Les juges pour le tour final du Concours de Musique Internationale Grand Metropolitan 2022
Nous sommes très honorés et reconnaissants envers notre panel d'arbitres, qui partageront leur expertise et leur expérience de classe mondiale avec nos participants!
Massimilian Valenti (Italy)
Prof. Massimiliano Valenti began his studies at age of 4 and then continued his musical studies at the Musical Institute "V. Bellini" in Catania with Professor Ms Mariapia Tricoli, graduating with top honors. Subsequently furthered his potential in Germany with the masters Paul Buch in Stuttgart, and later on in Monaco with the scholar Gerhard Oppitz . In 2000 he met Maestro Aldo Ciccolini in Paris with whom he begins an in-depth analysis of the French repertoire and finally in Romania with Diana Apan. Other Masters who have also contributed to his development are Oxana Yablonskaja, Marian Mika, Luigi Mostacci , Massimiliano Damerini and Dana Borsan.
At a very young age Valenti won numerous national and international competitions in all parts of Italy. Thus he began a brilliant concert activity which led him to perform in Festivals in main Italian cities. In 2004 debut in Brasov ( Romania ) he was described by the critics : "A talent out of the ordinary, who places himself on the path of the great pianism”. Soon he is invited to perform at the Banatul Philharmonic of Timisoara and Sibiu, European Capital of Culture at that time, at the International Festival " Carl Filtsch " in the State Philharmonic. Progressively he obtains appreciation from the international scene, performing at Festivals in prestigious European and overseas halls including: Berlin, Vienna, London, Edinburgh, Barcelona, Porto, Leon, Detroit, Baltimore, Toronto, Montreal and Seoul. since 2016 he has been a regular guest of the most important theaters of China, while 2019 opens the door to Japan. He is regularly invited to give courses of Advanced Piano in Italy and abroad including : the University of Aveiro Music Conservatory of Oporto (Portugal) , the University of Virginia Tech, Radford and Greenville (USA), the Department of Music in Timisoara (Romania) and the National University of Music in Seoul (Korea).
His programs, span all works for keyboard which comprehends the classical period, romantic and modern with a particular predilection for avant-garde music. Massimiliano Valenti does not follow the score but he dominates it through his reading of the music which grasps the most hidden movements. His personality is expressed through sound refinement and endless colours that are not written on paper but are set alive in the music halls: "It is not enough to follow the score, but you must master it all to render adequately the enthusiasm and the recollections”. He continuously manages to astonish and amaze his audience, who cannot but feel immediately overwhelmed by his stage presence. A presence only great artists are able to produce, the real ones , who transcend from superficial acrobatic techniques or artificial exhibitionists, aiming to the true and profound nature of the music.
Andrea Cardinale (Italie)
Violoniste italien né en 1970 à Santa Margherita Ligure (Gênes) il vit à Rapallo. Diplômé au Conservatoire d'État "Niccolo'Paganini" (Gênes) avec le professeur Riccardo Malfatto 1992. Il a suivi ses cours de perfectionnement avec les célèbres violonistes Alberto Casabona, Damiano Cottalasso (Teatro alla Scala), Giuseppe Gaccetta, Giuliano Carmignola, Franco Gulli, Berl Senofsky et Ruggiero Rici. En 30 ans de carrière de concertiste, il a joué environ 1500 concerts lors d'importantes saisons musicales à Rome, Milan, Gênes, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Stockholm, Barcelone, Zurich, Londres, Cambridge, Dublin, Varsovie, Prague, Bahreïn, Saint-Pétersbourg, Porto Alegre, Osaka, New York, Boston, Atlanta, S.Francisco, Washington DC. Il a joué plusieurs fois dans un seul concert la version complète des 24 Capricci de Paganini et l'a enregistrée dans un CD intitulé "Il Salotto Rosso di Paganini" sélectionné par Ricordi-Feltrinelli. Il a joué en tant que soliste dans les Chefs-d'œuvre pour violon et orchestre de Bach, Vivaldi, Tchaïkovski, Paganini. En 2020, il a remporté 2 prix au "Concours du Festival mondial de la culture et des arts nationaux". Il a joué en Concert les célèbres Violons Stradivari "Il Cremonese" 1715, Guarneri"Lo Stauffer" 1734. Il joue habituellement un précieux Violon J.B. Vuillaume 1864.
