Jury
Jury
Jury
Meet the distinguished artists and experts who will form the jury of this yearโs competition.
Martha Argerich
Jury Member
Born in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Martha Argerich began learning piano at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. A child prodigy, she soon was giving public performances, before moving to Europe in 1955 to continue her education in London, Vienna and Switzerland, with Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, she won the piano competitions in Bolzano and Geneva, and in 1965 the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Ever since, she has been regarded as one of the worldโs finest pianists. She is particularly highly regarded for her interpretations of the virtuoso piano literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Her broad repertoire notably includes works by Bach, Bartรณk, Beethoven, Messiaen, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. Argerich works continually with the most outstanding orchestras, conductors and festivals in the world. Chamber music also plays an important part in her artistic activities. She regularly performs and records with pianists Nelson Freire and Alexandre Rabinovitch, cellist Mischa Maisky and violinist Gidon Kremer. Since 1998, she has been Artistic Director of the Beppu Festival, Japan. In 1999, she created the International Piano Competition and the Martha Argerich Festival in Buenos Aires, followed by the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, in 2002. Her many awards and distinctions include Officer (1996) and Commander (2004) of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Award (1997), the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays and Rosette from the Emperor of Japan and the prestigious Praemium Imperiale of the Japanese Arts Association (2005).
Magdalena Hirsz
Jury Member
Magdalena Hirsz โ Polish pianist with Asian roots, she enchants audiences with her musicality and sensitivity. She has performed at numerous international festivals, including Septembre Musical, Warszawa Singera, Marathon du Piano ร Evian, Tel-Aviv, Belรฉm piano meetings in Brazil, Peter Feuchtwanger festival in London. She has also taken part in numerous interactive projects, such as with the Ballet Bรฉjart and the poet David Walters. Magdalena studied at the conservatories of Geneva, Warsaw, Vienna and Lodz. Her repertoire includes an eclectic mix of classical and contemporary music. She has recorded two solo albums, including one with R. Schumann and an album entitled โSounds of Mindโ. She has taken part in masterclasses given by W. Mierzanow, T. Chebanova, L. Naumov and D. Barenboim. She plays with various orchestras in Poland, Israel and Japan, including the Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra in Bydgoszcz, the Polish National Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. She performs regularly as a soloist, duo or trio, notably with Martha Argerich for four hands. In parallel, the pianist is developing her career as a teacher: she has taught piano and chamber music at the Conservatoire F. Chopin in Warsaw, at the Institut International de Lancy in Geneva, at the Ecole St. George in Montreux and now at the Ecole de Musique in Villeneuve and the Institut F. Chopin in Switzerland, of which she is president. The artist is also director of the โJeune Chopinโ competition in Lugano for young talent: www. jeunechopin.com
Pasquale Iannone
Jury Member
Aldo Ciccolini first recognized Pasquale Iannoneโs talent when he was a young pianist at the Academy in Biella, praising his effortless sound, coherent musical speech, and freedom from mannerism. Ciccoliniโs prediction was correct: Iannone has become a pianist capable not only of interpretation but also of tackling the most demanding virtuoso repertoire. Iannone has achieved success in prestigious international competitions, including the Casella (Naples), Gina Bachauer (Salt Lake City), New Orleans, and Web Concert Hall International Competition (USA). His career spans recitals and solo performances with orchestras across Italy, USA, Japan, Germany, Romania, Spain, Belgium, Turkey, South Africa, France, South Korea, England, Scotland, Venezuela, and Mexico, performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Sala Verdi in Milan, and Kumho Recital Hall in Seoul. As a teacher, he has guided students to excel in major international competitions. His recordings and performances, including Moszkowskiโs Concert op.59 and Scharwenkaโs 4th Concerto, have earned him recognition as one of Italyโs finest pianists internationally. In recent years, Iannone has toured extensively in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, debuting in Istanbul, Mexico, Budapest, Bulgaria, Krakow, Malta, and Portugal. He has served as a juror for competitions such as the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition (2014) and the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition (2021). His latest recordings include a CD with Suonare News, a 3-CD box featuring his students (Digressione Music), and a solo album with Lisztโs B minor Sonata and Beethovenโs 7th Symphony in Lisztโs piano transcription, praised in Amadeus magazine.
