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I am very pleased to announce that I have formed, under the Cladan Cultural Exchange Institute of Australia, an “Artists’ Management” Division. Young musicians and especially pianists need many opportunities to perform in public not only in Australia but also in other parts of the world without losing a large proportion of their concert fee to an Agency. Over many years, the Competition has developed quite an extensive number of professional and sympathetic contacts, which will be invaluable in arranging concerts and concert tours for young musicians. The Cladan Cultural Exchange Institute of Australia Artists’ Management will only deduct a small percentage from the Artist’s Fee to cover administrative/office expenses - in other words, it will be a non-profit venture. There is no person more organized and experienced that I am aware of, who could administer this new part of our organisation than our Artistic Director, Professor Warren Thomson. I am, therefore, delighted to announce that he has accepted to undertake this work. The world has many great pianists and one of my favourites, Vladimir Ashkenazy, has honoured us by agreeing to be the Artistic Patron for the 2008 Competition. You will find more information about Vladimir Ashkenazy later in this Newsletter. Claire Dan AM, OBE |
Ayano Shimada, Fourth Prizewinner in the 2004 Competition continues her studies in Paris with with Prof. Aquiles Delle-Vigne and Prof. Jean-Claude Pennetier., and is giving recitals and chamber music concerts in Paris, Spoleto, Florence, Tokyo, Iwate, Krefeld, Essen, Innsbruk and Aubergne. 
2004 Competitor Alexey Kurbatov has been giving recitals at the Music Festival in Portugal (August, 2004), for the Wagner Society in Russia and at the Moscow Conservatoire (both October, 2004) and at the House of Scientists, Kiev (December, 2004).
Bernd Glemser has recently issued another CD for Naxos of works by Robert Schumann – the Symphonic Etudes Op 13 and the great Fantasie Op 17. This CD is the 3rd in the series of the complete piano music of Robert Schumann. The BBC Magazine in February 2005 had a wonderful review of this new CD “Most notably of all is his beautiful tone quality – deep, rich and clear – enhancing the Lieder-like elements of the Fantastie.”
Arta Arnicane completed her course at the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow, and is now continuing her studies at the Latvia Academy of Music with Prof. Serge Osokin. She gave two concerts in Glasgow in November 2004, and performed the Beethoven Choral Fantasy Op 80 with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and Choir in Riga. She also gave recitals with her violinist sister and also performed works by Latvian composers Dubra and Ivanova at a Keyboard Festival in Helsinki.
Evgeny Ukhanov has recently given performances for the Australian Opera Auditions Committee at their Christmas Function and at Parliament House, Sydney. He will give a full recital for the Peninsula Music Club on the evening of Friday 3rd June, 2005. 
John Chen, at very short notice replaced Xiang Dong Kong as soloist with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra in two performances of the vivacious and colourful Shostakovich Piano Concerto No 2 Op 102. The Orchestra’s Chief Conductor, Nicholas Milton, was on the podium and the concerts were held at the Willoughby Town Hall.
Zoltan Fuzessery won 3rd Prize in the Giuliano Pecar Competition in Italy. He has been invited to give two recitals in Gorizia, Italy and in Slovenia.
Luba Poliak is working on her DMA at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. In November, she performed the Ravel G Major Concerto with the Stony Brook Orchestra.
Warren Thomson visited China in January 2005, giving Master-classes in Shanghai and Shenzhen. He was given an Honorary Professorship at the Shanghai SIPO Polytechnic at a public ceremony in the Kong Xiang-Dong Music Arts College.
Alexei Volodin will return to Australia in August and the first half of September, 2006 for a concert tour. Concerts have already been arranged in WA, SA, Vic, NSW and Queensland. The itinerary will be included in the May, 2006 Newsletter. Alexei has had 90 recitals and concerto appearances in Europe over the past two years.
Bravo Sasha! Alexander Gavryluk, who has performed serveral times for the Friends of SIPCA and at the launch of the 2000 Competition Application/Audition booklet at the Seymour Centre, has won First Prize at the 2005 Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv, Israel. He won USD25,000 for the First Prize and USD5,000 for the Best Concerto prize, playing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1.
• Piano Recital by Duncan Gifford - 3.00pm, 10 July, 2005 - Goethe Institut, Woollahra. Program to include Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat Major KV570, Debussy’s Estampes, Prokofiev’s Sonata No 4 Op 29 in c minor. The invitation for this recital is enclosed with this Newsletter.
• Piano Recital by Alexey Yemstov - 3.00pm, 28 August, 2005 - Penthouse of the Quay Apartments, Circular Quay. The Program includes Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, Schubert’s Impromptu Op 90 No 3 in G Flat Major and Prokofiev’s Sonata No 6 Op 82A in A Major. The invitation for this recital is enclosed with this Newsletter also.
Vladimir Ashkenazy’s conviction that music is indivisible is borne out by his engagement with many different aspects of music-making, as conductor, piano recitalist, chamber musician and architect of varied and large-scale musical projects.
Due to public demand, ABC Classics has released a CD with material from the 1992 Competition, featuring Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op 43, played by Vitaly Samoshko, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No 1 in E-flat Major, played by Duncan Gifford and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 3 in C Major, played by Olivier Cazal.
The Tyalgum Festival of Classical Music began in 1991 after concert violinists Carmel Kaine and John Willison fell under the acoustic spell of the Tyalgum Literary Institute. Since then numerous artists have ranked the 1908 Hall alongside some of the best concert venues in the world.