Scholar and Hong
Kong Jockey Club Music and
Dance Fund recipient, Hin-Yat
is a Masters and Artist Diploma
graduate from the Royal College
of Music in London. Supported
by the Craxton Memorial Trust as
well as the Worshipful Company of
Musicians, Hin-Yat also served as
the Constant & Kit Lambert Junior
Fellow at the Royal College from
2015 to 2016 under the guidance
of renowned Russian pedagogue
Dmitri Alexeev. Hin-Yat is one of
the young artists represented by
the Keyboard Charitable Trust in
London. He currently resides in
Germany and continues his studies
at the Universität der Künste wth
Klaus Hellwig in Berlin.
37
Scottish International Piano Competition
Yuliya Yermalayeva, Belarus
Yuliya Yermalayeva was born in
Minsk into a musical family. At
the age of six she enrolled in the
piano class of Elena Metelskaya at
the special music school attached
to the Belarusian State Academy
of Music. She is currently
studying here with Prof. Natallia
Tashchylina.
She is a prize-winner of many
international competitions and has
received special prizes, including
2nd Prize at the International
“Music of Hope” competition in
Gomel (Belarus, 2003), 1st Prize
at the International German and
Austrian music competition for
young pianists “Klaviermusik” in
Vilnius (Lithuania, 2004 ), 3rd prize
laureate at the XIII International
piano competition of Chopin for
children and youth in Szafarnia
(Poland, 2005), finalist and award
for the outstanding achievement at
the International Piano Competition
for Young Musicians in Enschede
(Netherlands, 2006), absolute 1st
award (100 of 100 possible points)
at the 5th International music
competition “Citta di Padova”,
Padua (Italy, 2007), semifinalist
of the International Chopin Piano
Competition in Moscow (Russia,
2008), 1st Prize at the IV Open
piano competition of Fryderyk
Chopin in Grodno (Belarus, 2008),
twice 2nd Prize at the VII and
VIII International Competition of
Young Pianists dedicated to the
work of Fryderyk Chopin in Narva
(Estonia, 2008 and 2010), 1st Prize
38
at International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition for Children
and Young People in Antonin
(Poland, 2010), “Encouragement
award” at the International
Competition for Young Pianists
in Ettlingen (Germany, 2012).
Her greatest successes include
winning at the XVIII Chopin Piano
Competition in Brest (France,
2013), where she won in three
categories and received 1st Prize
Special Liszt, 2nd Prize and 1st
unanimously Chopin Prize of
the city of Brest; 1st Prize at the
Russian Conservatory Alexandre
SCRIABINE XIII Piano Competition
in Paris (France, 2013); 2nd
Prize at the XLI “Dr. Luis Sigall”
International Musical Competition
in Vina del Mar (Chile, 2014);
Grand Prix at the XV International
Piano Competition “Music without
borders” in the category Concert
for piano and Chamber Orchestra
in Druskininkai (Lithuania, 2015);
Prize “Golden Parnas 2016”
at the XI International pianist
forum “Bieszczady bez granic”;
audience prize and Chopin prize
Tatiana Shebanova in Sanok
(Poland, 2016); 1st prize at the I
Future Stars International Piano
Competition online by Connecticut
Chopin Foundation, Inc. (USA,
2016); artistic prize of Elżbieta
i Krzysztof Pendereccy and the
prize of the best performance
piano concert with orchestra at
the XII International pianist forum
“Bieszczady bez granic” in Sanok
(Poland, 2017).
She has performed prizewinning
piano duets, including Laureate
at the All-Ukrainian Festival of
Children and Youth Art "Accords
of Khortitsa" in the category of
piano ensemble (2004); 1st Prize
at the XII International children's
competition of piano duets
“Brother and sister” (Russia, 2007);
1st Prize at the 5th International
music competition “Citta di
Padova” (Italy, 2007).