Cรฉdric Pescia
Jury Member
Cรฉdric Pescia is pianist of dual French and Swiss nationality, was born in Lausanne. He studied with Dominique Merlet at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva and with Klaus Hellwig at the Universitรคt der Kรผnste in Berlin. In addition he has studied with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Daniel Barenboim, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christian Zacharias and with the Alban Berg Quartet. From 2003 until 2006 he was invited to attend the famous International Piano Academy, Lake Como (Italy) where he worked with Dimitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Naborรฉ, Menahem Pressler, Andreas Staier and Fou Tsโong. Cรฉdric Pescia was the brilliant First Prize Winner (Gold Medalist) at the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition in Salt Lake City (USA). Concert tours have taken him throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America. He has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Hamburg Laieszhalle, the Mozarteum Salzburg, Carnegie Hall New York, Paris Philharmonie, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Tokyo Sumida Triphony Hall, Wigmore Hall London, Tonhalle Zรผrich, Vienna Konzerthaus and has appeared in leading music festivals such as: Prague Spring Festival, Lucerne Festival, Menuhin Festival-Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. In 2012 he was appointed professor for piano at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genรจve. He is giving master classes in the USA and in Europe, a.o. at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale โIncontri col Maestroโ in Imola, Italy. Cรฉdric Pescia is founding member and artistic director of the Lausanne chamber music series Ensemble enScรจne. He is the chairman of the artistic committee of the Geneva International Music Competition. For Claves Records, AEON, La Dolce Volta, BIS, Genuin, he has recorded works by J. S. Bach, F. Couperin, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Busoni, Enescu, Messiaen, Cage, Suslin, Gubaidulina. These CDs have been acclaimed by the press.
Artur Pizarro
Jury Member
Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1968, Artur Pizarro gave his first public performance at the age of three and made his television dรฉbut on Portuguese television at the age of four. He was introduced to the instrument by his maternal grandmother, pianist Berta da Nรณbrega, and her piano-duo partner, Campos Coelho who was a student of Vianna da Motta, Ricardo Viรฑes and Isidor Philipp. From 1974 to 1990 Artur studied with Sequeira Costa who had also been a student of Vianna da Motta and of Mark Hamburg, Edwin Fischer, Marguerite Long and Jacques Fรฉvrier. This distinguished lineage immersed Artur in the tradition of the โGolden Ageโ of pianism and gave him a broad education in both the German and French piano schools and repertoire. During a brief interruption of his studies in the USA, Artur also studied with Jorge Moyano in Lisbon, and in Paris worked with Aldo Ciccolini, Gรฉry Moutier and Bruno Rigutto at the Conservatoire Nacional Supรฉrieur de Musique de Paris. Artur Pizarro holds the degree of Curso Superior de Piano do Conservatรณrio Nacional de Lisboa., awarded with maximum score and excellence. Artur won first prizes in the 1987 Vianna da Motta Competition, the 1988 Greater Palm Beach Symphony Invitational Piano Competition and won first prize at the 1990 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, which marked the beginning of an international concert career. Artur Pizarro performs internationally in recital, chamber music and with the worldโs leading orchestras and conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Philippe Entremont, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ilan Volkov, Franz Welser- Most, Julia Jones, Tugan Sokhiev, Yakov Kreizberg, Yannick Nรฉzet-Sรฉguin, Libor Peลกek, Vladimir Jurowski, Ion Marin, John Wilson and the late Sir Charles Mackerras. Artur is an active chamber musician and has performed at chamber music festivals throughout the world. Artur Pizarro has recorded extensively for Collins Classics, Hyperion Records, Linn Records, Brilliant Classics, Klara, Naxos, Danacord, Odradek Records, Capriccio and Phoenix Edition. His most recent releases include, for the Odradek label, a solo disc of works by Schumann, the complete piano duet works of Beethoven with Rinaldo Zhok and the Poulenc concerto for piano with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Rosner. Recent releases include the complete Beethoven piano concerti with the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Julia Jones and two CDs dedicated to music for 2 pianos by Camille Saint-Saรซns with pianist Ludovico Troncanetti and world premiere recordings of Mario Tarenghi with pianist Ronaldo Zhok Artur Pizarro has received various awards from his native Portugal for services to classical music and culture including the Portuguese Press Award, the Portuguese Society of Authors award, the Medal of Culture of the City of Funchal and the Medal of Cultural Merit from the Portuguese Government. Presently, Artur Pizarro teaches privately at his studio in Oeiras, Portugal. He frequently gives masterclasses internationally and sits on the jury of acclaimed piano competitions worldwide.
