24 Canadian pianists ready to compete in prestigious Honens International Piano Competition

The world’s next generation of concert pianists take part in Honens Stage One

Stage One of the Sixth Honens International Piano Competition gets underway with recitals in Calgary (March 21), New York (March 26-31), and Munich (April 25–27). Ninety-three concert pianists hailing from 26 countries will each perform a 40-minute solo recital before a live audience in one of the three concert venues: Calgary’s Rozsa Centre, New York City’s Peter Norton Symphony Space or Munich’s Gasteig.

A total of 24 Canadians will participate in the competition: Michael Berkovsky (Toronto ON), Maxim Bernard (Quebec City QC), Tiffany Butt (North Vancouver BC), Sheng Cai (Toronto ON), Sonia Chan (Toronto ON), Tina Chong (Banff AB), Dmitri Levkovich (Toronto ON), Ang Li (Toronto ON),
Scott Meek (Winnipeg MB), Christopher Miranda (Mississauga ON), Eldon Ng (Toronto ON),
Ilya Poletaev (Toronto ON), Sergei Saratovsky (Vancouver BC), Elizabeth Schumann (LaSalle QC),
Isaac Seo (Toronto ON), Benjamin Smith (Chatham ON), Jean-Philippe Sylvestre (Ste-Julie QC),
Wayne Weng (Vancouver BC), Daniel Wnukowski (Windsor ON), Irene Wong (Mississauga ON),
Todd Yaniw (Edmonton AB), Zhenya Yesmanovich (Toronto ON), Avan Yu (Vancouver BC), and Darrett Zusko (Windsor ON).

All performances will be recorded on digital video by the Honens recording team, which consists of an audio-visual engineer and a Honens representative, who ensure that the conditions are as uniform as possible and note the state of instruments, the acoustical qualities of the performance rooms, and any unusual circumstances. The Stage One performances will be reviewed by the First Jury in June and 21 pianists will be selected to advance to the Quarterfinals in Calgary. Members of the First Jury are Angela Cheng, Chairwoman (Canada), Katherine Chi (First Laureate 2000 Honens International Competition; Canada), Matthias Kirschnereit (Germany), and Ronan O’Hora (United Kingdom).

In Canada, Stage One recitals will take place at the University of Calgary’s Rozsa Centre on Saturday, March 21 at 10 am, 2 pm and 7 pm, and feature performances by twelve pianists from seven countries. Tickets to each session are $10 or $25 for a day-pass and are available through the Honens Box Office by calling 403 299 0140 or online at honens.com. For a detailed performance schedule visit honens.com.

The triennial Honens International Piano Competition, founded in 1992, is ranked among the world’s greatest music competitions. It is unique in its mission to find the “complete artist” – one who possesses technical mastery as well as expressiveness in a wide range of musical forms and styles, and whose music-making possesses imagination, innovation and relevance in today’s world. The Sixth Honens Competition takes place in Calgary, October 22 to November 6, 2009. It is presented by Nexen Inc. and supported by Steinway & Sons, Irene Besse Keyboards Ltd., MacLeod Dixon LLP, Enbridge Inc., and TransAlta. For more information about Honens, please visit honens.com.

In search of the complete artist, Honens invites 93 pianists to international piano competition

Pianists selected for first public stage of 2009 Honens Competition

CALGARY, AB, January 9, 2009 – Honens announced today that 93 concert pianists from 26 countries have been invited to take part in Stage One of the Sixth Honens International Piano Competition. Honen’s International Piano Competition is one of the highest-ranking musical competitions in the world. Its uniqueness lies in its mission to find the complete artist – one who possess technical mastery as well as expressiveness in a wide range of musical forms and styles – one whose music-making possesses imagination, innovation and relevance in today’s world.

Stage One is the preliminary round of the competition where pianists from around the world perform individual 40-minute solo recitals. Stage One sessions take place before audiences in Calgary on March 21; in New York from March 26 to 31; and in Munich on April 25 to 27. A total of 11 pianists in Calgary, 50 in New York and 32 in Munich will perform.

The Application Screening Jury, which included Angela Cheng, Chairwoman, Honens First Jury; William Aide, Chairman, Honens Second Jury; and Stephen McHolm, Honens Executive Director reviewed 145 applications.

“It’s evident by the quality of the applicants that Honens has become one of the world’s leading competitions,” says McHolm. “The competition juries will face a challenging task ahead in choosing the 2009 Honens Laureates.”

Stage One performances will be videotaped and reviewed by the First Jury at the Banff Centre in June. From a field of 93 pianists, 21 will advance to the Quarterfinals in Calgary, which begins on October 22.

Honens International Piano Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious events of its kind. The Sixth Honens Competition takes place in Calgary, October 22 to November 6, 2009. It is presented by Nexen Inc. and supported by Steinway & Sons, Irene Besse Keyboards Ltd., MacLeod Dixon LLP, Enbridge Inc., and TransAlta. For more information about Honens, please visit honens.com.