中華表演藝術基金會 Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts

Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts
First Annual International Concerto Competition 2019
Concerto 2019: Brahms piano concerto No.1 in D minor, Op. 15

Concert 9
Saturday August 17, 2019, 1:00-5:00 pm
at NEC's Williams Hall

Concerto Competition Semi-final Round
solo repertoire
maximum 4 will be advanced to the Final Round
on August 18, 7 pm at Williams Hall

Program

The following 8 Semi-Finalists (in alphabetical order) will play:

10 to 15 minutes of solo piece(s), that include a movement from a classical sonata, and/or a prelude and fugue by J.S. Bach
about 5 min section from the Brahms Concerto in D Minor, Op. 15, announced on August 15 (two days before the Semi-Final Round)

1, Xu Guo, China

Haydn :
Piano Sonata in C major Hob.XVI/50
I. Allegro
Chopin :
Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60

2, Sahun Sam Hong, USA

Beethoven :
Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
I. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
Schumann :
In der Nacht from Fantasiestucke, Op. 12

3, Brian Z. Le, USA

Beethoven :
Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109
I. Vivace ma non troppo
II. Prestissimo
Rachmaninoff :
Prelude Op. 32 No. 10

4, Jiarong Li, China

Schubert :
Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959
1. Allegro
J.S Bach :
Prelude and Fugue, BWV. 849

5, Zhiye Lin, China

Haydn :
Sonata No. 33 in B minor, Hob. XVI 32
I. Allegro moderato
Godowsky :
“Die Fledermaus”

6, Randy Ryan, Indonesia

Beethoven :
Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
I. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
Schumann :
Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17
I. Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen; Im Legenden-Ton

7, Jun Sun, China

Haydn :
Sonata in c minor Hob. 20
I. Moderato
Schubert-Liszt : (two lieders)
Gretchen am Spinnrade
Der Erlkönig

8, Yun Wei, China

Beethoven :
Piano Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2
I. Allegro con brio
Ravel :
Ondine from the Gaspard de la nuit

Jury Panel of the Semi-Final and Final Rounds
(in alphabetical order)

Professor Jonathan Bass, Boston Conservatory at Berklee
Professor Wha-Kyung Byun, New England Conservatory
Professor David Deveau, MIT
Professor Haesun Paik, New England Conservatory, and Cleveland School of Music
Mr. Channing Yu, Conductor Mercury Orchestra

Channing Yu announced the excerpt from the concerto that will be included for the Semi-Final Round, that each of the 8 semi-finalists will play in addition to their own solo repertoire :

"It is slightly over 7 minutes long, but I think it is the best representation of the many facets of the concerto. Also it works reasonably well as a public performance excerpt (it is interesting for the audience). The excerpt is:
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Opus 15
First movement
BEGIN from piano solo in Tempo I (measure 226)
END on measure 400 (orchestra entrance after Poco piu moderato) “

post-semi fianl round announcement:

No. 2, Sahun Sam Hong,
No. 5, Zhiye Lin, and
No. 7, Jun Sun, are advanced to the Final Round tomorrow
No. 6 Randy Ryan, Indonesia, withdraw due to hands injury
No. 8 Yun Wei, China, withdraw because of illness
judge Ms. Byun (absence due to family issues

Admission Free,suggested donation $10 at door.
Age 6 and under not admitted.

中華表演藝術基金會
Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts
Lincoln,Massachusetts

8 concerto semi finalists
in alphabetical order

Xu Guo, F, age 23, China

Born on August 28th 1995, in China, Xu Guo is currently a Master of Music student under Professor Heasun Paik and Professor Meng-Chieh Liu at New England Conservatory of Music. Xu was admitted to the Music School Attached to the Central Conservatory of Music and studied with Professor Hua Chang from 2007 to 2014.

Xu has won competitions including the first prize of the V Thailand International Piano Competition, along with The Best Romantic Prize, and the Audience Prize; The fourth prize of the 3rd KAWAI Asia Piano Competition, the 1st Prize of Steinway Piano competition, NEC honors competition, and others. She has also been awarded “Tan Family Grant” , the Named Scholarship “Lackey – Eliot Fund”, “Pi Kappa-Lamda Nominee”, and graduated from the Bachelor degree with “Academic Honors”.