Violoniste italien né en 1970 à Santa Margherita Ligure (Gênes) il vit à Rapallo. Diplômé au Conservatoire d'État "Niccolo'Paganini" (Gênes) avec le professeur Riccardo Malfatto 1992. Il a suivi ses cours de perfectionnement avec les célèbres violonistes Alberto Casabona, Damiano Cottalasso (Teatro alla Scala), Giuseppe Gaccetta, Giuliano Carmignola, Franco Gulli, Berl Senofsky et Ruggiero Rici. En 30 ans de carrière de concertiste, il a joué environ 1500 concerts lors d'importantes saisons musicales à Rome, Milan, Gênes, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Stockholm, Barcelone, Zurich, Londres, Cambridge, Dublin, Varsovie, Prague, Bahreïn, Saint-Pétersbourg, Porto Alegre, Osaka, New York, Boston, Atlanta, S.Francisco, Washington DC. Il a joué plusieurs fois dans un seul concert la version complète des 24 Capricci de Paganini et l'a enregistrée dans un CD intitulé "Il Salotto Rosso di Paganini" sélectionné par Ricordi-Feltrinelli. Il a joué en tant que soliste dans les Chefs-d'œuvre pour violon et orchestre de Bach, Vivaldi, Tchaïkovski, Paganini. En 2020, il a remporté 2 prix au "Concours du Festival mondial de la culture et des arts nationaux". Il a joué en Concert les célèbres Violons Stradivari "Il Cremonese" 1715, Guarneri"Lo Stauffer" 1734. Il joue habituellement un précieux Violon J.B. Vuillaume 1864.
Prof. Alan Fraser (Serbia)
Canadian pianist, pedagogue and author Alan Fraser is best known for his books linking piano technique to the Feldenkrais Method. A student of pioneering pedagogue Phil Cohen in Montreal and the virtuoso Kemal Gekić in Yugoslavia, he is a trained Feldenkrais practitioner who has presented at numerous
music conferences worldwide and published articles in most of the major piano journals. He has performed in North America, Russia, China, Yugoslavia and many European countries, and leads regular seminars at his Alan Fraser Piano Institute in many North American and European capitals. His latest publication is Pianimals, a new children’s method with Phil Cohen-Feldenkrais style exercises to quickly improve a young pianist’s technique and musicianship.
Maestro Sebastian Di Bin (Italy)
Sebastian Di Bin was born in 1981 in Udine (Italy) and began his musical studies at the age of 7. He made its official debut at 11 in a concert with the orchestra Slovenicum of Ljubljana in the hall of the Parliament of the Castle of Udine and since then he has been working to build his international reputation as one of the greatest pianists of his generation.
He has won numerous important national and international awards:
(2015-2020) Recorded four CDs with Centaur Records, see below.
(2014) 1st Prize Gold Medal at the San Jose International Piano Competition in California (U.S.A.).
(2013) 3rd Prize at the 7th "Fausto Zadra" International Piano Competition.
(2013) 1st prize at the "Ischia" International Piano Competition.
(2013) 3rd Prize at the International Piano Competition “Sergey Rachmaninov”.
(2013) 3rd Prize at the International Piano and Orchestra Competition “Città di Cantù”(Italy).
(2012) 4th Prize at the 12th UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria (South Africa).
(2011) Prize for the best interpretation of Spanish music tracks on the 25th Concurso Internacional de Piano de Ferrol (Spain).
(2011) "New Cup Pianists of Italy" in Osimo, absolute 1st prize.
(2011) 2nd Prize (1st prize not awarded) at the 27th International Piano Competition Valsesia Music (Italy).
(2011) 2nd Prize at the International Competition "Neue Sterne" Wenigerode (Germany).
(2010) Absolute First Prize and Special Prize "Lazar Berman" at the IX Piano Competition San Giovanni Teatino-Chieti (Italy).
(2010) 3rd Prize at the IV International Piano Competition Campillos-Malaga (Spain).
(2010) Special Mention for best performer at the 26th International Competition “Valsesia Musica” (Italy).
(2003) The “Premio Venezia”, reserved for the best graduated from conservatories in Italy at the theatre La Fenice in Venice.
(2003) Special Prize at the International Competition "Pecar" in Gorizia (Italy).
(1996) Special Prize at the International Competition "Marizza" in Trieste.
(1990) International Competition Mozart in Bologna.
Moreover :
In 1991 was appointed UNICEF Ambassador for artistic merit and represented Italy, together with Luciano Pavarotti, at the Gala World UNICEF "Danny Kay" in Amsterdam (Netherlands).
In 2003 he received the Medal of the President of the Italian Republic and the Silver Plaque of the Senate, Italy.
