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NEWSLETTER
The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia
and the
Friends of The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia

Editor: Daniel Mitterdorfer
March 2004

From the President | What they are doing now | Auditions for the 2004 Competition
Jury Members for the Auditions | The 36 Pianists Chosen | 2004 Audition Jury Photos
Chamber Music in the Competition | From the Friends' Tour to Austria and Russia

From the President

It is now 30 years since I first had the idea to begin a piano competition. Despite being told by many people that this was an unrealistic idea, I decided to do it despite all the work that was involved. From this beginning, we now have one of the world’s great piano competitions.

In my opinion, we also have one of the most appreciative audiences, not only in the concert hall, but throughout all parts of Australia. ABC Classic FM brings the competition to the most remote corners of the country — an audience of some 1.6 million people each day.

We already have the best country in which to live and following the recent world-wide live auditions for this year’s competition, we can look forward eagerly to our best competition ever.

I look forward to sharing this great event with you all either in the concert hall or in the most remote parts of our country. I can’t wait for 1st July, 2004 to come!

Claire Dan
AM, OBE

What they are doing now

Piers Lane’s recent recording of Grainger transcriptions, “Rambles and Reflections” (Hyperion CDA67279) was highly praised by Stephen Johnson in his review published in BBC Music Magazine. “Lane’s playing may at first sound more contained, but in his performances the combination of crystalline brilliance and focused inner intensity can be breathtaking.”
Lane’s recent recital appearances have included the NCRV End of the Century series at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Auckland, Bremen, Brisbane, Melbourne, Munich, Perth, Stockholm, Wellington and the Wigmore Hall; as well as the piano festivals of Duszniki, Husum, La Roque d’Antheron, Singapore and the Ruhr. In addition to touring with British violinist Tasmin Little, he performs two-piano works with Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin, with whom he has given recitals in London and Montréal. Concerto engagements have included the Auckland Philharmonic, The Queensland Orchestra, Dohnanyì with the Orchestre National de France at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in the Prague Spring Festival with violinist Dmitri Sitkovetsky and Czech ’cellist Jiri Barta and Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall with the BBC Philharmonic.

Clemens Leske will perform the Rachmaninov Variations on a Theme by Paganini and the Grieg and Tchaikovsky concertos with the Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras (Sydney, October 22 and 23), a solo recital for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Rising Star series and a two-piano recital with Benjamin Martin for the ABC.

Scott Davie who performed for the Friends in 2002 has recently released through ABC Classics, a CD of music by Rachmaninov, performed on a Ron Overs piano. Works include the Six Moments Musicaux Op. 16 and Variations on a Theme by Corelli Op. 42. Scott visited Moscow in January this year to research Rachmaninov scores for his doctoral thesis.

Since the 1996 Competition, Ingo Dannhorn has won a number of awards, including 1997 - International Beethoven Competition in Vienna, 1998 - Music Award from the City of Munich, 2000 - ARTS-Cultural Prize of the City of Traunstein, 2001 - Stipend of the International Richard Wagner Foundation (founded by Richard Wagner) and 2001 - 3rd Prize at the International Beethoven Competition in Vienna. He has also released seven CD’s featuring both Beethoven and Liszt, among others.

William Chen has recently launched a CD in London at the Mayfair Art Gallery. The CD contains Schumann’s Carnaval, Grainger’s Ramble on the last love-duet from 'Der Rosenkavalier', Stephen Hough’s Two Songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Rachmaninov’s Vocalise, Godovsky-Saint-Saëns’ The Swan and Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1. The CD is now available in Australia on ABC Classics. William also participated in the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland in 2001 and also had a very successful tour in China. Recently, he gave a highly acclaimed recital in Paris.

Auditions for the 2004 Competition

The 2004 Competition attracted almost 250 formal applications from some 46 countries. Fifty-three percent of the applicants were male and 47% female. The Internet was used by almost 85% of applicants for obtaining the application form and other competition information. The auditions were held in Vienna, Hamburg, Paris, Moscow, London, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Sydney.

The piano manufacturers Bösendorfer, Kawai, Steinway and Yamaha hosted auditions and provided a concert grand, practice facilities for the competitiors, and refreshments. In Sydney, Theme and Variations sponsored the Australian auditions. In all venues, the piano was maintained in ‘top’ condition for the pianists and enabled them to show their skills as pianists and musicians. The list of venues and the assisting jurors is provided for information. Without exception the assistant jurors undertook their work with enthusiasm and a great deal of seriousness. Competitors were introduced to the jury members before they performed.

The attendance at the auditions was considerably higher than in 1996 and 2000, with many days showing nil absentees. This was despite difficulties, e.g. in Moscow, there was a bomb blast on the Metro, rail delays into New York, and in London, streetworks outside the audition venue.

