From the President

Oh my goodness how time is flying – do you notice that as we get older, the time goes faster? We have been working for some time now on the 2008 Competition, which we are sure will be our best ever. Since early 2004, we have been receiving emails and faxes asking for details of the 2008 Competition. In August 2006, the Application/Audition Booklet will be published and placed on our website. In 2004, 85% of all applications received were made on the Application Form downloaded from our website. You will see in this Newsletter, details of continuing successes of our prize-winners in the “What they are doing now” Section. I would like to tell you that I have just finished writing a book about my life - “Ups and Downs” will be the title. I hope that you will all read it when it is published, which I hope will be soon. I will advise you when it is printed and when it will become available. We welcome John Chen back in March this year to undertake a very extensive tour in Australia with Recitals and five different Concerto appearances with five different orchestras - what a feat! As always, I look forward to seeing you during the year. Since mid-2004, we have already had requests for details of the 2008 Competition. This material will be available in booklet form and on our website from mid-August, 2006. Until then, I send all our audience my love and my good wishes. Claire Dan AM, OBE

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What they are doing now

John Chen begins his return tour to Australia on 3rd March 2006 with a Gala Recital at Government House, Sydney. He will give recitals and/or concerto appearances in WA, SA, Vic, NSW, Q and NT. For details, click here. Yuki Takao has been unable to restrain his curiosity for learning, to explore the academic field by studying other majors. He passed the entrance examination of The University of Tokyo and enrolled in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, where he is studying mainly Humanities, including Philosophy, Literature, Sociology, Psychology, History and Aesthetics, but also Scientific Fields in order to establish fundamental relations between humans and the arts. Nicolai Ivanovsky came back to composition about two years ago. In the middle of last year, he composed a piano work that has a form of theme and variations. The title of the work is Vartiknesh, an Armenian word meaning “little roses”. Another composition experience of the last year, was a work in the genre that is not popular nowadays at all. It is the Concertino for piano for left hand and string orchestra. The history of left hand works is not a happy one. The idea of composing a work in this genre came to his mind a long time ago. This work is very happy in its mood and in the whole 24 minutes, there is nothing negative in its moods. As a pianist, he had a long period of creative crisis in recent years. In 2005 he came back to performing and now plays in a quite different style. Ayano Shimada has been regularly invited to perform in Music Festivals and soloist with orchestra, in chamber music and as a recitalist in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy and Japan. In January 2006, she has recorded her first CD. Sunghoon Hwang now lives in Hanover where he studied from 2002 to 2004. He also studied in Rome with Mr. Perticaroli. Since 2004, he has studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris with Prof. Youngshin An. He received the 2nd Prize in the ‘Ile de France’ Competition in 2005 and 1st Prize and Special Prize for the interpretation of a romantic work in the Guardiagrele International Competition in Italy, also in 2005. Alexey Yemtsov will be undertaking a number of engagements in 2006 and these are listed on Page 6 of this Newsletter. Spencer Myer received the Silver Medal at the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati in July 2005. Preceding this, he had a brief tour in Germany presented by Kawai Pianos with recitals in Essen, Wesel and Krefeld. He also won the 5th Prize and the Audience Prize at the Busoni International Competition in Bolzano, Italy. In September 2005, he performed a recital with soprano Nicole Cabell, the recent winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. In September he also performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4 with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra as one of the 5 finalists in the American Pianists Association Classical Fellowship Awards. Recently he performed his debut recital in Philadelphia. Shan Deng is still teaching at the Conservatorium of Music, University of Tasmania. Both this year and last year, she has had a student in the second round of the ABC Young Performers Awards. Last year, she also had a studying in the Final round of the Menuhin Competition. In 2005, Shan peformed with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as soloist, and also have concerts in Hobart, around Tasmania and in Brisbane. In 2006, she is again performing with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and will release a CD with a Chinese recording label. Also in the pipeline is a concert tour of Asia, slated for 2007.

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Photos from 2005 Friends' Christmas Party

Oliver She, John Blanch (Kawai) and Jeremy So. Oliver and Jeremy provided the recital at the 2005 Christmas Party, held at the Goethe Institut, Sydney. Warren Thomson and Rosemary Spencer. Jeremy So, Warren Thomson, Oliver She and The Hon. Bronwyn Bishop MP