He has performed as a soloist with the following orchestras:
Orchestra Slovenicum of Ljubljana;
AFOS Foundation Toscanini conducted by Julian Kovatchev;
"Cantiere Musicale di Udine" directed by Paul Paroni;
"Virtuosi di Aquileia" directed by Alfredo Barchi;
Camerata Gigli di Recanati directed by Lorenzo Di Bella;
Philharmonische Chamber Orchestra directed by Christian Fitzner in Germany;
The Romanian Philharmonic Orchestra M. Jora Bacau directed by Emin Guven Yaslicam in Milan and directed by Ovidiu Balan in Varallo;
The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tamas Vásáry in Pretoria (South Africa).
He has performed in a duet with world famed violinist Luigi Alberto Bianchi and participated in numerous solo recitals at important festivals and musical events: Salzburg Festival 2004 and 2008; Piano Festival "Giovani interpreti e grandi maestri” in the Teatro Verdi in Trieste; at the International Piano Festival "Mario Ghislandi" by Cream; the " Chopin Marathon " Auditorium Verdi in Milan organized by Maestro Abbado; at the International Piano Festival in Osimo; at the International Festival William Walton in Ischia; the concert for the Catholic Press of Italy and the Vatican, in Rome, always receiving high praise from the public and the press.
During his concert career, he performed in concerts in prestigious theatres in Italy (Teatro Malibran and Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Oratory of St. Philip Blacks in Bologna, Auditorium Verdi in Milan, Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna, Teatro Comunale di Monfalcone, Teatro Giovanni da Udine in Udine, Auditorium Verdi in Trieste, Conservatory of Rovigo, Castromediano Museum of Lecce, Auditorium Maximum of Rome, "Fazioli Concert Hall" Sacile, Sala Bossi of Bologna, Palermo Villa Whitaker, Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice, Sala Santa Maria delle Grazie in Mestre, Ajax room of the Municipality of Udine, Udine Palamostre Theatre, Museum of Rivoltella Trieste, Teatro Comunale di Imola) and abroad (Holland, Switzerland, France, Slovenia, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Spain, USA, South Africa.).
A number of his performances have been broadcast on national and international televisions: RAI 1, RAI 2, RAI 3, Channel 5, Tele Montecarlo, and abroad (U.S.A., Netherlands, Malta, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, South Africa). Other performances have been broadcasted on radio stations such as Rai Radio 3, Radio Pretoria and several American stations as well as in Germany and Spain.
He has recorded Four CDs with the prestigious American label Louisiana Centaur Records:
2015 - F. Liszt's Transcendental Etudes, (The whole series of the 12 Etudes).
2017 - 12 Piano Etudes from opus 10 and 12 Piano Etudes from opus 25 of F. Chopin’s Etudes.
2017 - Russian Music with music of S. Rachmaninov, P. I. Tchaikovsky, S. Skrjabin e S. Prokofiev repertoire.
2020 - « Soul Movies... » With some of his original compositions and interpretations of famous songs for the piano.
In July 2016, “Edizioni Musicali Wicky EM” of Milan published the book entitled “Sogni di suoni” (Dreams of Sounds) with 15 of his musical compositions, together with a CD with his own interpretation of the pieces.
Education
He graduated with honor at the Conservatorio "G. Rossini "of Pesaro in 2002 and then he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma at the Advanced International Piano Academy in Imola with Maestro Franco Scala . Later he completed his piano studies at the Accademia delle Marche "Beniamino Gigli" in Recanati with Maestro Gianluca Luisi and Maestro Lorenzo Di Bella.
In 2009 he studied with the Maestro Vincenzo Balzani in Milano. At the same time he studied experimental composition with Marco Di Bari and Remo Vinciguerra. In 2012 he got a Master degree in Music Composition for films at the Faculty of Humanities at Udine University and at the Conservatory J. Tomadini in Udine. Sebastian further developed his musical talents by participating in a series of masterclasses with very talented artists such as Lonquich, Lortie, Jasinskj, Howard, Dalberto, Lucchesini, Margulis, Berman, Berhoff, Kravchenko, Soriano, Balzani, Morales and Rivera.
In July 2012 he was invited to give a masterclass at the Colorado International Piano Academy, University of Northern Colorado (USA).