Meet the distinguished artists and experts who will form the jury of this yearโs competition.
Martha Argerich
Jury Member
Born in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Martha Argerich began learning piano at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. A child prodigy, she soon was giving public performances, before moving to Europe in 1955 to continue her education in London, Vienna and Switzerland, with Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, she won the piano competitions in Bolzano and Geneva, and in 1965 the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Ever since, she has been regarded as one of the worldโs finest pianists. She is particularly highly regarded for her interpretations of the virtuoso piano literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Her broad repertoire notably includes works by Bach, Bartรณk, Beethoven, Messiaen, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. Argerich works continually with the most outstanding orchestras, conductors and festivals in the world. Chamber music also plays an important part in her artistic activities. She regularly performs and records with pianists Nelson Freire and Alexandre Rabinovitch, cellist Mischa Maisky and violinist Gidon Kremer. Since 1998, she has been Artistic Director of the Beppu Festival, Japan. In 1999, she created the International Piano Competition and the Martha Argerich Festival in Buenos Aires, followed by the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, in 2002. Her many awards and distinctions include Officer (1996) and Commander (2004) of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Award (1997), the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays and Rosette from the Emperor of Japan and the prestigious Praemium Imperiale of the Japanese Arts Association (2005).
Magdalena Hirsz
Jury Member
Magdalena Hirsz โ Polish pianist with Asian roots, she enchants audiences with her musicality and sensitivity. She has performed at numerous international festivals, including Septembre Musical, Warszawa Singera, Marathon du Piano ร Evian, Tel-Aviv, Belรฉm piano meetings in Brazil, Peter Feuchtwanger festival in London. She has also taken part in numerous interactive projects, such as with the Ballet Bรฉjart and the poet David Walters. Magdalena studied at the conservatories of Geneva, Warsaw, Vienna and Lodz. Her repertoire includes an eclectic mix of classical and contemporary music. She has recorded two solo albums, including one with R. Schumann and an album entitled โSounds of Mindโ. She has taken part in masterclasses given by W. Mierzanow, T. Chebanova, L. Naumov and D. Barenboim. She plays with various orchestras in Poland, Israel and Japan, including the Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra in Bydgoszcz, the Polish National Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. She performs regularly as a soloist, duo or trio, notably with Martha Argerich for four hands. In parallel, the pianist is developing her career as a teacher: she has taught piano and chamber music at the Conservatoire F. Chopin in Warsaw, at the Institut International de Lancy in Geneva, at the Ecole St. George in Montreux and now at the Ecole de Musique in Villeneuve and the Institut F. Chopin in Switzerland, of which she is president. The artist is also director of the โJeune Chopinโ competition in Lugano for young talent: www. jeunechopin.com
Pasquale Iannone
Jury Member
Aldo Ciccolini first recognized Pasquale Iannoneโs talent when he was a young pianist at the Academy in Biella, praising his effortless sound, coherent musical speech, and freedom from mannerism. Ciccoliniโs prediction was correct: Iannone has become a pianist capable not only of interpretation but also of tackling the most demanding virtuoso repertoire. Iannone has achieved success in prestigious international competitions, including the Casella (Naples), Gina Bachauer (Salt Lake City), New Orleans, and Web Concert Hall International Competition (USA). His career spans recitals and solo performances with orchestras across Italy, USA, Japan, Germany, Romania, Spain, Belgium, Turkey, South Africa, France, South Korea, England, Scotland, Venezuela, and Mexico, performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Sala Verdi in Milan, and Kumho Recital Hall in Seoul. As a teacher, he has guided students to excel in major international competitions. His recordings and performances, including Moszkowskiโs Concert op.59 and Scharwenkaโs 4th Concerto, have earned him recognition as one of Italyโs finest pianists internationally. In recent years, Iannone has toured extensively in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, debuting in Istanbul, Mexico, Budapest, Bulgaria, Krakow, Malta, and Portugal. He has served as a juror for competitions such as the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition (2014) and the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition (2021). His latest recordings include a CD with Suonare News, a 3-CD box featuring his students (Digressione Music), and a solo album with Lisztโs B minor Sonata and Beethovenโs 7th Symphony in Lisztโs piano transcription, praised in Amadeus magazine.
