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ClaviCologne • Hamburg

International Piano Festival and Competition 19–30 March, 2019

ClaviCologne • Hamburg

International Piano Festival and Competition

19–30
March
2019

Professors Master Classes

Special Guest

Alfred Brendel Austria

Alfred Brendel studied piano and composition in Zagreb and Graz, completing his piano studies with Edwin Fischer, Paul Baumgartner and Eduard Steuermann. For 60 years he has enjoyed a distinguished international career concentrating on the works of central European composers from Bach to Schoenberg as well as featuring many works by Liszt. He was the first pianist to record Beethoven’s complete piano works, and was highly influential in getting Schubert’s Piano Sonatas and the Schoenberg Piano Concerto recognised as integral parts of the piano repertoire. He has performed regularly at the world’s musical centres and festivals, and with the leading orchestras and conductors, and his extensive discography has contributed to making him one of the most respected artists of our time. His final concert appearance was with the Vienna Philharmonic on 18 December 2008. It was released on CD, together with his last solo recital by Decca.

Alfred Brendel's Workshop Application →


Dmitri Alexeev UK

Russian pianist Dmitri Alexeev is one of the world's most highly regarded artists. His critically praised recitals on the world's leading concert stages and his concert appearances with the most prestigious orchestras have secured his position as one of "the most remarkable pianists of the day" (Daily Telegraph). He has performed in the major concert halls around the world with most of great orchestras such as Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Concertgebouw, all London orchestras etc. under many celebrated conductors (Giulini, Ashkenazy, Boulez, Muti, Pappano, Temirkanov, Rozhdestvensky, Jansons,Gergiev,Tennstedt among others).

Dmitri Bashkirov Russia

Dmitri Bashkirov's name has been known to the musical world since 1955 when he received the Grand Prix at the Marguerite Long Competition in Paris. He was born in 1931 in Tiflis, Georgia, where he studied with Anastasia Wirsaladze before moving to Moscow to study with the famous Soviet pianist and pedagogue Alexander Goldenweiser. After his Paris success, he established himself as one of the most outstanding Russian pianists, performing at the most important musical centres and festivals worldwide, with leading orchestras under the baton of famous conductors such as Barbirolli, Mazur, Sawallisch, Szell, Markevich, Svetlanov, Mehta, Zecchi and Barenboim.

Michel Beroff France

Michel Beroff was born in France in 1950. After graduating from the Paris conservatoire in 1966, he won the following year the first prize at the first international Olivier Messiaen piano competition. He has been since considered one of the most outstanding interpreter of Messiaen’s music. He then went on to play with the most prestigious orchestras around the world under the direction of such conductors as Abbado, Barenboim, Bernstein, Boulez, Dohnanyi, Dorati, Dutoit, Eschenbach, Gielen, Inbal, Jochum, Leinsdorf, Masur, Ozawa, Previn, Rostropovitch, Sinopoli, Solti, Tennsted, Tilson-Thomas, Zinman.

Akiko Ebi Japan

Akiko Ebi is a world-class pianist. Ebi developed her career after winning the 41st Music Competition of Japan in her freshman year at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. After graduating at the top of her class from the Paris Conservatoire, she studied in the graduate school of the Conservatoire as well. Ebi was Grand Prix winner of the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition, where she was also awarded four special prizes by A. Rubinstein and others. She also won the 5th prize of the International Chopin Piano Competition in 1980. She has received numerous awards and official commendations, including the Frederic Chopin Society of Japan Award, two Japan Gold Disc Awards, the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government, a medal as an honorary citizen of Paris, and the Exxon-Mobile Music Prize (Japan).

Sergei Edelmann Belgium

Born in Lviv, Ukraine in 1960, Sergei Edelmann represents a direct link to an outstanding piano tradition of Felix Blumenfeld and Heinrich Neuhaus. In his native country, Sergei\'s first orchestral performance was at the age of 10 playing Beethoven's First Piano Concerto. He subsequently performed extensively in recitals and with orchestras throughout ex-USSR. After immigrating to the United States in 1979 and immediately winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Mr. Edelmann has quickly established himself as a significant and highly acclaimed pianist of his generation, frequently being compared to the likes of Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein, and has since become a leading artist both in the concert hall and in the recording studio.

