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Information on Past Events (Archive)

World International Competition

Los Alamos, NM  - September 21-23, 2007

 

 

COMPETITOR  PERFORMANCES

 
Sat. Sept 22, 2007

 

12:30    AE JIN CHANG

1:15      MAURICIO ARIAS

                  2:00  Break

2:30     NATALIA EFREMOVA

3:15    DR. ANGELA WU

                 4:00  Break

4:30    DR. HOLLY ROADFELDT

5:15     DR. NOEL ENGEBRETSON

 

 

Sunday, Sept 23, 2007

12:00     RENA RZAYEVA

12:45     DR. CHRISTOPHER ATZINGER

                     1:30  Break

2:00       ASAMI TAMURA

2:45       DR. DOROTHY LEWIS-GRIFFITH

                    3:30 Break

                    4:00  Perspectives by Dr. William Seymour

4:15       ESTHER PARK

5:00      MICHAEL SCHNEIDER



 

SATURDAY

 12:30   

Ae Jin Chang

 

Ae Jin Chang holds a Masters in Piano Performance from Saint-Petersburg National Conservatory, Russia and a Bachelors from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.

    She has born in Busan, Korea and moved to Seoul at age of 3, when she started to study piano. She studied piano performance at the Seoul Arts and Music High School in Korea. She finished her Bachelor of Arts in Music and Piano Performance at the Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and Master of Arts in Piano Performance at the St. Petersburg State N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory  in Russia.

    Her teachers include E. Bazanov, A.S. Sviatkin, S.A. Urivajev, E. Semishina, Bang-Sook Lee and Min-Sook Kim. She received full-scholarship from Samick Musical Instrument Company during her undergraduate study and won several piano competitions in Korea, including the Chosun-Ilbo competition and the Walleun piano competition. Since the completion of graduate study, she has been an active concert pianist and had many solo recitals in Russia, Korea and U.S.A., including recitals at the Glazunov Hall (Russia), the Se-Jong Art Center (Korea), and the Morrison Hall in the University of California, Berkeley (U.S.A.).

    Along with solo piano performances, she has participated in many ensembles and performed as an accompanist. She worked as a piano performance teacher in Kyewon Art and Music High School, as an accompanist at the Hin-Doll Presbyterian Church in Korea and the San Jose First Korean Church in California.

   She is a music director of Santa Fe Korean Presbyterian Church. She came to the United States with her husband in 2001 and moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico in 2006.

 

Repertoire

Piano Sonata No.31 in Ab major, Op. 110.                                   Beethoven                             

Piano Sonata No.7 in Bbmajor, Op. 83 ....                                    Prokofiev      ("Stalingrad")

 


1:15     - Mauricio Arias

 

Mauricio Ariaswas born in Bogota, Colombia in 1984. He began his piano studies at age 13 with polish professor Ludmila Weber. In 2005 he received his Bachelors Degree Summa Cum Laude from Fundacin Universitaria Juan N. Corpas in Bogota with a minor in composition. During his short career as a pianist, he has been awarded the following prizes:

     2" Prize III Iberoamerican Piano Competition. Havana, Cuba. 2001

     3" Prize. Jacob Flier International Piano Competition. New Paltz, NY. 2003

       1st Prize. IX National Piano Competition, Universidad Industrial de Santander.

Bucaramanga, Colombia 2004.

       1st Prize. I Fryderyk Chopin National Piano Competition. Bogota, Colombia. 2005

     Finalist. ifi Ignacio Cervantes International Piano Competition. Havana, Cuba.

2005

 

On 2005 he gave a recital in Krakow, Poland and he also participated in the preliminary round of the XV International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. On 2003/2004 he participated in PianoSummer at New Paltz, NY (Vladimir Feltsman Artistic Director). He has performed in the main concert venues in Colombia, both as a recitalist and as a soloist. He has been featured as a soloist with the Tolima Symphony Orchestra (2002), Corpas Symphony Orchestra (2003), Filarmnica del Valle (2004), National Conservatory Symphony Orchestra (2005), National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia (2005), National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba (2005). His piece The Snake was premiered by the Corpas University Symphony Orchestra in

2003. He is now working towards the completion of his Masters Degree with Robert Hamilton at Arizona State University.

 

Repertoire

Fantasia Baetica.....                                                    Manuel de Falla

Ballade No. 2 in B minor, S.171.                                Franz Liszt

Three Etudes, op. 18...                                               Bela Bartok