Artur Pizarro
Jury Member
Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1968, Artur Pizarro gave his first public performance at the age of three and made his television dรฉbut on Portuguese television at the age of four. He was introduced to the instrument by his maternal grandmother, pianist Berta da Nรณbrega, and her piano-duo partner, Campos Coelho who was a student of Vianna da Motta, Ricardo Viรฑes and Isidor Philipp. From 1974 to 1990 Artur studied with Sequeira Costa who had also been a student of Vianna da Motta and of Mark Hamburg, Edwin Fischer, Marguerite Long and Jacques Fรฉvrier. This distinguished lineage immersed Artur in the tradition of the โGolden Ageโ of pianism and gave him a broad education in both the German and French piano schools and repertoire. During a brief interruption of his studies in the USA, Artur also studied with Jorge Moyano in Lisbon, and in Paris worked with Aldo Ciccolini, Gรฉry Moutier and Bruno Rigutto at the Conservatoire Nacional Supรฉrieur de Musique de Paris. Artur Pizarro holds the degree of Curso Superior de Piano do Conservatรณrio Nacional de Lisboa., awarded with maximum score and excellence. Artur won first prizes in the 1987 Vianna da Motta Competition, the 1988 Greater Palm Beach Symphony Invitational Piano Competition and won first prize at the 1990 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, which marked the beginning of an international concert career. Artur Pizarro performs internationally in recital, chamber music and with the worldโs leading orchestras and conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Philippe Entremont, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ilan Volkov, Franz Welser- Most, Julia Jones, Tugan Sokhiev, Yakov Kreizberg, Yannick Nรฉzet-Sรฉguin, Libor Peลกek, Vladimir Jurowski, Ion Marin, John Wilson and the late Sir Charles Mackerras. Artur is an active chamber musician and has performed at chamber music festivals throughout the world. Artur Pizarro has recorded extensively for Collins Classics, Hyperion Records, Linn Records, Brilliant Classics, Klara, Naxos, Danacord, Odradek Records, Capriccio and Phoenix Edition. His most recent releases include, for the Odradek label, a solo disc of works by Schumann, the complete piano duet works of Beethoven with Rinaldo Zhok and the Poulenc concerto for piano with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Rosner. Recent releases include the complete Beethoven piano concerti with the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Julia Jones and two CDs dedicated to music for 2 pianos by Camille Saint-Saรซns with pianist Ludovico Troncanetti and world premiere recordings of Mario Tarenghi with pianist Ronaldo Zhok Artur Pizarro has received various awards from his native Portugal for services to classical music and culture including the Portuguese Press Award, the Portuguese Society of Authors award, the Medal of Culture of the City of Funchal and the Medal of Cultural Merit from the Portuguese Government. Presently, Artur Pizarro teaches privately at his studio in Oeiras, Portugal. He frequently gives masterclasses internationally and sits on the jury of acclaimed piano competitions worldwide.
Cรฉdric Pescia
Jury Member
Cรฉdric Pescia is pianist of dual French and Swiss nationality, was born in Lausanne. He studied with Dominique Merlet at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva and with Klaus Hellwig at the Universitรคt der Kรผnste in Berlin. In addition he has studied with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Daniel Barenboim, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christian Zacharias and with the Alban Berg Quartet. From 2003 until 2006 he was invited to attend the famous International Piano Academy, Lake Como (Italy) where he worked with Dimitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Naborรฉ, Menahem Pressler, Andreas Staier and Fou Tsโong. Cรฉdric Pescia was the brilliant First Prize Winner (Gold Medalist) at the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition in Salt Lake City (USA). Concert tours have taken him throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America. He has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Hamburg Laieszhalle, the Mozarteum Salzburg, Carnegie Hall New York, Paris Philharmonie, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Tokyo Sumida Triphony Hall, Wigmore Hall London, Tonhalle Zรผrich, Vienna Konzerthaus and has appeared in leading music festivals such as: Prague Spring Festival, Lucerne Festival, Menuhin Festival-Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. In 2012 he was appointed professor for piano at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genรจve. He is giving master classes in the USA and in Europe, a.o. at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale โIncontri col Maestroโ in Imola, Italy. Cรฉdric Pescia is founding member and artistic director of the Lausanne chamber music series Ensemble enScรจne. He is the chairman of the artistic committee of the Geneva International Music Competition. For Claves Records, AEON, La Dolce Volta, BIS, Genuin, he has recorded works by J. S. Bach, F. Couperin, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Busoni, Enescu, Messiaen, Cage, Suslin, Gubaidulina. These CDs have been acclaimed by the press.