Xu was selected to participate in music festivals such as International Holland Music Sessions, Aspen Music Festival, Miami International Music Festival, Sejong International Music Festival, etc. She has performed in cities of United States, Netherlands, Romania, China, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Thailand, etc. The current season will take her to a concert tour in Netherlands, including her recital debut in the Royal Concertgebauw in Amsterdam.

Sahun Sam Hong, M, age 24, USA

Praised as an “artist already of enormous prowess” (Verbier Festival Newsletter) with “lots of clarity, confidence, and wisdom” (New York Concert Review), pianist Sahun Hong brings his colorful style and riveting energy to the solo, chamber, and concerto stage.

On the roster of Young Steinway Artists since 2010, Hong has been featured as a guest soloist with the Vienna ORF, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Camerata New York, Fort Worth, Richardson, Racine, Waco, Galveston, and Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestras. He has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, Église de Verbier, Merkin Hall, and the Kennedy Center.

Hong was most recently the winner of the 2017 Vendome Prize at Verbier, and also received Second Prize at the 2017 International Beethoven Competition Vienna. He was a finalist in the 2017 American Pianists Awards.

An avid chamber musician, Hong has appeared in festivals such as Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Chamber Music Encounters at Lincoln Center, and the Taos School of Music. Hong is currently a student of Leon Fleisher in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

Brian Le, M, age 21, USA

Born in Silver Spring, Maryland, 21-year old Brian Le started playing the piano at the age of six and is currently enrolled in the Dual Degree program between Harvard University and the New England Conservatory, where he studies with Prof. Wha-Kyung Byun.

Most recently, he was one of twelve semifinalists in the 10th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Hamamatsu, Japan. He was also a prizewinner in the 10th International Piano Competition in Lyon, France and performed in the 2018-2019 season of Les Pianissimes. In 2015, Brian was the gold medalist in the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition, where he received a significant cash prize, full scholarship to the Eastman School of Music, and played a debut recital in New York City. He also was a finalist in the 2016 New York International Piano Competition and received first prize in the Music Teachers National Association Senior Piano Duet Competition.

As an avid performer, Brian has given performances around the world, most notably at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall and the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage. He has enjoyed playing as a soloist with such orchestras as the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Jiarong Li, F, age 26, China

Chinese pianist Jiarong Li has won top prizes at national and international competitions including first prize in the Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival and Summer Academy Competition, the New England Conservatory Honors Competition, the International Music Competition-Best Schubert Performance, the Eastern Central Division of CCTV Piano and Violin Competition, the Distinction Award of the Hong Kong-Asia Piano Open Competition, and was a finalist at New England Conservatory Piano Concerto Competition. She is a recipient of Si-Yo Artist Support Fund Grant, Emil Danenberg Scholarship, and was a collaborative piano fellow at Bowdoin International Music Festival.

Jiarong has performed as a solo pianist and chamber musician at major venues throughout US and China including: Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory, Curtis Institute of Music, the ZhongShan Music Hall and the National Theater of China in Beijing, BianZhong Hall in Wuhan. She has performed in masterclasses for Robert McDonald, Jerome Lowenthal, Hung-Kuan Chen, Alexander Korsantia, Gabriel Chodos, and Victor Rosenbaum. For three consecutive years, Jiarong received the New England Conservatory's Community Performance and Partnership Fellowship, through which she gave recitals at community venues throughout Boston.

Jiarong is currently pursuing a graduate diploma at New England Conservatory, where she studies with Pei-Shan Lee. She will join Heasook Rhee Studio at Manhattan School of Music in the fall. She collaborates regularly with the New England Conservatory teaching studios of Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser, Soovin Kim and Yeesun Kim. Jiarong holds a Master of Music from New England Conservatory, where she studied with Bruce Brubaker, and a Bachelor of Music from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she studied with Xiang Zou.