Allegro molto

Andante sostenuto

Rubato 

 Sonata No. 4, op. 30 in F sharp                                Alexander Scriabin

Andante

Prestissimo volando

 


2:30    Natalia Efremova

 

Natalia Efremova, a Russian born pianist, was educated in the fusion of Russian and American musical culture. She holds advanced degrees in piano performance, accompaniment, piano pedagogy, and chamber ensemble from Kyrgyz State Conservatory, Ural State Conservatory, and SUNY Potsdam; she is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at the University of Texas, Austin. Natalia is the winner of numerous piano competitions in Kyrgyzstan and received an International Award for Best Performance of Contemporary Music for Central Asia and Kazakhstan.

In addition to hundreds of performances on three continents, she collaborated with many distinguished artists including Tigran Alikhanov, Janija Aubakirova, Michael Burshtin, Frank logha, Dylana Jensen, David Lockington, Michael Mauldin, Danielle Martin, Bulat Mingelkiev, Tatiana Nikolaeva, Anatoly Ryabov, Jakov Zetel and others.

Natalia was a New Mexico resident for nearly 7 years, performing as a soloist, chamber ensemblist, and accompanist. There, she collaborated with many leading artists and performed with the New Mexico symphony, Albuquerque symphony and Los Alamos Symphony, conducted by David Lockington, Michael Mauldin and Robert Wingert respectively. She has also been an accompanist for the Santa Fe Opera, participating in more than 70 recitals in New Mexico, Texas and Nevada. An enthusiastic promoter of new music she has debuted original works in both the U.S.A. and France.

She is a devoted pedagogue and music educator with more than 25 years of experience in both the former Soviet Union and the U.S. A former teacher in Los Alamos and Albuquerque, she produced winners of local, district, state and interstate competitions every year. Her students appear in international piano competitions and hold University scholarships at the University of Texas and Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland.  Natalia joined the ranks of American pianists by attaining U.S. citizenship four years ago in San Antonio, TX.

 

Repertoire

Romantic Sonatina                                                                 Murad Kazhlaev

            I.      Allegro non troppo

            II.      Andante sostenuto, rubato, espressivo quasi improvisato

           III.      Presto con brio

Grande Sonate, Op. 37                                                          Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

            I.      Moderato e risoluto

           II.      Andante non troppo quasi moderato

          III.      Scherzo, Allegro giocoso

          IV.      Finale, Allegro vivace

 


3:15    - Dr. Angela Wu

 

Born in Taiwan, Ms. Wu began her early music training and made her first public performance in Taipei at the age of six. She attended special music program for young talented students since age of nine, and got admission to National Taiwan Normal University without taking the general entrance exam.

During her study of Master and Doctor degree in the University of Michigan, Ms. Wu was the receiver of full scholarship. Her awards included Jessie Phillips Bourquin Award, James Alan Walgreen Keyboard Scholarship, and Beverly Franzblau Baker Scholarship.  

Dr. Wu has studied privately with one of the great pianists and women of the 20th and 21st Centuries, Ruth Slenczynska,

As a soloist and collaborative pianist, Dr. Wu has been invited to many performances, such as contemporary ensemble in Detroit Institute of Arts, "Dances for Petersburg" series with University of Michigan Dance Company, Rackham Chamber Music Series, Barber concert series, Chopin project, Gift of Arts at University Hospital, and Michigan Taiwanese American Organization 5th Annual Taiwanese Music Festival. Ms. Wu has recorded for Chopin project which is scheduled to be released in fall. She is currently teaching in Schoolcraft College.

Selected Performances include:

               The International Russian Music Piano Competition

               Taiwanese Music Festival

               Chopin Project

               Britton Recital Hall

               William Byrd Competition                                                                                         

               MacArthur Recital Hall, Flint Institute of Music-

 

 

Repertoire 

Sonata in A Major K.268

Sonata in A Minor K.59.                                                Scarlatti

Sonata in C Major, Op.53                                              Beethoven

                  Allegro con brio

                  Introduzione. Adagio molto

                   Rondo. Allegretto moderato-Prestissimo

Ballade No.2 in F Major, Op.38...                                   Chopin

Valsas 1 6: No. 11 Valsa-Choro..                                   Mignone

Sonata No.3 in A Minor, Op.28 .                                   Prokofiev


 

