News Flash

2025-05-06

Who Will Compete in Warsaw this Fall?

The 19th Chopin Competition's preliminary rounds in Warsaw concluded on May 4th after twelve days. From a record 642 applicants, 162 pianists from 28 nations participated, and the jury, led by Professor Piotr Paleczny, selected 66 to advance to the main competition in approximately five months.
Read more at chopincompetition.pl

2025-05-05

Aimard and 81 Pieces by Kurtag

In 1973, Hungarian composer György Kurtág started composing his piano miniatures, Játékok (Games), a series now exceeding 400 pieces for solo and four-hand piano across ten volumes, with ongoing additions.
Read more at gramophone.co.uk

2025-05-04

Alice Sara Ott on John Field

That uncanny feeling of familiarity with something new? Pianist Alice Sara Ott felt it deeply with John Field's Nocturnes. Though unstudied and new to her, the music evoked nostalgia, a sensation most associate with Chopin's later, more famous contributions to the genre, forgetting Field actually pioneered it.
Read more at lpm.org

2025-05-03

Pianist Merging Styles

Azerbaijani-Russian piano virtuoso Riad Mammadov made his Turkish debut at the refined Bayou Villas. His performance enchanted listeners with a thoughtfully chosen program blending classical, jazz, and traditional Azerbaijani melodies.
Read more at dailysabah.com

2025-05-02

Risky Music Making

Piano playing engages the whole body, a choreography potentially leading to long-term injury. UdeM researchers Turner and Verdugo deconstructed biomechanics of two professionals, relevant as 72% of pianists face musculoskeletal disorders (Frontiers in Psychology).
Read more at umontreal.ca

2025-05-01

Bruce Liu in Conversation

Chinese-Canadian pianist Bruce Liu, remembered for seven encores in Korea two years ago, returns for a Seoul recital on May 11th. He recalls the "mutual respect and love for music" from Korean audiences and hopes for another special moment.
Read more at mk.co.kr

2025-04-30

Spanish Angle Ravel

Maurice Ravel, born in Ciboure near the Spanish border in 1875, despite his Swiss paternal heritage which led to Stravinsky's "Swiss watchmaker" quip, had stronger Spanish roots through his Basque mother, who grew up in Madrid, where his parents met in Aranjuez.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-04-29

Pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko in Paris

Virtuoso Jaeden Izik-Dzurko performs Slavic Romanticism, Rachmaninov and Ravel at Fondation Louis Vuitton. The 2024 Leeds winner and Montreal prize-winner opens with Medtner's brooding sonata before Ravel's Miroirs and Rachmaninov's rarely heard D Minor Sonata.
Read more at fondationlouisvuitton.fr

2025-04-28

Spouses Duo Impresses

After 15 years of acclaimed solo careers, Lukas Geniušas and Anna Geniushene formally announce their Geniušas Duo—a rare artistic and romantic partnership. Laureates of top competitions, their debut album Hallelujah Junction marks their powerful shared vision.
Read more at theguardian.com

2025-04-27

Pianist Led by Colors

Synesthesia links music and color, a sensation pianist Pavel Kolesnikov approaches musically, despite not having it. His recital program is even curated around his lime green suit. He finds the color complex, capable of joyful, melancholic, pop, or refined interpretations, influencing his musical choices.
Read more at artsatl.org

2025-04-26

Praised Chopin Etudes

Pianist Lim Yunchan triumphed at the BBC Music Magazine Awards in London, securing recording, newcomer, and instrumental prizes for his debut album "Chopin: Etudes" (Decca Classics). This unprecedented feat marks the first time a single album has won all three categories since 2006, with the newcomer also claiming the top recording honor.
Read more at koreaherald.com

2025-04-25

Levit's 16 Unbroken Hours

Facing a 16-hour, 840-repetition performance of Satie's Vexations at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, one might expect panic from Igor Levit. Instead, the German pianist calmly arranged his score, chuckled at the undertaking, and began to play for the waiting audience.
Read more at theguardian.com

2025-04-24

Call for Piano Diversity

Leading concert grand piano manufacturers offer instruments with unique sounds and playing feels. Therefore, tailoring the piano choice to the music or performer is often more suitable than using the hall's standard option.
Read more at onlinepianoatlas.com

2025-04-23

The Levit/Abramovic Collaboration

April 24th at 10 am in London, pianist Igor Levit will begin a 16+ hour performance of Satie's Vexations. He started talking to Abramović about the piece about two years ago, and the resulting collaboration has its world premiere – and this time in front of an actual audience.
Read more at theguardian.com

2025-04-22

From Venezuela to Athens

Discussing music with Gustavo Dudamel, a full-circle moment for Venezuelan pianist Alejandro Orta, marked his US journey. Orta, an OHIO music major, first met Dudamel in Venezuela and later interviewed him for his thesis, a surreal milestone in his Kennedy Center-performing career.
Read more at ohio.edu

2025-04-21

Mixing Acoustic with Electronica

Jazz pianist Bill Anschell flipped his recording process, the artist confessed. "Unlike my raw, live previous CD, I pre-recorded piano, then added bass and drums who reacted naturally. I even tweaked my piano after their takes, creating a seamless, dynamic sound."
Read more at knkx.org

2025-04-20

Kim Conducts from the Piano

South Korean pianist-conductor Sunwook Kim, Leeds winner at 18, electrified the Barbican with Beethoven and Clyne. Now a respected soloist and Gyeonggi Philharmonic Music Director, Kim's dual artistry shone with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Read more at artshub.co.uk

2025-04-20

Great Opus Ones

Defining musical greatness is subjective and somewhat absurd. However, exploring lists of first printed works and composers' ages at publication offers plain, simple fun and historical insight.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-04-19

The Greatest Piano Concertos?

The concerto, a centuries-long inspiration, has driven composers to explore the piano's expressive and technical depths to captivates and challenge pianists worldwide. Do you agree with BBC's Best Concertos List?
Read more at classical-music.com

2025-04-18

Andsnes on Liszt's Via Crucis

Gramophone's Martin Cullingford interviews pianist Leif Ove Andsnes about his new Sony Classical recording of Liszt's deeply spiritual Via Crucis, meditations on the Stations of the Cross, released before Holy Week.
Read more at gramophone.co.uk

2025-04-17

Schubert's Wanderer

Schubert's art profoundly explores solitude. A rootless wanderer, he channeled this into music, notably three "Der Wanderer" Lieder and "Winterreise." These capture the wanderer's psyche: "Joy surrounds, yet I am alone"- a perfect summation of his aesthetic.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-04-16

Back on Track - Kate Liu

Kate Liu, known for her third prize and top scores at the 2015 Chopin Competition, returns impressively after a hand injury. Her ambitious program, featuring late Beethoven and Brahms' monumental Piano Sonata No. 3, fulfills high expectations, marking a strong resurgence.
Read more at interlude.hk

2025-04-15

William Wordsworth's Piano Music

Poorly known piano music including the significant Sonata, now have their first complete recording after limited LP releases 60 years prior, revealing an honest style akin to Sibelius and Rubbra, focused on deep feeling, which contrasts his surprising gentle children's miniatures.
Read more at arcana.fm

2025-04-14

Pianist and Composer in AI

Clara Yang presents "Ex Machina," an immersive multimedia performance exploring the intersection of technology and humanity, at The Process Series. This 70-minute piece, "Piano in an AI World," questions human identity through a deconstruction of musical identity.
Read more at unc.edu