Zhiye Lin, M, age 22, China

Pianist Zhiye Lin, a native of Shantou, Canton Province, China, began playing piano at age seven. In 2011, he won the excellent performance prize in the concerto competition held in the Middle School affiliated in Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the first prize of V Category in the Third Piano Competition of NIHON Piano Association in Tokyo, Japan. He also was the recipient of the 2nd prize of 2014 Spain 2nd Concurso Internatcional de Piano“Villa de Xabia”, the Melvin Stecher And Norman Horowitz Second Prize of One-Piano, Four Hands Ensemble in 2016 8th New York International Piano Competition, the 1st prize of 2018 High Point University Piano Competition in North Carolina and the 1st prize of 2019 West Virginia International Piano Competition.

He has performed at The Kennedy Center, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, He Lvding Hall, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall and Ningbo Concert Hall, and he received Ende Niu Piano Major Scholarship (2009), the People Scholarship of Shanghai Music Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory Of Music (2010-2015), and YAMAHA Music Scholarship (2016). In 2007, he began his studies at the middle school affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music with Ting Zhou. He earned his bachelor degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the guidance of Haesun Paik and is currently pursuing his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Hung-Kuan Chen. (2019)

Randy Ryan, M, age 23, Indonesia

Randy Ryan has performed frequently as a chamber musician and as a soloist around the world, with recent performances in United States, Italy, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, and various cities in Indonesia. He made his concerto debut at the age of 10 and had since then appeared as a soloist with the Jakarta Concert Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, Yayasan Musik Jakarta Orchestra, and Jakarta Sinfonietta.

In summer of 2018, Randy was chosen as one of the piano fellows at the Kneisel Hall Chamber music Festival in Maine. In 2016, Randy was one of six participants at Piano Academy Eppan, Italy under the guidance of Pavel Gililov. In 2010, Randy received an opportunity to visit Paris and Poland to give concerts and to study with the legendary pianist Paul Badura-Skoda, where he praised Randy for his “ poetic nature and a warm touch from such one of the most promising young artist.”

Randy graduated from the Juilliard School in 2017 with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance. He recently completed his Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory, where he will be continuing his Performance Diploma with a full scholarship under the studio of Leon Fleisher.

Jun Sun, M, age 30, China

Chinese born pianist Jun Sun has showed his musical individuality from various performing experiments. He had successfully made appearance in notable halls around the world such as Alice Tully Hall and Peter Jay Sharp Theater in Lincoln Center, The Great Hall in Leeds, Chinese National Theater. He was praised and performed with masters such as Fou T’song, Paul Badura-Skoda. Apart from performing, Mr. Jun has dedicated himself into teaching as a faculty member of the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music in China from 2015.

Having made his orchestral debut with Fou T’song in 2007 with Shanghai Conservatory orchestra, Mr. Sun’s growing musicianship won him prizes such as the Crescendo Music Award 2012, two Special prizes in William Kapell International piano Competition, the second prize in the Young Concert Artists International Competition and he is also a laureate of the China International Piano Competition in 2010.

Mr. Sun was born in 1988, started piano at the age of 5 in Shanghai, China. Receiving bachelor of music and master of music degree from the Juilliard School with full scholarship under Robert McDonald, Jun just graduated from artist diploma degree at the Manhattan School of Music with the guidance of Marc Silverman.

Yun Wei, F, age 25, China

Pianist Yun Wei has appeared in notable halls around the world, including Alice Tully Hall and Paul Hall in Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, The Green Space in WQXR and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall in New York, and Shanghai Oriental Hall in Shanghai, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel, and the Great Hall and the Town Hall in Leeds, United Kingdom.

Known for her sophisticated interpretations and elegant stage presence, among her recent awards are the Ameri-China International Music Foundation’s 2009 First Annual Elite Audition (China), New York’s Ensemble 212 Young Artist Competition (2012) and the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition. Her recent awards are laureate, the 2015 Leeds International Piano Competition, where she worked with Conductor Sir Mark Elder and the Halle Orchestra, and winner, the 2015-2016 Gina Bachauer Piano Competition.

Born in 1994 in Hunan, China, Yun Wei began her piano studies at the age of 6. In 2010 she
emigrated to the United States where she received her bachelor’s degree (2014) and master’s degree (2016) from The Juilliard School. Yun Wei has finished her study at Juilliard in the prestigious Artist Diploma program in May, 2018, under the guidance of Robert McDonald.

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