Yuliya’s has performed as a
soloist with the National Chamber
Orchestra of Belarus and the State
Symphony Orchestra of Belarus,
Kaunas Chamber Orchestra under
the direction of Paul Berman
(Italy), the State orchestra of
radio and TV of Belarus under the
direction of Czesław Grabowski
(Poland), also under the direction
of Bernhard Wünsch (Germany)
and Yuri Karavaev (Belarus), Tallinn
Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra
(Estonia), Santiago Symphony
Orchestra (Chile), Bydgoszcz C
Chamber Orchestra (Poland).
M
She has also been invited to
Y
participate in festivals and solo
concerts at festivals in Russia CM
at the International Vladimir
Spivakov's Festival “Moscow MY
meets friends”, in Germany at
the European Musical Academy CY
of Bonn, in France (as part of
“Le chant de la rive” in Carantec, CMY
“Cycle Musical de la Chapelle K
de Kersaint-Landunvez” in
Bretagne, “Lundis musicaux” at
“La Chapelle de Rocamadour” in
Camaret-sur-Mer), in Belarus at
the International Piano Festival
“January musical party” in Brest, in
Poland at the International Chopin
Festival “Lato z Chopinem” in
Busko-Zdrój, “Wawel” in Warsaw.
She is a recipient of grants of
Special Prize EUMCY (European
Union of Music Competitions for
Youth) in 2010. In 2006, 2008,
2010, 2012 and 2015 Yuliya
became the owner of the Grand
Prize and the title of laureate of
the Special Fund of the President
of the Republic of Belarus to
support talented youth.
Scottish International Piano Competition sipc2017.org

Frederic Lamond Competition

(1858 - 1948) Repertoire
A contemporary of the great Charles Mackintosh, His performances in the midst of wartime (1943 and Stages 1 and 2 comprise of two, Stage 3 Bartók
Lamond was born in Bridgeton, Glasgow and spent 1944) are still clearly remembered by a few among separate solo recitals given on (i) The maximum duration of Concerto no. 1, Sz 83
his early years at 91 Tullis Street. A memorial plaque our audience, who heard him play on the stage of different days. Each recital should programmes, which includes Concerto no. 3, Sz 119
commemorating his birth has now been placed on the Athenaeum Theatre at that time. Lamond died in not exceed 30 minutes, including applause and pauses, is 60 Beethoven
the façade of the building. Stirling in 1948. applause and pauses. minutes. Repeats are to be at Concerto no. 1 in C major, op.15
the artistic discretion of the Concerto no. 2 in B flat major, op.19
With the generous support of the City Fathers, The Gold Medal The programmes offered over the competitor. Concerto no. 3 in C minor, op.37
Frederic Lamond was able to study in Germany. The The Scottish International Piano Competition was
combined Stage 1 and Stage 2 (ii) Works performed in Stages Concerto no. 4 in G major, op.58
young Scot was one of the very last pupils of Franz established in 1986 as a memorial to Frederic
recitals must include the following: 1 and Stage 2 may not be Concerto no. 5 in E flat major, op.73
Liszt and contemporary photographs taken during Lamond. The First Prize of the Competition carries
the last year of Liszt’s life show Lamond as one of with it the Frederic Lamond Gold Medal. repeated in Stage 3. Brahms
the chosen few. The great composer pianist attended (i) An original work(s) from the (iii) A commissioned work Concerto no. 1 in D minor, op. 15
the young Lamond’s London recital and Tchaikovsky The Silver Medal baroque era (no transcriptions (duration 5-7 minutes) written Concerto no. 2 in B flat major, op. 83
was equally enthusiastic about his playing. The Second Prize of the Competition carries with it permitted). Repeats are at the by Scottish composer Gordon Chopin
the Lawrence Glover Silver Medal. discretion of the competitor. McPherson will be included Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11
Frederic Lamond made his career in Germany, settled (ii) Two Etudes by different in Stage 3. The score of the Concerto no. 2 in F minor, op.21
in Berlin and was greatly admired for his interpretations Lawrence Glover was Head of Keyboard Studies composers. commissioned work is sent Liszt
of Beethoven and Brahms. Whilst his reputation was at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and (iii) One complete work from the to each competitor shortly Concerto no. 1 in E flat major