3rd Tblisi International Piano Competition

Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia Artistic Director and Tblisi Jury Member Warren Thomson gives an overview of the Competition, which ran from 2 to 15 October, 2005. From the 101 applications received, 41 were selected to participate in the Competition. A total of 26 actually registered on 2nd October, 2005 to participate in the Competition. Competitors came from Georgia, The Netherlands, Russia, France, Ukraine, Italy, Israel, Korea, Germany, Japan, South Africa and China. The Competitors ranged in age from 16 to 33. The Jury of 13 comprised Manana Doidjashvili (Georgia), Dmitri Alexeev (Russia-Great Britain), Agustin Anievas (USA), Marcel Baudet (The Netherlands), Michel Dalberto (France), Nan Dimitriadi (Georgia), Noel Flores (Austria), Oleg Maisenberg (Austria), Revaz Tavadze (Georgia), Warren Thomson (Australia), Maria Tipo (Italy), Dubravka Tomsic (Slovenia) and Vili Sarsyan (Armenia). On the morning of October 2nd, the Competitors drew lots to establish the order of performance. The opening of the Competition took place in the Grand Hall at 6.00pm on 2 October. All Competitors, Major Sponsors and the Jury were seated on the stage for the first part of the ceremony. I was honoured to be asked to give the Opening Speech on behalf of the Jury – a speech that was later published in a newspaper. The Jury was introduced, the Competitors welcomed, and sponsors thanked in a series of short speeches including a message from the President of Georgia. The second part of the evening was a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 5. Round I of the Competition began on the morning of 3rd October at 10.00am, with a further session at 5.00pm in the Grand Hall of the Conservatoire. In Round I, the Competitors were required to play a Bach Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier Vol I or II, Two Scarlatti Sonatas, an Étude by Chopin and a work of their own choice to make a program of approximately 20-25 minutes. There were specific lists of works by Bach and Chopin. After this Round had finished, the Jury voted on the 18 pianists that would proceed to Round II. Eventually 19 were selected. Round II began on the 6th October at 10.00am and continued at 5.00pm. The same schedule was on the 7 and 8 October. In this Round, Competitors were required to perform a Sonata by Haydn or Mozart or Beethoven or Schubert, a set Georgian piece Khorumi by Mary Davitashvili, a Khorumi being a Georgian Folk Dance. This work was in 5/8 , had strong contrasts in dynamics and was a very effective work. The remainder of the program was a work of own choice by a 19th Century Composer. The overall program was to be 40 – 45 minutes. Composers represented in this Stage included Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Alkan, Tchaikovsky/Pletnev and Franck. At the end of this Round, 12 were selected to proceed to Round III. Jury of the Tblisi Competition Round III (Semi-Final) A recital of own choice works of different styles – 55-60 minutes overall duration. A typical program had 2,3 or 4 works. Some examples are: Program No 1: Brahms Piano Sonata No 3, Prokoviev Piano Sonata No 8, Program No 2: Schubert 4 Impromptus Op 142, Takemitsu Rain Tree Sketch, Rachmaninov Variations on a Theme by Corelli Op 42, Program No 3: Bach French Overture, Debussy Estampes, Stravinsky Three Movements from Petrouchka, Program No 4: Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition, Rachmaninov Prelude in D Major Op 23 No 4, Prokofiev Piano Sonata No 7. Six competitors were then chosen for the Finals. The Finals were held in the D.J. Kakhidze Tbilisi Center for Music and Culture. The building was quite beautiful but the acoustic was not good. The orchestra was the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jean-Bernard Pommier (France). The concerts held on 13th and 14th October each presented three concertos. On the 13th October: Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3, Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini and Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2. On the 14th October: Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1, Liszt Piano Concerto No 1 and another Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1. Following the voting, the following prize-winners (ages in brackets) were announced: The Grand Hall of the Conservatoire Grand Prize - US $ 15,000 – Daniil Tsvetkov _ Russia (21) First Prize - US $ 10,000 – Tamar Berai – Georgia (17) Second Prize -US $ 7,000 – Katia Nuiatishvili – Georgia (18) Third Prize - US $ 5,000 – Dizhou Zhao - PR China (26) Fourth Prize US $ 4,000 - Denis Zhdanov – Ukraine (16) Fifth Prize - US $ 3,000 - Ina Charuashvili – Georgia (21) A number of Special Prizes were also given. The level of performance overall was very high and it was evident that we had heard some real personalities who had given some very impressive performances. On the days off, the Jury and Special Guests were taken on excursions around the old city of Tbilisi, to the Castle and the TV Tower with fantastic views over the city. We also visited Skheta, the ancient capital of Georgia. At the Opera House in Tbilisi we saw and heard a very thrilling and breath-taking performances of folk music – especially the dancers were absolutely outstanding with a wide range different dances and a great variety of costumes representing different parts of Georgia. Most of our lunches were in the Conservatoire Cafeteria where the staff provided wonderful and very varied dishes – hot and cold, fresh fruit and superb cakes. One of the most memorable aspects of the time in Tbilisi was the warmth and friendliness of the people with whom we came in contact and with and their generosity towards us. It was certainly a time that I will remember with enthusiasm far into the future. - Warren Thomson

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Alexey Yemtsov will give a number of recitals and concerto appearances in 2006. These include: • Grieg Piano Concerto with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Milton on Friday, 17th February - 8.00pm, and Sunday, 19th February - 2.00pm, at the Willoughby Town Hall.* • Recitals with works by Schubert, Ravel, Scriabin and Rachmaninov.* • Sunday, 1st July – 8.15pm, Lennox Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Parramatta • Sunday, 20th August – 2.30pm, Mosman Music Club, Blessed Sacrement Church, Clifton Gardens • Friday, 25th August – 1.00pm, Elder Hall, Adelaide University • Friday, 1st September – 8.00pm, Tyalgum Festival Opening Recital • Sunday, 3rd September – 2.30pm, Berry, Villa Strachanus • Wednesday, 6th September – 8.00pm, Roseville Music Club, St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, Roseville • Sunday, 10th September – 2.30pm, Mentone Grammar School Hall, (Melbourne) • Friday, 15th September – 8.00pm, Peninsula Music Club, Loquat Valley School Hall • Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 1 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy in the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Thursday, 23rd November - 8.00pm, Friday 24th November - 8.00pm, Saturday 25th November - 8.00pm *Organized through the Cladan Concert Management.

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