4:30     - Dr. Holly Roadfeldt

Holly Roadfeldt holds degrees in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, and the University of Colorado in Boulder.  As a soloist, she made her orchestral debut with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra at the age of 13 and has also appeared with the University of Colorado Orchestra, the Eastman Musica Nova Ensemble, the Indiana University Wind Ensemble, and the Lamont Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she has performed two concertos with the University of Colorado Wind Ensemble under the direction of Allan McMurray including a performance of Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Conference in Hamamatsu, Japan.  The performance was recorded live and subsequently released by the Kosei Publishing Company of Tokyo, Japan as part of the WASBE Concerts, 1995 compact disc.  An excerpt of the performance was also broadcast on Japanese National Television as part of the 1995 WASBE Conference Highlights.

A dedicated performer of contemporary music, Dr. Roadfeldt has premiered over 70 works for solo piano and for various chamber ensembles.  In 1996, she was awarded the prize for the "Best Performance of a 20th Century American Composition" in the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition which resulted in a performance in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.  Additional contemporary music honors include being a semi-finalist in the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in 1998 and 2001 as a contemporary music specialist. 

In addition to her solo performances, Dr. Roadfeldt is an avid chamber musician.  She frequently collaborates with fellow Susquehanna University colleagues Andrew Rammon (cell0) and Reuben Councill (flute) as well as mezzo-soprano, Emily Bullock.  She has also performed with internationally renowned artists Alexa Still, Bonita Boyd, Marcia Baldwin, Joseph Alessi, and Larry Zalkind.

Dr. Roadfeldt is currently teaching at Susquehanna University where she serves as Assistant Professor of Piano. Prior to moving to Pennsylvania, she taught in Arizonas Maricopa Community College System at Glendale Community College, Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Paradise Valley Community College.  In addition, she has taught college courses at Indiana University and the University of Colorado.

 

Repertoire

Variations, op.41                                                          Kapustin

Sonata in F Major. K. 332.                                          Mozart

Variations srieuses ..                                                   Mendelssohn

Etude-Tableau in d minor, Op. 39 #8

Etude-Tableau in D Major, Op. 39 #9.                       Rachmaninoff

 


5:15     Dr. Noel Engebretson

 

Noel Engebretson has established a significant career as a pianist and educator, with a reputation that continues to grow.

A Professor of Music at The University of Alabama, he originally is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. His debut occurred there when he was sixteen, with a performance as guest soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra. Since then he has won numerous awards and honors, including a bronze medal at the 1989 McMahon International Piano Competition, as well as one of the most important awards in the 1988 Young Keyboard Artists Association International Piano Competition and the 2007 Bradshaw and Buono International Competition.

In the summer of 1996 he embarked on a concert tour of The Peoples Republic of China, where he was featured artist in a series of recitals, lectures, and masterciasses. Among the many concerts were appearances with three of Chinas top orchestras, plus solo recitals in many of the major conservatories. These concerts earned him many accolades, and he has been invited back to every major location in which he has performed. This was his second tour of China.

He also has performed in recitals and as guest soloist throughout the United States, appearing with such orchestras as the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra, the Glendale Pops Orchestra, the Lawton Philharmonic, the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, the Austin Symphony in Texas, the Kansas City Medical Arts Orchestra, as well as numerous appearances with the St. Paul Civic Symphony. He has also premiered several new compositions by 20th century composers.

He has studied with some of the worlds leading musicians; among them, John Perry, Frank Mannheimer, as well as Paul Freed, Jorge Bolet, and Leonid Hambro. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Minnesota.

In the summer of 1988 he was one of four artists from around the world to be invited to perform and give master classes at the Eastman School of Music. He has also spent one year on the faculty at the Idyllwild School Of Music And The Arts, as well as participating as faculty in their Summer Music Festival. He has also performed and taught at the Arcosanti Music Festival in Arizona.

He was an award winner in the MTNA Collegiate Artist Competition at the national level, the Minnesota Symphony Competition, Boyd National Competition, Louise D. McMahon International Competition, United States Information Agency Violin and Piano Competition, the Young Keyboard Artists Association International Piano Competition and many more. He has also been an adjudicator and conference artist in various International Piano Competitions and Festivals. His students have placed or won top awards in the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition, the California Music Teachers Association Bartok Competition, as well as numerous local and regional competitions throughout the west and the southeast. In 2001, he joined the faculty at the Interlochen Summer Music Festival for four seasons.