Without exception, the assisting jurors commented that the standard was higher overall than in 2000, and the task of selecting only 36 to participate in the Competition was made extremely difficult. In each city, a reserve list was made — all on this list having reached the standard required to participate. The final list of 36 and Reserves follows in this issue.

Jury Members for the Auditions

Auditions took place during Januray, February and March 2004. Eminent musicians who assisted Artistic Director Warren Thomson, were:

Vienna, at Bösendorfer Hall
Prof Alexander Jenner - concert pianist and teacher of Vienna Hochschule
Prof Heinz Medjimorec - member of the Haydn Trio, professor at Vienna Hochschule and Artistic Director of the Beethoven Competition

Hamburg, at Steinway Hall
Prof Volker Banfield - Professor of Hamburg Hochschule, concert pianist and recording artist
Prof Detlef Krauss - Former Professor of Essen Hochschule and world-authority on the music of Brahms

Paris, at Yamaha European Centre
Mr Bertrand Giraud - concert and recording artist and artistic director of the Jean Françaix International Competition
Mr Aquiles Delle-Vigne - distinguished Argentinian pianist, recording artist and teacher

Moscow, at Tchaikovsky Conservatoire
Prof Serge Dorensky - leading teacher and former Dean of Piano at Moscow Conservatoire and concert pianist. He has 97 laureats from international competitions.
Prof Victor Merzhanov - concert pianist and leading teacher at Moscow Conservatoire

London, at Steinway Hall
Mr Bryce Morrison - music critic, lecturer and authority on piano music
Miss Norma Fisher - concert pianist and teacher and Artistic Director of the London Master-Classes

New York, at Yamaha America
Mr Phillip Kawin - concert pianist and teacher at Manhattan School of Music
Prof Lev Natochenny - concert pianist and recording artist. Professor at the Frankfurt Hochschule and formerly of Mannes School, New York

Los Angeles, at Kawai America
Emeritus Prof Nancy Bricard - former head of piano at University of Southern California - Los Angeles - and leading editor of French piano music
Prof John Perry - concert pianist and teacher at the University of Southern California - Los Angeles and Toronto Conservatory, Canada

Tokyo, at Yamaha Ginza
Miss Shuku Iwasaki - concert pianist and professor at Tokyo Music College
Prof Midori Tanabe - former professor at Toho University of Fine Arts

Sydney, at the Scots College
Mr Malcolm Batty - ABC Classic FM music producer
Mr Ian Munro - Australian internationally acclaimed concert pianist, composer and recording artist.

Pictures of the Audition Juries in each city, are featured below.

The 36 Chosen Pianists

Following worldwide auditions of almost 250 pianists, the following, in alphabetical order, have been selected and invited to participate in the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition:

	Name			Country	Audition Venue
1	Miss	Arta	Arnicane	Latvia	London
2	Miss	Charisse	Baldoria	Philippines	New York
3	Mr	Pedro	Casals	Spain	Paris
4	Mr	John	Chen	New Zealand	Sydney
5	Miss	Alice	Demske	USA	New York
6	Miss	Martina	Filjak	Croatia	Paris
7	Mr	Zoltan	Fuzessery	Hungary	Hamburg
8	Mr	Jayson	Gillham	Australia	Sydney
9	Mr	Masataka	Goto	Japan	Tokyo
10	Mr	Daniel	Hill	Australia	Moscow
11	Miss	Chu-Fang	Huang	P.R. China	New York
12	Mr	Sunghoon	Hwang	South Korea	Hamburg
13	Miss	Brenda	Jones	USA	Los Angeles
14	Mr	Ji-Hoon	Jun	South Korea	Vienna
15	Miss	Alina	Kabanova	Russia	Hamburg
16	Mr	Alexey	Kurbatov	Russia	Moscow
17	Mr	Xin	Liu	P.R. China	By Video
18	Mr	Alexandre	Loubiantsev	Russia	Moscow
19	Mr	Carles	Marin	Spain	Paris
20	Miss	Maria	Mazo	Germany	Hamburg
21	Miss	Laura	McDonald	Australia	Paris
22	Mr	Viv	McLean	England	London
23	Mr	James Jae-Won	Moon	South Korea	Sydney
24	Mr	Spencer	Myer	USA	New York
25	Miss	Luba	Poliak	Israel	New York
26	Miss	Daria	Rabotkina	Russia	New York
27	Miss	Manila	Santini	Italy	Paris
28	Mrs	Yang	Shen	P.R. China	Los Angeles
29	Miss	Ayano	Shimada	Japan	Paris
30	Mr	Marian	Sobula	Poland	Vienna
31	Mr	Masataka	Takada	Japan	Vienna
32	Mr	Rem	Urasin	Russia	Moscow
33	Mr	Slawomir	Wilk	Poland	Vienna
34	Miss	Clara	Yang	USA	Los Angeles
35	Miss	Viktoriya	Yermolyeva	Ukraine	Paris
36	Miss	Jie	Zheng	P.R. China	Vienna

Reserve List (Listed in order of merit)

The Reserve List will be used in the event that one or more of the pianists selected to participate in the Competition in 2004 is/are unable to accept the offer. Offers to those of the Reserve List will only be made until 1st May, 2004.