Dr. Angela Chan (Canada)
Recognized as the great-grand student of Alfred Cortot (from the lineage of Frederyck Chopin), Dr. Angela Chan is an accomplished concert pianist who has performed extensively in Canada, Europe, the U.S.A. China and Hong Kong, and has been featured on the Discovery Channel (Canada), Global TV, CBC, CBS, MSNBC, the Australian Television Network, CJAD, CJOH, RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong) and other media networks. Dr. Chan’s works have also been featured in Maclean’s Magazine, La Scena Musicale, Montreal Gazette and the National Post. Angela Chan holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance, Pedagogy and Education from Concordia University, Montreal, and she is the founder and Director of Lambda School of Music and Fine Arts, an internationally recognized institution for its fine quality and reputation. Dr. Chan is also head of the piano pedagogy division at Lambda School, providing professional and career development opportunities for piano teachers. Dr. Chan has a wealth of experiences in helping students achieve their maximum potential, and has groomed numerous child prodigies in her career. In her 38 years of extensive music and psychological research, Dr. Chan has unraveled the mysteries of effective and efficient teaching and learning. As a consequence, within short periods of study with Dr. Chan, many of her students have demonstrated phenomenal progress.
Dr. Chan's students have won first prizes in national and international piano competitions and have been invited to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York, the Royal Albert Hall in London (United Kingdom), as well as in Amsterdam (Holland), Rome (Italy), Vienna and Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium), Bonn (Germany), China, Japan and Hong Kong. Dr. Chan's students have been highly successful under her guidance - they have been accepted by prestigious universities in the US and Canada, including the New England Conservatory, Peabody Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music and the Manhattan School of Music in New York, as well as McGill University in Canada. Dr. Chan's pedagogy students have become outstanding piano teachers, whose students have won international awards.
Dr. Chan is also the author of the new Lambda piano method series developed to help pianists progress at an accelerated pace. Dr. Chan’s book A Guide to Musicality - The Art and Science on her research and experiences with innovative pedagogical approaches has also been released in July 2020. Recognized internationally as an outstanding pedagogue, Dr. Chan has been invited to adjudicate a number of major competitions in Canada, China, Europe and in the US.
Dr. Chan is also retired senior examiner and clinician of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Dr. Chan also serves as pedagogical consultant to the iScore Project – an online pedagogical platform co-developed by the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Concordia University and Queen’s University. Dr. Chan has lectured at Concordia University, and she also serves as artistic and pedagogical consultant for a number of music and arts organizations. She is also currently pedagogical consultant to an innovative pedagogical project in China in the provinces of Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Dr. Chaerin Kim
A multi-instrumentalist, being one of the very few in the world who you can see performing as a soloist with two instruments on the same stage with an orchestra, internationally acclaimed harpist, pianist, composer, and professor Dr. Chaerin Kim is the winner of several international competitions. She was the winner of the Special Prize of Best Performance of Russian Music at the International Harp Competition in Russia, winner of the Future Classic Women Award from the London Radio Station, the CFA Award and Department Honor Award from Boston University, the Garrett Award, Foundation Award, and Julia Leney Harp Prize in London, the Soloist Competition Winner at Ewha University, Kaywon School for the Arts, and Boston University, the Bronze Medalist for Solo Piano at the Walgan Music Competition, and winner of the Grand Prize from the Korean Student’s Newspaper.
She has been featured as a soloist on both instruments: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Debussy Danses for Harp, Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto with UMB Orchestra, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with Boston Chamber Orchestra, the Ginastera Harp Concerto with BU Symphony Orchestra, Ginastera Harp Concerto with Seongnam Philharmonic, a Guest Soloist of the International Music Festival broadcast live in Korea, Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro and Debussy’s Danses with Yonsei Sinfonietta, and the Pierne Harp Concerto with EU Orchestra. Her harp performance has been used for the British movie Kaleidoscope (Main actor Toby Jones), which was the winner of Best Performance at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
As a composer, her composition, Rendezvous, has 92 versions, including versions for orchestra, harp, piano, and voice, with lyrics written by her and translated into 80 different languages, and the orchestral version of Rendezvous had its world premiere in Boston, Massachusetts. Most recently, she was nominated for and awarded the Future Classic Women Award through the London Radio Station, who interviewed her twice, and also interviewed with WCPE Radio in the U.S.
Dr. Kim’s musical studies began when she was six years old. She majored in piano at the Yewon Music Middle School, while also beginning studies in cello and voice. After Yewon, she went on to attend Kaywon High School of Arts, where she continued to major in piano. In her last year, at the age of eighteen, she also started lessons on harp, and six months later won the Soloist Audition for Harp. She received her B.A. with Highest Honors from Ewha University in Seoul – then, while pursuing her master’s degree at Ewha, she was offered a scholarship for a PGD at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she graduated with “distinction.” She got her M.M. from Yale University on a scholarship, graduating summa cum laude. She was invited to the Artist’s Diploma program at Yale and Graduate Diploma Program at New England Conservatory – however, she decided to pursue her doctorate at Boston University, where she was offered a full scholarship. She was the “quickest recipient of a Doctorate” in BU Music School’s history, completing it in three and a half years.