 

Repertoire

Chaconne in d minor..                                               Bach-Busoni

Nocturne #6 in Db ..                                                  Faure

Sonata #6 in A major Op. 82 ...                                Prokofiev

 



SUNDAY

 

12:00    Rena Rzayeva

 

Rena Rzayeva graduated from Azerbaijan State Conservatory (nowadays - Baku Music Academy). Soloist of the Azerbaijan State Philharmony, Baku. Recitals and orchestral perfomances in Azerbaijan, Russia, USA, Austria, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Egypt, Spain, Turkey, etc...The pianist`s repertoire ranges from Bach to the latest works of outstanding complexity from Schumann'`s "Kreisleriana" , "Variations on the theme of Paganini" by Brahms to the famous "Petrouchka Suite" by Strawinsky.

  Rena Rzayeva performed together with such honoured and well-known conductors as Niyazi, Rauf Abdullayev (both - Azerbaijan), Kreshimir Shipush (Norway), David Bukhin (Russia), Roland Freisitzer(Austria), violinist Hans-Heinz Schneeberger (Switzerland), pianist Daniel Grimwood (Great Britain    Various composers have dedicated their piano works to Rena (for example, Ulf-Diether Soyka, Roland Freisitzer, Helmut Neumann - Austria, James Clarke - Great Britain, Zaur Fakhradov, Rahilia Hassanova -Azerbaijan, etc.

    Rena recorded four solo CDs - "Music in Verse" (1996) and "Kara Karayev...Through Time" (2000), which have been released by "Postern Park Digital", a British label , also "Robert Schumann-From West to East" (2006) and "Kara Karayev's Circle" (2006) by "Video Labs Corporation", USA .   Her performance of "Seven Pieces" by Javanshir Kuliyev was selected by "Vienna Modern Masters" for CD released in "Distinguished Performers Series V" (1998).

    The range of her interests is wide; it relates not only to music, but also to poetry. She has acquired a good command of English, Germany and Italian by herself. She speaks and writes verses in these languages.

She likes to be the first performer of the pieces by both Azerbaijanian and other composers.   Rena Rzayeva was the first in Azerbaijan to set up solo programmes, tried to the principle of creative continuity and a spiritual relationship:    The pianist is always on the listener's side, hence she outgrows her desire to create more programmes united by interesting and extraordinary conceptions.

 

Repertoire

Fantasie d-minor ..                                                        Mozart

Six Intermezzi op.4..                                                      Schumann

Trois Mouvements de Petrouchka" (1921) .....        Stravinsky  

       1.Danse Russe

       2.Chez ptrouchka

      3.La Semaine Grasse

Sonatina (1944) ...                                                          Kara Karavev

 


 

12:45     Dr. Christopher Atzinger

Pianist Christopher Atzinger, a native of Jackson, Michigan, has performed in Austria, Italy, France, Spain and Canada in addition to performances throughout the United States highlighted by concerts in New York at Carnegie Hall (Weill), New York University, St. Pauls Chapel, Liederkranz Hall; in Chicago at the Dame Myra Hess Series; and in Washington, D.C. at the Phillips Collection.  His artistry has also been broadcast on Chicagos Live from WFMT and Live from FM 91 on WGTE Toledo, Ohio.  He has performed at the Banff International Keyboard Festival, Brevard Music Festival, and the Chautauqua Institution, in addition to giving lectures and masterclasses across the county.

            A medallist of the New Orleans International Piano Competition, the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, and the Nina Plant Wideman International Piano Competition, Atzinger has been praised by critics for his "personal interpretive vision" and "virtuoso aplomb". He was also winner of the 2005 National Federation of Music Clubs Artist Competition and the Premio Citt di Ispica prize at the IBLA Grand Prize Competition in Ragusa-Ibla, Italy.  Additionally, he has received honors from the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition, the National Society of Arts and Letters, and MTNA.  He has received grants and fellowships from the Theodore Presser Foundation, the American Composers Forum, Foundation La Gesse, and the Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation.  

Atzinger has performed with the Shreveport Symphony, Jackson Symphony (MI), World Festival Orchestra and the St. Olaf Orchestra and has worked with maestros Rossen Milanov, Neal Gittleman, Stephen Smith, and Timothy Muffit among others.  In March, 2008, he will appear with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Klauspeter Seibel.  Also an accomplished collaborative pianist, Atzinger won first prize at the Sydney Wright Memorial Accompaniment Competition.  He especially enjoys musical collaborations with his wife, soprano, Brenda Nicole Atzinger.

