The Piano Jury
Dmitri Alexeev―(Russia) was the first-prize winner of the 1975 Leeds International Piano Competition, the first such achievement by a Russian artist. Since then he has enjoyed a top-level international career and has appeared as a recitalist and soloist with the major orchestras throughout Europe, Australia, the Far East, and the United States. Highlights of the current season include a major U.K. tour with the State Symphony Orchestra of Russia, a performance with Daniele Gatti and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and recitals in Milan, Bari, and St. Petersburg.
Michel Beroff―(France) performs regularly with the world’s top orchestras and conductors, including recent appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez; the New York Philharmonic with Kurt Masur; and the Orchestre de Paris led by Christophe Eschenbach. He is credited with more than fifty recordings and has been awarded the Grand Prix du Disque five times. Beroff is also establishing a career as a conductor.
Yefim Bronfman *Finals Only―(U.S.A. & Russia) is renowned for his solo recitals, prestigious orchestral engagements, expanding catalogue of recordings and especially for his performances of modern Russian repertory. He won a 1997 Grammy for the three Bartók Piano Concertos with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Bronfman’s 2009-10 recital touring schedule took him to Japan, Europe, and North America, where he gave his annual solo performance at Carnegie Hall; and he tours Europe with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic.
Peter Donohoe―(U.K.) enjoyed unprecedented success as joint winner of the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and has developed a distinguished career in Europe, the USA, the Far East and Australasia. He has made recordings on the EMI label and won awards including the Grand Prix International du Disque and the Gramophone Concerto award for the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2. Donohoe was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 New Year Honors.
Barry Douglas—(Ireland) continues to enjoy a major international solo career which has developed since winning the bronze medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1985 and subsequently, the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1986. In 1999, he formed Camerata Ireland, an all Irish chamber orchestra, of which he remains Artistic Director. He received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2002 New Year’s Honours List for services to music. He also continues as Artistic Director of the Clandeboye Festival, Ireland and the International Piano Festival, Manchester.
Nelson Freire*―(Brazil) began his career with the Dinu Lipatti medal and first prize at the International Vianna da Motta Competition in 1965. Since then, Freire has been appointed Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and been nominated for multiple Grammy awards for his Brahms Concertos with Riccardo Chailly which was also awarded Record of the Year by Classic FM Gramophone Awards 2007. He is regularly invited by prestigious orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Concertgebouw, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the London Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, as well as the American orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia.
* appeared for the I round only
Evgeni Koroliov (Russia). After having studied with Heinrich Neuhaus, Lev Oborin and Lev Naumov, Koroliov went on to become a winner at the Grand Prix Clara Haskil Vevey-Montreux in 1977. The Konzerthaus Berlin, the Cologne Philharmonie, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, and the Théatre des Champs-Elysées are just a few of the major venues in which he has performed. Renowned for his interpretations of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, he has recently performed the work at the Salzburg Festspiele. A passionate chamber musician, Koroliov plays with colleagues such as Natalia Gutman, Mischa Maisky and the Prazák Quartets. He has released several recordings on the Tacet label including the Goldberg Variations for which he received a Diapason d'Or.
Denis Matsuev *Finals Only―(Russia) is a fast-rising star on the international concert stage since his triumphant victory at the eleventh International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Matsuev is Artistic Director of two famous classical music festivals in Russia: "Stars on Baikal" in Irkutsk and "Crescendo" which is being held all over the world: Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Tel-Aviv, Kaliningrad, Paris and Rome. He is also president of the charitable Russian foundation “New Names.”
Vladimir Ovchinnikov―(Russia) received Russia’s highest award and honor given to a musician: the title of National Artist of Russia, awarded by Russian then president, Vladimir Putin. The only pianist ever to win the top prizes at both the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1982) and the Leeds International Piano Competition (1987), He is also a laureate of the Concours International de Montréal (1980). Ovchinnikov has collaborated with many renowned conductors, among them Vladimir Ashkenazy, James Conlon, Alexander Dmitriev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Valery Gergiev, Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, and Sir Georg Solti. He has also appeared in many of the world’s most prestigious venues and appears frequently with such leading Russian orchestras as the Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has toured France, the Netherlands and North and South America.
Mikhail Voskresensky―(Russia) is a prizewinner of four international piano competitions (Schumann in Berlin, in Rio de Janeiro, George Enescu in Bucharest, and Van Cliburn in Fort Worth, Texas). In 1957 the young pianist took part in the Prague Spring Festival where he performed the European premiere of the Shostakovich Second Piano concerto in the presence of Shostakovich himself. He is the only pianist in Russia to perform all of Chopin's piano compositions during one concert season (1982-83) in nine recitals. He has just released his live recordings of all 27 Mozart concerti recorded over the last three years.