principally based in Europe, he also taught for a while Drama at the time when the Scottish International classical period, 1750-1828. after acceptance for the Concerto No. 2 in A Major
at the Eastman School of Music in New York, which Piano Competition was established. He gave great competition. Mozart
by co-incidence has links with the Royal Conservatoire encouragement to the teaching members of his staff, The remaining repertoire for the (iv) Subject to (ii) and (iii) Concerto in D minor K466
of Scotland through the first experiments in video-link Elisabeth Jacobs and Bernard King, who founded the Stage 1 and Stage 2 recitals is an above, in addition to the Concerto in E flat major K482
music teaching across the Atlantic which began in Competition to widen the horizon of young pianists entirely free choice. compulsory commissioned Concerto in A major K488
the year 2000. Lamond was a pioneer of recorded studying at The Academy. Lawrence studied at The
work, competitors have a free Concerto in C minor K491
performance. Most of his Beethoven piano sonata Royal Manchester College then with Gordon Green
records were made for HMV during the 1920s and Claudio Arrau. He performed with many of the
Stage 1 choice of works for the Stage Concerto in C major K503
in London. Almond eventually returned to live in leading British orchestras and gave broadcasts on Subject to (i), (ii) and (iii) above, 3 semi-final recital. Concerto in B flat major K595
a solo recital with the maximum Note: It must be emphasised that the Prokofiev
Scotland in 1935 and, under Whittaker’s leadership, BBC Radio and TV, performing also on chamber maximum duration of programmes
taught at the Scottish National Academy – the future music player with the Naxos Quartet and the Alberni duration of 30 minutes, which in Stages 1, 2 and 3, which includes Concerto no. 2 in G minor, op.16
RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). String Quartet. includes applause and pauses. applause and pauses, should be adhered Concerto no. 3 in C major, op. 26
to strictly. The Chairman of the Jury may Rachmaninoff
stop performances which exceed the
Competition Laureates Stage 2 permitted duration. Concerto no. 1 in F sharp minor, op.1
Subject to (i), (ii) and (iii) above, Concerto no. 2 in C minor, op. 18
Year 1st Prize 2nd Prize 3rd Prize a solo recital with the maximum Stage 4 Concerto no. 3 in D minor, op. 30
1986 Graeme McNaught Susan Tomes Christopher Oakden duration of 30 minutes, which Each of the three finalists will Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
1990 Daniel Wiesner Balazs Szokolay Elena Margolina includes applause and pauses. play a concerto with the Royal Ravel
1992 Sergei Babayan Michael Injae Kim Tal Weissman Works performed in Stage 1 may Scottish National Orchestra at the Concerto in G major
1995 Giampaola Stuani Charles Owen Maria Rostovsky not be repeated in Stage 2. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 10 Saint Saens
1998 Alexander Kobrin Katya Apekisheva & Alexander Taylor (equal) September 2017. Concerto No 2 in G minor
2001 Chenyin Li Marina Nadiradze Ayako Kimura Schumann
2004 Tanya Gabrielian Evgheny Brakham Amir Tebenikhin
Competitors should be prepared Concerto in A minor, op.54
2007 Tom Poster Lukas Geniusas Tristan Pfaff
2010 Oxana Shevchenko Nadezda Pisareva Pavel Kolesnikov to present one concerto selected Tchaikovsky
2014 Jonathan Fournel Ilya Maximov Jianing Kong from the following list: Concerto No. 1
Concerto No. 2 (complete)

40 41
Scottish International Piano Competition
Gordon McPherson
and the Test Piece
The Pounding Room is part of a series of works
entitled Stunt Doubles which explore the interplay
between the virtuosic (acoustic instruments) and the
impossible (virtual counterparts) and began with an
initial series of three that were commissioned by the
Manchester based ensemble Psappha to celebrate
their 20th anniversary season.
Since then Stunt Doubles have been written for flute
(The Triple Truth), viola (Lamenta Infracta), marimba
(Williams Machine), xylophone (Mobility Sticks),
trumpet (Tallman and Mentz), guitar (A Thousand
Eyes See the Sky Full of Stars), cello (Page Forty) and
most recently bassoon (Obradous’ Revenge).