Martha Argerich
Jury Member
Born in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Martha Argerich began learning piano at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. A child prodigy, she soon was giving public performances, before moving to Europe in 1955 to continue her education in London, Vienna and Switzerland, with Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, she won the piano competitions in Bolzano and Geneva, and in 1965 the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Ever since, she has been regarded as one of the worldโs finest pianists. She is particularly highly regarded for her interpretations of the virtuoso piano literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Her broad repertoire notably includes works by Bach, Bartรณk, Beethoven, Messiaen, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. Argerich works continually with the most outstanding orchestras, conductors and festivals in the world. Chamber music also plays an important part in her artistic activities. She regularly performs and records with pianists Nelson Freire and Alexandre Rabinovitch, cellist Mischa Maisky and violinist Gidon Kremer. Since 1998, she has been Artistic Director of the Beppu Festival, Japan. In 1999, she created the International Piano Competition and the Martha Argerich Festival in Buenos Aires, followed by the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, in 2002. Her many awards and distinctions include Officer (1996) and Commander (2004) of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Award (1997), the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays and Rosette from the Emperor of Japan and the prestigious Praemium Imperiale of the Japanese Arts Association (2005).
Magdalena Hirsz
Jury Member
Magdalena Hirsz โ Polish pianist with Asian roots, she enchants audiences with her musicality and sensitivity. She has performed at numerous international festivals, including Septembre Musical, Warszawa Singera, Marathon du Piano ร Evian, Tel-Aviv, Belรฉm piano meetings in Brazil, Peter Feuchtwanger festival in London. She has also taken part in numerous interactive projects, such as with the Ballet Bรฉjart and the poet David Walters. Magdalena studied at the conservatories of Geneva, Warsaw, Vienna and Lodz. Her repertoire includes an eclectic mix of classical and contemporary music. She has recorded two solo albums, including one with R. Schumann and an album entitled โSounds of Mindโ. She has taken part in masterclasses given by W. Mierzanow, T. Chebanova, L. Naumov and D. Barenboim. She plays with various orchestras in Poland, Israel and Japan, including the Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra in Bydgoszcz, the Polish National Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. She performs regularly as a soloist, duo or trio, notably with Martha Argerich for four hands. In parallel, the pianist is developing her career as a teacher: she has taught piano and chamber music at the Conservatoire F. Chopin in Warsaw, at the Institut International de Lancy in Geneva, at the Ecole St. George in Montreux and now at the Ecole de Musique in Villeneuve and the Institut F. Chopin in Switzerland, of which she is president. The artist is also director of the โJeune Chopinโ competition in Lugano for young talent: www. jeunechopin.com
Pasquale Iannone
Jury Member
Aldo Ciccolini first recognized Pasquale Iannoneโs talent when he was a young pianist at the Academy in Biella, praising his effortless sound, coherent musical speech, and freedom from mannerism. Ciccoliniโs prediction was correct: Iannone has become a pianist capable not only of interpretation but also of tackling the most demanding virtuoso repertoire. Iannone has achieved success in prestigious international competitions, including the Casella (Naples), Gina Bachauer (Salt Lake City), New Orleans, and Web Concert Hall International Competition (USA). His career spans recitals and solo performances with orchestras across Italy, USA, Japan, Germany, Romania, Spain, Belgium, Turkey, South Africa, France, South Korea, England, Scotland, Venezuela, and Mexico, performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Sala Verdi in Milan, and Kumho Recital Hall in Seoul. As a teacher, he has guided students to excel in major international competitions. His recordings and performances, including Moszkowskiโs Concert op.59 and Scharwenkaโs 4th Concerto, have earned him recognition as one of Italyโs finest pianists internationally. In recent years, Iannone has toured extensively in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, debuting in Istanbul, Mexico, Budapest, Bulgaria, Krakow, Malta, and Portugal. He has served as a juror for competitions such as the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition (2014) and the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition (2021). His latest recordings include a CD with Suonare News, a 3-CD box featuring his students (Digressione Music), and a solo album with Lisztโs B minor Sonata and Beethovenโs 7th Symphony in Lisztโs piano transcription, praised in Amadeus magazine.
