News Flash

2025-10-03

The Chopin Competition has Started!

The first stage of the 19th Chopin Competition in Warsaw has begun and runs from October 3 to 7, with 84 contestants competing for advancement. Morning sessions begin at 10 a.m., and afternoon sessions start at 5 p.m. Enjoy the free live stream here.
Read more at YouTube.com

2025-10-02

American Chair in Warsaw

Acclaimed American pianist Garrick Ohlsson, who made history as the first American winner of the Chopin Competition in 1970, will return to Warsaw as jury chair for the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition - the first non-Polish head juror.
Read more at culture.pl

2025-10-02

Bruce Liu in Interview

For years, Bruce Liu and Chopin have been inseparable. The Montreal pianist became the first Canadian to win the 2021 International Chopin Competition at 24, launching a global career. In this interview he shares his reflections on life after the competition.
Read more at ludwig-van.com

2025-10-01

Talking with George Li

George’s latest release as a Warner Classics exclusive artist is his 2024 album Movements, featuring dance-inspired works by Ravel, Schumann, and Stravinsky. A 2019 graduate of Harvard and NEC, George discussed literature’s influence on his musical approach and balancing technique with intuition.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-09-30

Cremona Musica Award to Bruno Canino

In the “A Life for Piano” category, the 2025 Cremona Musica Award will go to Italian pianist Bruno Canino. Other honorees include violinist Midori, Franco Scala’s “Incontri col Maestro” Piano Academy, and composer Francesco Filidei.
Read more at cremonamusica.com

2025-09-29

Origins of Timbre in Piano Performance

While loudness and tempo are known to relate to musicians’ movements, subtler aspects like tonal quality are less understood. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences analysed expert pianists’ subtle movements and how these motions correspond to perceived changes in timbre.
Read more at neurosciencenews.com

2025-09-28

The Mentor Yuja Wang

The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia has named pianist and alumna Yuja Wang as Artist Collaborator, Piano, starting in the 2026–27 school year. She will mentor piano students and collaborate with instrumental and vocal students.
Read more at theviolinchannel.com

2025-09-27

Panufnik and the Piano

World War II shattered his dreams; Warsaw was reduced to ruins, his brother and father perished, and his early works were lost in the 1944 Uprising. Exiled in 1954, Panufnik found solace and expression through the piano.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-09-26

Kim - the Pianist Conductor

He has achieved half of his dream. After performing Jin Eun-sook’s Piano Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic in 2021, Kim Sun-wook will collaborate again for their November concerts in Seoul, this time with chief conductor Kirill Petrenko.
Read more at chosun.com

2025-09-26

The King's Piano

King George IV’s grand fortepiano, crafted by Thomas Tomkison in the 1820s and now restored, will soon be heard publicly for the first time in centuries at “Hearing Colour,” with concerts scheduled for September 26 and October 3, 2025.
Read more at musicalinstrumenthub.com

2025-09-25

The Outdoor Pianist

Pianist Hunter Noack, renowned for performing outdoors, brought his 1912 Steinway grand piano to Salem’s Gerry Frank Amphitheater on Sept. 19, inviting audience members to lie beneath the piano for a unique acoustic experience.
Read more at salemreporter.com

2025-09-25

Italian Focus in Cremona

Cremona Musica 2025 celebrates Italian music. Artistic coordinator Roberto Prosseda says its main value lies in bringing people together - sharing meals, live performances, and personal connections that digital experiences can never fully replace.
Read more at cremonamusica.com

2025-09-24

Maria Joao Pires Awarded

Portuguese pianist Maria Joao Pires has won the 2025 Helena Vaz da Silva European Award for Raising Public Awareness on Cultural Heritage, recognizing her outstanding ability to convey European culture and values through music. The ceremony is November 1 in Lisbon.
Read more at europanostra.org

2025-09-23

Schumann, the Writer and Critic

In 1834, before turning twenty-four, Robert Schumann founded the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. First issued as the Neue Leipziger Zeitschrift für Musik, it adopted its enduring title a year later, reflecting broader musical ambitions beyond Leipzig.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-09-22

Trifonov at the Shostakovich Festival

At the 2025 Leipzig Festival, under the baton of Andris Nelsons, pianist Daniil Trifonov celebrates Dmitri Shostakovich with his playful Piano Concerto No. 2.
Read more at arte.tv

2025-09-21

Liszt's Student and Secretary

Born in Greiz, Thuringia, Bernhard Stavenhagen began piano lessons at six. After moving to Berlin in 1874, he studied with Kullak and Kiel, debuting in 1880 and possibly being Liszt’s favorite pupil, accompanying him internationally and at his death.
Read more at gramophone.co.uk

2025-09-20

From Comiso to Warsaw

Ruben Micieli, born in 1997 in Comiso, values authenticity over talent alone. A pianist, composer, and conductor, he’s set to perform at Cremona Musica 2025 and compete in the Fryderyk Chopin Competition, showcasing his mature, sincere artistry.
Read more at cremonamusica.com

2025-09-19

Things to Know About Clara

Clara Schumann, trained rigorously by her demanding father, rose as one of Europe’s finest pianists. Over six decades, she championed Robert’s compositions in performance, shaping Romantic repertoire and strategically ensuring his lasting place in music history.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-09-19

The Chopin Competition Approaching 100

In 1924, Poland debuted at the Olympics, just six years after regaining independence. Despite winning only four medals, the team sparked national passion for sport - an inspiration observed by Jerzy Zurawlew amid waning appreciation for Chopin’s romanticism.
Read more at gramophone.co.uk

2025-09-18

Anna Geniushene on the Line

Anna Geniushene’s latest album features early Op. 1 works by various composers. She discusses her passion for storytelling, competition successes, and staying authentic. Her natural musicianship shines through her recordings and YouTube performances, reflecting her Moscow and London training.
Read more at gramophone.co.uk

2025-09-17

Chinese Piano Music

The Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press, supported by the Shanghai Municipal Chinese Culture Going Global Special Fund, has expanded international reach with its Selected Chinese Piano Pieces project and 2025 Music Traveler European Tour, combining publication, performance, and education.
Read more at citybuzz.co

2025-09-16

The Chopin Podcast: Sonatas

In Episode 5 of Season 2, Ben Laude and Garrick Ohlsson explore Chopin’s sonatas with guests Yulianna Avdeeva, Martín García García, and Jeffrey Kallberg, concluding with Jed Distler’s recommended recordings of these multi-movement masterpieces.
Read more at chopinpodcast.com

2025-09-15

The Largest Piano

At 20, Adrian Mann began building the 5.7-metre Alexander piano, completing it in 2009 after four years. Once the world’s longest piano, it became a remarkable experiment embraced by many distinguished artists for its unique sound.
Read more at thepress.co.nz

2025-09-14

Forceful Soviet Impact

Some lives seem destined; most unfold through circumstance. For Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, born in St. Petersburg in 1906, the “accident” of his time and place defined him. Shostakovich came of age amid revolution, ideology, and the rise of mass media, forces that shaped him into one of the 20th century’s greatest and most emblematic composers.
Read more at bandcamp.com