Pavel Gililov Austria / Germany

Pavel Gililov was born in the Soviet Union and was discovered by Dimitry Kabalevsky, as a musical talent. In 1972, whilst still a student, he won the Moscow National Piano Competition and was awarded a prize at the 1975 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. From 1982 until his retirement, in 2013, he was piano professor at the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne and is Guest Professor at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. The pianist holds several master classes throughout Europe and the Far East and is Chairman of the Jury and Artistic Director at the International Telekom Beethoven Competition, Bonn. He is considered one of the most influential piano experts in the world and is responsible for many pianistic careers of the last decades.

Bernd Goetzke Germany

Born in Hanover in 1951. At the age of 13 he was accepted as a student at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, where he studied Piano with Prof. Karl-Heinz Kämmerling until obtaining his Concert Soloist’s Diploma in 1975. Another important phase in his development as a pianist was his long association (1969 to 1977) with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, who regarded him as his last pupil. He also participated in Beethoven courses given by Wilhelm Kempff and Claudio Arrau. Bernd Goetzke was awarded prizes in several international competitions (Paris, Milan, Brussels, Athens, Epinal amongst others).

Alexej Gorlatch Germany

Alexej Gorlatch is Professor of Piano at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. He was teaching at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts and at the Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media. He has given masterclasses in Europe and the USA and has been jury member of international competitions. He studied at the Berlin University of Arts with Martin Hughes and at the Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Bernd Goetzke, where he graduated with the Konzertexamen.

Grigory Gruzman Germany

Born 1956 in St. Petersburg. Grigory Gruzman had his first piano lessons at the age of five. He attended Special music school for gifted children in St. Petersburg. While attending school he had more than 300 appearances on stage in different Russian cities. He studied with Prof. Gregory Haimowsky at the Academy of Music in Jerusalem and with Prof. Vitalij Margulis at the College of Music in Freiburg (Germany). He is a prize winner of international piano competitions in Monza and Vercelli (Italy).

Gesa Lücker Germany

German pianist Gesa Luecker gave her first public concert aged nine and her orchestral debut followed when she was 12 years old. She studied with Martin Dörrie and Matti Raekallio at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hannover up until the concert exam program; further work with luminaries such as Arie Vardi, Fabio Bidini and Jerome Rose made an important contribution to her musical development. She was a prize winner of the Bruno-Frey-Stiftung, of the Hannover Chopin Society and of national and international competitions. She has given concerts as a soloist with various orchestras; her performances brought her to halls such as the large hall of the NDR Hannover, Yamaha Hall New York, Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) and Mannes College of Music in New York City, Wigmore Hall London, Oriental Arts Center Shanghai and Tsinghua University Beijing. Her chamber music partners include soloists from the Amsterdam Concertgebouworkest, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker as well as artists like Tanja Becker-Bender, Sayaka Schmuck, Christoph Eß and others.

Claudio Martinez Mehner Germany

Born in Germany in 1970, Claudio Martinez Mehner began his music studies at an early age at the “Real Conservatorio Superior de Madrid” in Madrid with Amparo Fuster, Pedro Lerma and Joaquín Soriano. In addition to his piano studies, he participated in the Spanish National Youth Orchestra as a violist and in the Chamber Orchestra of the German School as a violinist, violist and harpsichord player. He finished his bachelor degree in 1989 He continued his studies at the “Tchaikovsky-Conservatory” in Moscow and the “Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía” in Madrid with Prof. Dmitri Bashkirov, afterwards at the the “Hochschule für Musik” in Freiburg, Germany (Master of Performance, finished 1994), the “Fondazione per il Pianoforte” in Como, Italy; and the “Peabody Conservatory” in Baltimore, US (Artist degree studies) with Vitalij Margulis and Leon Fleisher. In addition, he participated in masterclasses given by Murray Perahia, Fou Ts’ong, Alexis Weissenberg, Karl-Ulrich Schnabel, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Mstislav Rostropovich, among many others. Lately he has received invaluable advice by Prof. Ferenc Rados in Budapest, Hungary.