Artur Pizarro
Jury Member
Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1968, Artur Pizarro gave his first public performance at the age of three and made his television dรฉbut on Portuguese television at the age of four. He was introduced to the instrument by his maternal grandmother, pianist Berta da Nรณbrega, and her piano-duo partner, Campos Coelho who was a student of Vianna da Motta, Ricardo Viรฑes and Isidor Philipp. From 1974 to 1990 Artur studied with Sequeira Costa who had also been a student of Vianna da Motta and of Mark Hamburg, Edwin Fischer, Marguerite Long and Jacques Fรฉvrier. This distinguished lineage immersed Artur in the tradition of the โGolden Ageโ of pianism and gave him a broad education in both the German and French piano schools and repertoire. During a brief interruption of his studies in the USA, Artur also studied with Jorge Moyano in Lisbon, and in Paris worked with Aldo Ciccolini, Gรฉry Moutier and Bruno Rigutto at the Conservatoire Nacional Supรฉrieur de Musique de Paris. Artur Pizarro holds the degree of Curso Superior de Piano do Conservatรณrio Nacional de Lisboa., awarded with maximum score and excellence. Artur won first prizes in the 1987 Vianna da Motta Competition, the 1988 Greater Palm Beach Symphony Invitational Piano Competition and won first prize at the 1990 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, which marked the beginning of an international concert career. Artur Pizarro performs internationally in recital, chamber music and with the worldโs leading orchestras and conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Philippe Entremont, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ilan Volkov, Franz Welser- Most, Julia Jones, Tugan Sokhiev, Yakov Kreizberg, Yannick Nรฉzet-Sรฉguin, Libor Peลกek, Vladimir Jurowski, Ion Marin, John Wilson and the late Sir Charles Mackerras. Artur is an active chamber musician and has performed at chamber music festivals throughout the world. Artur Pizarro has recorded extensively for Collins Classics, Hyperion Records, Linn Records, Brilliant Classics, Klara, Naxos, Danacord, Odradek Records, Capriccio and Phoenix Edition. His most recent releases include, for the Odradek label, a solo disc of works by Schumann, the complete piano duet works of Beethoven with Rinaldo Zhok and the Poulenc concerto for piano with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Rosner. Recent releases include the complete Beethoven piano concerti with the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Julia Jones and two CDs dedicated to music for 2 pianos by Camille Saint-Saรซns with pianist Ludovico Troncanetti and world premiere recordings of Mario Tarenghi with pianist Ronaldo Zhok Artur Pizarro has received various awards from his native Portugal for services to classical music and culture including the Portuguese Press Award, the Portuguese Society of Authors award, the Medal of Culture of the City of Funchal and the Medal of Cultural Merit from the Portuguese Government. Presently, Artur Pizarro teaches privately at his studio in Oeiras, Portugal. He frequently gives masterclasses internationally and sits on the jury of acclaimed piano competitions worldwide.
Cรฉdric Pescia
Jury Member
Cรฉdric Pescia is pianist of dual French and Swiss nationality, was born in Lausanne. He studied with Dominique Merlet at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva and with Klaus Hellwig at the Universitรคt der Kรผnste in Berlin. In addition he has studied with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Daniel Barenboim, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christian Zacharias and with the Alban Berg Quartet. From 2003 until 2006 he was invited to attend the famous International Piano Academy, Lake Como (Italy) where he worked with Dimitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Naborรฉ, Menahem Pressler, Andreas Staier and Fou Tsโong. Cรฉdric Pescia was the brilliant First Prize Winner (Gold Medalist) at the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition in Salt Lake City (USA). Concert tours have taken him throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America. He has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Hamburg Laieszhalle, the Mozarteum Salzburg, Carnegie Hall New York, Paris Philharmonie, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Tokyo Sumida Triphony Hall, Wigmore Hall London, Tonhalle Zรผrich, Vienna Konzerthaus and has appeared in leading music festivals such as: Prague Spring Festival, Lucerne Festival, Menuhin Festival-Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. In 2012 he was appointed professor for piano at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genรจve. He is giving master classes in the USA and in Europe, a.o. at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale โIncontri col Maestroโ in Imola, Italy. Cรฉdric Pescia is founding member and artistic director of the Lausanne chamber music series Ensemble enScรจne. He is the chairman of the artistic committee of the Geneva International Music Competition. For Claves Records, AEON, La Dolce Volta, BIS, Genuin, he has recorded works by J. S. Bach, F. Couperin, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Busoni, Enescu, Messiaen, Cage, Suslin, Gubaidulina. These CDs have been acclaimed by the press.