As a contest judge and jury, Dr. Kim was the artistic director of the USA International Music Competition in 2010, and in 2021, she is judging at ten international competitions for both harp and piano: the Music International Grand Prix in New York, the King’s Peak International Music Competition in California, the World Vision Music Contest in Germany, the Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition in Canada, the International Music Competition in Serbia, Music Modern in Ukraine, the International Youth Music Competition in Atlanta, Musical South Palmyra in Ukraine, and the Danubia International Music Competition in Hungary. Dr. Kim was formerly a professor at Eastern Nazarene College, where she taught harp, piano, music theory and music history classes, and was also the former Head of the Harp Department at Adagio Music Academy and South Shore Conservatory. Currently, she is an artistic director of UIMC, an artist with the TTF Entertainment company in China, and a professor of both instruments; harp and piano at University of Massachusetts Boston, Schloss Akademie in Germany, and harp through the Office of Arts at Harvard University.
A multi-instrumentalist, being one of the very few in the world who you can see performing as a soloist with two instruments on the same stage with an orchestra, internationally acclaimed harpist, pianist, composer, and professor Dr. Chaerin Kim is the winner of several international competitions. She was the winner of the Special Prize of Best Performance of Russian Music at the International Harp Competition in Russia, winner of the Future Classic Women Award from the London Radio Station, the CFA Award and Department Honor Award from Boston University, the Garrett Award, Foundation Award, and Julia Leney Harp Prize in London, the Soloist Competition Winner at Ewha University, Kaywon School for the Arts, and Boston University, the Bronze Medalist for Solo Piano at the Walgan Music Competition, and winner of the Grand Prize from the Korean Student’s Newspaper.
She has been featured as a soloist on both instruments: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Debussy Danses for Harp, Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto with UMB Orchestra, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with Boston Chamber Orchestra, the Ginastera Harp Concerto with BU Symphony Orchestra, Ginastera Harp Concerto with Seongnam Philharmonic, a Guest Soloist of the International Music Festival broadcast live in Korea, Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro and Debussy’s Danses with Yonsei Sinfonietta, and the Pierne Harp Concerto with EU Orchestra. Her harp performance has been used for the British movie Kaleidoscope (Main actor Toby Jones), which was the winner of Best Performance at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
As a composer, her composition, Rendezvous, has 92 versions, including versions for orchestra, harp, piano, and voice, with lyrics written by her and translated into 80 different languages, and the orchestral version of Rendezvous had its world premiere in Boston, Massachusetts. Most recently, she was nominated for and awarded the Future Classic Women Award through the London Radio Station, who interviewed her twice, and also interviewed with WCPE Radio in the U.S.
Dr. Kim’s musical studies began when she was six years old. She majored in piano at the Yewon Music Middle School, while also beginning studies in cello and voice. After Yewon, she went on to attend Kaywon High School of Arts, where she continued to major in piano. In her last year, at the age of eighteen, she also started lessons on harp, and six months later won the Soloist Audition for Harp. She received her B.A. with Highest Honors from Ewha University in Seoul – then, while pursuing her master’s degree at Ewha, she was offered a scholarship for a PGD at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she graduated with “distinction.” She got her M.M. from Yale University on a scholarship, graduating summa cum laude. She was invited to the Artist’s Diploma program at Yale and Graduate Diploma Program at New England Conservatory – however, she decided to pursue her doctorate at Boston University, where she was offered a full scholarship. She was the “quickest recipient of a Doctorate” in BU Music School’s history, completing it in three and a half years.
As a contest judge and jury, Dr. Kim was the artistic director of the USA International Music Competition in 2010, and in 2021, she is judging at ten international competitions for both harp and piano: the Music International Grand Prix in New York, the King’s Peak International Music Competition in California, the World Vision Music Contest in Germany, the Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition in Canada, the International Music Competition in Serbia, Music Modern in Ukraine, the International Youth Music Competition in Atlanta, Musical South Palmyra in Ukraine, and the Danubia International Music Competition in Hungary. Dr. Kim was formerly a professor at Eastern Nazarene College, where she taught harp, piano, music theory and music history classes, and was also the former Head of the Harp Department at Adagio Music Academy and South Shore Conservatory. Currently, she is an artistic director of UIMC, an artist with the TTF Entertainment company in China, and a professor of both instruments; harp and piano at University of Massachusetts Boston, Schloss Akademie in Germany, and harp through the Office of Arts at Harvard University.