Giuliano Mazzoccante Italy

Born in Chieti, he studied under the guidance of Lucia Passaglia at the Conservatory “L. Cherubini” in Florence graduating with highest honours. He participated as a student performer on a three-year piano perfection course at the “Accademia Musicale Umbra” where he achieved a “Diploma of Excellence”. Later, he participated in the “International Master Classes” in Klaipeda (Lithuania), held by Lazar Berman. With him, his concert repertoire deepened and improved with particular attention to the music of F. Liszt, at the European Academy of Music, Erba (CO). He perfected Chamber Music at the International School of Chamber Music in Duino under the guidance of “Trio of Trieste” achieving a “Diploma with Merit”. He has won national and international competitions, including “M. Clementi” in Florence, “Agorà 80″ in Rome, “F. Liszt” in Lucca, and “Città di Stresa”. In 1997 he won second prize at the ‘T. I. M. ” – International Music Tournament; in 1998, he was awarded the prestigious “Prix Venice”; in 1999 he won second prize at the international competition “Ecomusic” of Monopoli (BA); in 2002 was the winner of the 40th International Piano Competition “Arcangelo Speranza” in Taranto. In October 2009 he was awarded in the “4th International Tbilisi Piano Competition” in Georgia (WFIMC).

Lev Natochenny Russia / USA

The Russian-American classical pianist and piano professor Lev Natochenny studied with Lev Oborin, Boris Zemliansky and Eliso Virsaladze, working on chamber music with Alexei Lubimov and in the violin class with David Oistrakh. In 1978 he was granted the permission to leave the USSR, and awarded at the International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy, while still being stateless.

Ralf Nattkemper Germany

The pianist Ralf Nattkemper is widely recognized by international critics as an outstanding representatives of the German pianistic tradition. He studied with the Russian-Brasilian pianist Yara Bernette, the Italian-Argentinian pianist Fausto Zadra and with Wilhelm Kempff. He plays regularly in most European countries and musical centers such as Hamburg, Rotterdam, Brussels, Venice, Rome, Madrid, Tokyo, Caracas, Sofia etc., and is a frequent guest at numerous festivals, e.g. Venice, Verona, Assisi, Santander, Wallonie, Colonia Tovar (Venezuela). He has played with celebrated orchestras, e.g. l'orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, Hamburger Symphoniker, Bucharest Radio Symphony Orchestra, l'orchestra municipal de Caracas, Bulgarien Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nagoya symphonic ect.

Vladimir Ovchinnikov Russia

Vladimir Ovchinnikov continues the traditions of the world known G. Neighaus Piano School. The pianist is a graduate of the famous Central Special Music School (the class of A. Artobolevskaya) and the Moscow Conservatoire (class of Prof. A. Nasedkin). The only pianist ever to win the top prizes at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1982) and Leeds International Piano Competition (1987), Ovchinnikov is also a laureate of the Concours International de Montreal (Canada, 1980, 2nd Prize), and the International Chamber Ensembles Competition in Vercelli (Italy, 1984, 1st Prize). It was his success at Leeds, however, which established his international career, a triumph which was followed by a triumphant début performance in London in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen.

Hubert Rutkowski Germany

Hubert Rutkowski’s musical interpretations are influenced by his thorough study of the particular ‘piano school’ aesthetic attributed to the late 19th century. Therefore, it is the pianistic tradition of Frederyk Chopin, Theodor Leschetizky, and subsequently influenced pianists such as Karol Mikuli, Moritz Rosenthal, Raul Koczalski and Artur Schnabel, that forms the basis of his artistic identitiy. He won the International Chopin Piano Competition in Hannover (2007). He also received the “Medalla per Unanimitat” distinction at the International Maria Canals Piano Competition in Barcelona (2006). In 2013 he was awarded the prestigious Berenberg Cultural Prize in Hamburg.

Stepan Simonian Germany

Critically acclaimed as ‘...one of the greatest Interpreter of J.S. Bach´s work of his generation’, Pianist Stepan Simonian was born in 1981, studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Pavel Nersessian and pursued his studies with the famous Pianist, Evgeni Koroliov, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. It was through this linage of well cultured tradition of piano school, that shaped Simonian’s musical taste and passion for the works from Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Beethoven, Bach and Mozart.