            In addition to degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan, Atzinger earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.  He counts among his teachers Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, Anton Nel, David Renner, and Carolyn Lipp, among others.  Additional keyboard studies with Timothy Lovelace, Edward Parmentier, and Penelope Crawford.  Prior to his faculty appointment at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, he taught at Dickinson College (PA).

           

Repertoire

Sieben Fantasien, Op.ll6                                                    Johannes Brahms

Capriccio in D minor                                                                 (1833-1997)

Intermezzo in A minor

Capriccio in G minor

Intermezzo in B major

Intermezzo in E minor

Intermezzo in B major

Capriccio in D minor

 

Sonata for Piano, Op.26                                                    Samuel Barber

            Allegro energico                                                        (1910-1981)

            Allegro vivace e leggero

            Adagio mesto

            Fuga: Allegro con spirito

 


 

2:00         Asami Tamura

 

Asami Tamura, a native of Kyoto, Japan, she has been active as a piano soloist, chamber musician and composer and has perform in the United States, Greece and Japan.  Her performance repertoire covers not only the classical music, but also, Jazz, Indian, and Japanese styled music.  As a collaborate artist, she performs her own music with a lot of musicians, especially singers. 

Born in 1983, she began piano lessons at early age with her mother.  At the age of 10, she won the special judge award in Kyoto region of PTNA competition.  Since then, she decided to pursue her career in music world as a pianist.  During her years in Kyoto High School of Music, she won several awards, including a third place at the Japan Classical Competition.  In 2002, she met an American pianist, Albert Lotto and moved to the United States. 

Getting high reputation for her graduate recital, she finished her Bachelor Degree Program at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Constance Keene in May, 2007. Currently, she is a candidate for the Master Degree Program at the same school as a student of Maria Asteriadou. Her former teachers are Kayoko Ueda, Atuko Miyabe, Yasuko Tazumi, and Satomi Okumura. 

She is second place winner at the Isabel Scionti Piano Competition in 2007.

 

Repertoire 

Sonata No.4 in e minor, Op.70                                         Carl Maria von Weber               

 Ballade No.1 in g minor Op. 23                                          F. Chopin  

 Sonata                                                                                  B. Bartok 

 


 

2:45       Dr. Dorothy Lewis-Griffith

 

Dorothy Lewis-Griffith began her career as a pianist at the age of fourteen when she appeared as soloist with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra.  Later she was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Grant for study in Paris, and during that time she won a prize in the Geneva International Piano Competition.

Lewis-Griffith earned the Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees at The Juilliard School. She continued studies in France at the Conservatoire de Paris and the Ecole Normale de Musique. In 1978 she completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. 

After retiring from an associate professorship at Valdosta State University in Georgia in 1985, she assumed the position of Artist-in-Residence at the Shuford School of Performing Arts, Catawba College, Salisbury, North Carolina until 2001.

As recitalist and soloist with orchestras Dr. Lewis-Griffith has appeared in Europe, South America, Asia and the United States.  Her recordings include George Gershwin, A Piano Solo Album, Etcetera, 1994 as well as the musical score and CD, A Christmas Celebration at the Piano, a collection of traditional carols arranged for the piano which can be found presently on Amazon.com.

Edward Rothstein of the New York Times described her playing as "sensitive and attentive" following a recital at the Abraham Goodman House Merkin Hall

 

Repertoire 

Studies, Opus 18                                                                                      Bartok

     Andante sostenuto

Sonata No. 30 in B Major, Opus 109..                                                   Beethoven

Vivace, ma non troppo. Sempre legato

Prestissimo

Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo

Sonata in B Minor, Opus 58...                                                                 Chopin

  Allegro maestoso

 

Prelude in G Sharp Minor, Opus 32, no.12..                                       Rachmaninoff

Lisle joyeuse.                                                                                         Claude Debussy

 


 

4:15     Esther Park

 

Esther Park has performed as a soloist with orchestras and in recitals across the United States as well as in Korea, China, Canada, France, Russia, Ireland, Spain, Poland, Italy and Israel. Ms. Park has appeared as soloist with many orchestras such as Corpus Christi Symphony, Filharmonia Pomorska, Poland, Orchestra Filarmonica, Romania, Shanghai Philharmonic, China, the American Academy of Conducting Orchestra at Aspen, Shreveport Symphony, the Juilliard Symphony, and the New Jersey Symphony.