1	Mr	Gareth	Owen	Wales	London
2	Mr	Hironao	Suzuki	Japan	Tokyo
3	Mr	Slawomir	Saranok	Belorussia	Hamburg
4	Mr	Ryo	Yanagitani	Canada	New York
5	Mr	Boris	Feiner	Ukraine	London
6	Mr	Libor	Novacek	Czech Republic	London
7	Miss	Fan	Yeng	China	New York
8	Mr	Brian	Hsu	Taiwan	New York
9	Mr	Alexander	Ghindin	Russia	Moscow
10	Miss	Tatyana	Larionova	Russia	Moscow

2004 Audition Jury Photos


Vienna: Alexander Jenner, Heinz Medjimorec and Warren Thomson	Hamburg: Gerrit Glaner (concert + artist services), Volker Banfield, Warren Thomson and Detlef Krauss

Paris: Akihiko Shindo (General Manager), Aquiles Delle-Vigne, Warren Thomson and Bertrand Giraud	Moscow: Warren Thomson, Serge Dorensky and Victor Merzhanov

London: Bryce Morrison, Norma Fisher and Warren Thomson	New York: Stan Zielinski (Director), Phillip Kawin, Lev Natochenny and Warren Thomson

Los Angeles: Brian Chung (General Manager), John Perry, Nancy Bricard and Warren Thomson	Sydney: Warren Thomson, Ian Munro and Malcolm Batty

Chamber Music in Competitions since 1977

1977 - Piano Quintets. Schumann Op 44, OR Brahms Op 34 OR Shostakovich Op 57 with the Sydney String Quartet: Harry Curby, Dorel Tincu, Alexandru Todicescu and Nathan Waks.

1981 – Piano Quintet OR Piano Trio: Piano Quintets: Schumann OR Brahms OR Dvorak OR Shostakovich with the Sydney String Quartet: William Hennessy - Guest Leader, Douglas Weiland - Guest Second Violin, Alexandru Todicescu and Nathan Waks. Piano Trios: Beethoven Op 97 OR Schubert Op 99 OR Tchaikovsky Op 50 with Harry Curby and David Pereira.

1985 - Piano Quintet OR Piano Trio OR Violin Sonata. Piano Quintets: Brahms OR Dvorak OR Franck OR Schumann OR Shostakovich Op 57 with the Petra Quartet: Jonathan Allen, Peter Exton, Helen Sargeant, Susan Pickering. Piano Trios: Beethoven Op 97 OR Schubert Op 99 OR Tchaikovsky Op 50 with Elizabeth Holowell and Susan Blake. Violin Sonatas: Beethoven Op 47 OR Brahms Op 108 OR Franck A Major OR Bartok No 2 with Christopher Kimber.

1988 - Violin OR Cello Sonata. Violin Sonatas: Beethoven Op 47 OR Brahms Op 108 OR Franck A Major OR Bartok No 2 with Christopher Kimber OR Miwako Abe. Cello Sonatas: Beethoven Op 60 OR Brahms Op 99 OR Chopin Op 65 OR Fauré Op 117 OR Debussy Sonata with Georg Pedersen.

1992 - Violin OR Cello Sonata. Repertoire as for 1988 with Charmian Gadd, Carmel Kaine and Georg Pedersen.

1996 - Violin OR Cello Sonata. Repertoire as for 1988 with Charmian Gadd-Goldner, Semyon Kobets, Tony Gould and Georg Pedersen.

2000 - Piano Trio. Arensky No 1 OR Beethoven Op 70 No 1 OR Brahms Op 87 OR Dvorak Op 90 OR Mendelssohn Op 49 OR Ravel A minor OR Shostakovich Op 67 with Dene Olding and Julian Smiles OR Donald Hazelwood and Nathan Waks.

2004 – Piano Trio. Arensky No 1 OR Beethoven Op 70 No 1 OR Brahms Op 8 OR Dvorak Op 90 OR Mendelssohn Op 49 OR Ravel A minor OR Shostakovich Op 67 with Helen Ayres and Timothy Nankervis OR Kirsten Williams and Georg Pedersen.

From the Friends' Tour to Austria and Russia

Warren Thomson and Friends’ of the Competition Judy Hunt and Denise Fink, on tour near the Kremlin walls. A full report from the tour will be in the next issue of the Newsletter.