The Pounding Room was commissioned as the
test piece for the 2017 Scottish International Piano
Competition and is inspired by the machines built
to break in new pianos like young horses and the
factory rooms built to contain their sound.
Gordon McPherson was born in Dundee in 1965. He
studied at the University of York and returned there
for his Doctorate. He followed this with post-doctoral
work at the Royal Northern College of Music. His
music has been performed extensively both in this
country and abroad and has been recorded on
numerous labels.
42
sipc2017.org
Recent works include: ‘The Baby Bear’s Bed’ - a large
amplified work commissioned for London-based
ensemble Icebreaker and premiered in Vienna;
‘The Waterworks’ – a large, hour long multi-media
investigation into alien abductions, commissioned
and premiered by the Paragon Ensemble; ‘The New
Black’ – a large scale orchestral work commissioned
by the BBC; ‘Ghosts’ – three orchestral nocturnes,
funded as part of the Creative Scotland Awards;
and ‘Blood’ - a concerto for oud and orchestra
commissioned by the National Youth Orchestra of
Iraq.
He is currently working on 'Meat' - an alien
conspiracy opera for robotic voices; future stunt
doubles for saxophone, harpsichord and an extended
stunt double for string quartet; and 'The Passions'
– a large scale music theatre version of the Passion
of Christ commissioned by Red Note, based on the
Lorimer Scots translation of the New Testament to
be premiered in 2016-2017 season.
He has taught composition since his student days
and has held posts at the University of Edinburgh,
University of St Andrews, RNCM as well as the Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland, where he was asked to
build a composition department in 1999 - something
that has kept him very busy for the past eighteen
years.
43
Scottish International Piano Competition
The Orchestra
Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, the
company became the Scottish National Orchestra
in 1950, and was awarded Royal Patronage in 1977.
Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played
an integral part in Scotland’s musical life, including
performing at the opening ceremony of the Scottish
Parliament building in 2004. Many renowned
conductors have contributed to its success, including
George Szell, Sir John Barbirolli, Walter Susskind,
Sir Alexander Gibson, Neeme Järvi, Walter Weller,
Alexander Lazarev and Stéphane Denève.
The Orchestra’s current artistic team is led by British
Canadian conductor Peter Oundjian, who joined as
Music Director in 2012. Dane Thomas Søndergård
was appointed as Principal Guest Conductor in
the same year, and Holly Mathieson joined as
Assistant Conductor from 2016. In May 2017, it was
announced that Thomas Søndergård would succeed
Peter Oundjian as Music Director, taking up his new
post from September 2018.
44
The RSNO performs across Scotland, including
concerts in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen,
Perth and Inverness. The Orchestra appears regularly
at the Edinburgh International Festival, the BBC
Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall and the St
Magnus Festival, Orkney, and has made recent tours
to France, Germany, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg and Serbia. In December 2012 and
January 2013 the Orchestra undertook its first
mainland Asia visit with a hugely successful tour of
China with Peter Oundjian. The RSNO was an active
participant in the cultural programme of the 2014
Commonwealth Games, held in Glasgow and in the
same year hosted the Ryder Cup Gala Concert at the
SSE Hydro. In January 2017 the musicians and Peter
Oundjian undertook a tour of Spain and in March
made their first visit to the USA in over 35 years.
The Orchestra is joined for choral performances by
the RSNO Chorus, directed by Gregory Batsleer. The
RSNO Chorus evolved from a choir formed in 1843 to
sing the first full performance of Handel’s Messiah in
Scotland. Today, the RSNO Chorus is one of the most
distinguished large symphonic choruses in Britain,
with a membership of around 160. The Chorus
has performed nearly every work in the standard
choral repertoire along with contemporary works
by renowned composers, including John Adams,
Magnus Lindberg, Howard Shore and Sir James
MacMillan.
The acclaimed RSNO Junior Chorus, formed in 1978
by Jean Kidd, also performs regularly alongside the
Orchestra. Since 1994 it has been directed by popular
Chorus Director, Christopher Bell, and has expanded
its membership to over 400, with members aged
from seven to eighteen. It has built up a considerable
reputation singing under some of the world’s most
distinguished conductors and appearing on radio and
television.