            Ms. Park gave a five-city recital tour in Korea, and has performed at the Juilliard Theater in NYC, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Halls Weill Recital Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and on the Kum-Ho Music societys Prodigy Series. She has appeared at the Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara), the Aspen Music Festival, the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival in Maine, the Tel-Hai International Music Festival in Israel, and the Van Cliburn-TCU Institute in Texas. Ms. Park has been heard in New York on WQXR Radio station as the winner of the 52nd Kosciusko International Competition and the Gina Bachauer Competition.

            Ms. Park is the winner of the 2004 Gina Bachauer Piano Competition at the Juilliard School. She is the winner of the Juilliard concerto competition, the 52nd Kosciusko International Piano Competition, New Jersey Young Artists Audition, the Van Cliburn-TCU Institute Young Artist Competition, Corpus Christi International Competition, top prizes at the 3rd China Shanghai International Piano Competition, 6th Paderewski International Piano Competition, the National Chopin Competition, Hilton Head International Competition, the 14th New Orleans International Piano Competition, and is the recipient of the President Clintons Prodigy Award.

             Born in Pusan, Korea in 1984, Ms. Park began to play in public soon after her first piano lessons at the age of four. Ms. Park moved to the United States in 1995, after being accepted to the Juilliard Schools Pre-College division. Ms. Park has since received her Bachelors degree and Masters degree from the Juilliard School, studying with Yoheved Kaplinsky. She has performed in master classes of Arie Vardi, Richard Goode, Leon Fleisher, Jerome Lowenthal, Joseph Kalichstein, Andrew Litton, Joachin Achuccaro, and Karl Ulrich Schnabel.

 

Repertoire

 Sonata in c minor, HobXVI: 20                  Haydn

 Sonata No.3 in b minor, Op.58                  Chopin

 Trois movements de Petrouchka                  Stravinsky

 


5:00     Michael Schneider

 

Critics have hailed Michael Schneider as "a pianist with exceptional insight" and a "performer with great panache" in performances across the states and overseas to Poland and France. Recently championing the music of Franz Liszt, Michael was awarded the Demonic Liszt Prize at the Competition Internationale held in Sante Fe, New Mexico and won six awards at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, including first prize in the Concerto Division and first prize in the Longer Work Category (Dante Sonata). In 2005, he was a top prize winner in the 3rd International Franz Liszt Competition held in Warsaw, Poland.

Mr. Schneider has performed in such venues as the legendary chteau of George Sand in Nohant, France, performing an all-Chopin recital as a guest artist in the International Chopin Festival, and Carnegies Weill Recital Hall as a prizewinner of the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition, also winning the prize for the best performance of a work by an American composer. Recently he was a featured guest artist at the Music Festival of the Hamptons, directed by Lukas Foss. Appearances with orchestras include the Bydgoszcz and Wrolaw Philharmonics in Poland, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra (IL), the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX), the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra (OK), the Big Spring Symphony (TX), and the San Angelo Symphony (TX).

Mr. Schneider is a laureate of many international piano competitions, including the 10th Pacific Piano Competition in Vancouver, the 7th~ San Antonio International Piano Competition, the 4thInternational Paderewski Piano Competition held in Poland, the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in New York, the Texas Steinway Society Career Development Award, and the Grace Welsh Prize for Piano in Chicago.

The fall of 2004 marked the inauguration of the San Angelo Piano Festival (SAPF), a new festival in West Texas created and directed by Michael Schneider  One of the missions of the festival is to help bridge the gap between classical music and youth by offering outreach programs to schools in the community. Michael firmly believes in the power of audience participation and involvement He frequently introduces his programs with a historical perspective and many times shares his own personal and sometimes witty experiences with the music The third San Angelo Piano Festival took place January 19-21, 2007 where Michael collaborated in a performance with renown violinist Jun Iwasaki.

 

Repertoire

Two Sonatas                                                                                             Domenico Scarlatti

            F major, L. 432

            E major, L. 224

Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor/D-flat major, Op. 31                               Chopin

Suite of Mind                                                                                       Michael Schneider

            Innocence

            Solemnity

            Confusion

            Terror

            Dreaming, and a slow awakening

 

Aprs une Lecture de Dante: Fantasia Quasi Sonata                           Franz Liszt

 

 



For More Information:
Larry Porter, M.M., Director
International Piano Institute
551 W. Cordova Rd #133
Santa Fe, NM, 87505