The RSNO has a worldwide reputation for the quality
of its recordings, receiving two Diapason d’Or de
l’année awards for Symphonic Music (Denève/
sipc2017.org
Roussel 2007; Denève/Debussy 2012) and eight
GRAMMY Awards nominations. Over 200 releases
are available, including the complete symphonies
of Sibelius (Gibson), Prokofiev (Järvi), Glazunov
(Serebrier), Nielsen and Martinů (Thomson), Roussel
(Denève) and the major orchestral works of Debussy
(Denève).
The RSNO’s Learning and Engagement team deliver
progressive participatory music-making activities
across Scotland, from Selkirk to Shetland, working
with all ages and abilities. With a programme of
activity available for new-borns and onwards, the
team are committed to delivering the highest quality
workshops as well as nurturing and developing
new talent. From schools and nursery concerts,
to community workshops and annual residencies
during which the Orchestra places itself at the centre
of Scottish communities, the team connects the
Orchestra, its music and musicians with the people
of Scotland.
45
Scottish International Piano Competition
Thomas Søndergård,
Conductor
Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård is Principal
Conductor of BBC National Orchestra of Wales
(BBCNOW) and Principal Guest Conductor of Royal
Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO); prior to this, he
was for three seasons Principal Conductor and Musical
Advisor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. He has
recently been announced as Music Director of Royal
Scottish National Orchestra from September 2018.
Plans for 2016/17 include debuts with Bayerische
Staatsoper (Turandot), London Philharmonic
Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London
Symphony Orchestra and Deutsche Oper Berlin
(world premiere of Scartazzini’s Edward II) and return
visits to Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Göteborgs
Symfoniker, Orchestre National du Capitole de
Toulouse, Danish National Symphony Orchestra,
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Royal Danish
Opera (Il viaggio a Reims). With RSNO, projects
include Sibelius’ Violin Concerto with Janine Jansen
and with BBC NOW, the complete Stravinsky The
Firebird, recordings and touring.
Recent seasons have included
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Deutsches
Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Mahler Chamber
Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker; leading
tours with Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and
European Union Youth Orchestra; Rotterdams
Philharmonisch, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest,
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Brussels
Philharmonic; Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester,
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic,
Danish National Symphony, Göteborgs Symfoniker,
Orchestre National d’Ile de France; Toronto
Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony
and Seattle Symphony Orchestra; Philharmonia
Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra.
46
sipc2017.org
A passionate supporter of the music of Carl Nielsen,
his most recent programme with Sveriges Radios
Symfoniorkester (Symphony No. 5) received
wide praise as “equal of the great pioneers of
Nielsen interpretation… It’s harder to imagine a
finer performance of this remarkable symphony”
(Dagens Nyheter). As part of the 2015 anniversary
celebrations of both Sibelius and Nielsen he
conducted a wide variety of works by these two
composers with many leading orchestras.
Thomas is also an experienced opera conductor at
home in mainstream and contemporary repertoire.
Recent seasons have included Tosca, Turandot
(Nina Stemme) and Les dialogues des Carmelites
for Kungliga Operan (Royal Swedish Opera). He was
described as “a sensation” at his debut with the Royal
Danish Opera conducting Ruders' opera Kafka's Trial:
"He is one of the best things that has happened to
the art of opera for many years" and subsequent
productions there have included Il barberi di Siviglia,
Le Nozze di Figaro, La bohème and Cunning
Little Vixen. Last season he made his Den Norske
Opera debut with their new, highly-successful Die
Zauberflöte.
In Spring 2015 Thomas and BBCNOW released their
first commercial recording of Sibelius Symphonies
Nos. 2 and 7 (LINN Records). Other noteworthy
recordings include Vilde Frang's celebrated first
recording for EMI, and Ruder’s Piano Concerto
No. 2 on Bridge Records which was nominated
for a Gramophone Award in 2011. Admired for
his interpretations of Scandinavian contemporary
repertoire, his discography also includes a number of
other contemporary works. In 2011 he was awarded
the prestigious Queen Ingrid Foundation Prize for
services to Music in Denmark.
47
sipc2017.org