Wallace National Piano Festival
Concert Pianists for 2014
RECITALS:
Thursday, 10 July 7:30pm - Chenyin Li
Friday, 11 July 7:30pm - Read Gainsford
Sunday, 13 July 5pm - Jason Bae
CHENYIN LI - Thursday, 10 July 7:30pm
Since winning the 6th Scottish International Piano Competition in Glasgow, Chenyin Li has established herself as one of the most sought-after young Chinese pianists of her generation. She has collected an impressive array of international first prizes including the European Beethoven Gold Medal, the Jacques Samuel Competition, the Sheffield Piano Competition, the Dudley International Piano Competition, and the Campillos International Piano Competition. She has also been high up among the top prize-winners in other prestigious competitions such as the Ferrol; Jaen; Maria Canals; Santander; Pozzoli and Dublin International Piano Competitions.
Chenyin’s career has seen her collaborating with world-renowned orchestras such as the Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (Denmark), the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra (USA), the Regensburg Symphony Orchestra (Germany), to name but a few. Her recital highlights include an acclaimed debut recital at the Royal Festival Hall. She also appears regularly in prestigious venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Adrian Boult Hall (Birmingham), Bridgewater Hall (Manchester) and Royal Concert Hall (Glasgow).
Amongst many chamber music collaborations, Chenyin has performed with the notable Ysaye Quartet, and is a founding member of the East-West piano trio. She has participated in International Music Festivals such as the Presteigne, Leeds, Machynlleth and Ribble Valley. Outside the UK she has toured the USA, Spain, France, Holland, China, Germany, England, Italy, Japan and Scotland. Critics have described Chenyin’s playing as: “Her performance…was gritty, fiery and athletic, backed by a strong technique arsenal...” The Daily Telegraph; “Chenyin Li…is a player of remarkable subtlety.” The Scottish Herald; “…The young Chinese pianist Chenyin Li played at a high spiritual level, the way you find it in recording by the grand old masters of the piano – but a very rare thing to find nowadays.” Jyllands-Posten; “…Here is a pianist who has her own assured and perceptive approach. She understands the original intentions of the composers as well as bringing her own individual interpretation which invests the music with a new life.” National Business Review.Chenyin studied with Bi-gang Chen, Zhong Hui and Hui-li Li at the Beijing Conservatory of Music, and later at the University of Auckland in New Zealand with Professor Tamas Vesmas. Gaining a full scholarship from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she moved to London to study with Professor Joan Havill. During her years in GSMD, she obtained the Postgraduate Concert Recital Diploma, Premiere Prix and the Master Degree. In January 2008, she was the first ever student to gain a Performance Doctorate Degree from the Guildhall School and City University.
Over the past season, she has performed concerts in Denmark, and Spain, and has been invited to play in Taiwan, and New Zealand, as well as being invited to play at the Xiamen International Piano Festival in China.
Chenyin Li has recently recorded a CD of Debussy piano music under the Blüthner label, which was released in 2012. Her book, ‘Memorisation: The Essential Guide for Pianists’ is being published by German VDM Verlag Publishing House.She is currently the exclusive artist recording the covermount CDs accompanying ‘Pianist’ magazine, the most widely distributed piano magazine on the market. Last season Chenyin is engaged to collaborate with the China Symphony Orchestra to play Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto at the Grand National Theatre (Tiananmen Square, Beijing) with Sir En Shao. In 2014 Chenyin has been invited to be the only Chinese jury member of the International Tchaikovsky Youth Piano Competition in Tian Jin, China.
chenyinli.com
PROGRAMME:
Bach
Italian Concerto
Brahms
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24
Interval
Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27, No. 2 (Moonlight)
Debussy
Masques
D’un Cahier d’esquisses
L’isle Joyeuse
READ GAINSFORD - Friday, 11 July 7:30pm
Pianist Read Gainsford was recently described in the press as the possessor of “finger-numbing virtuosity and delicately chiseled precision” yet he is also driven to pursue connections beyond the merely pianistic. Known for his insightful introductions from the stage, reaching beyond the footlights to be what a magazine profile described as “Pianist of the People” he pursues connections wherever he can find them. From collaborating with noted oceanographers in presenting “Voice of the Whale” by George Crumb, to consulting with art historians and living artists to create a series of images to accompany performances of Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus; from historical reenactments of the famous piano duel between Franz Liszt and Sigismond Thalberg of 1837, to playing Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring for live performance by a noted dance troupe, he is committed to reaching audiences in ways beyond the traditional.
Read Gainsford has also followed the standard route for a concert pianist. Born in New Zealand, he studied at The University of Auckland with New Zealand’s leading teachers, Janetta McStay and Bryan Sayer, before moving to London to work at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a pupil of the renowned pedagogue Joan Havill. He moved to the USA to earn a doctorate from Indiana University, under professor Karen Shaw. He has performed widely in the USA, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, as solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician, making successful solo debuts in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as playing in the Kennedy Center, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and others.
Keen to work with other musicians, his latest collaborative project involves forming Trio Solis who made their Carnegie Hall debut in May 2009. As well as traditional concerts and residencies, they enjoy "Building Bridges" - collaborating with talented student musicians to share their experience of making music with younger players. He has been associated for many years with the unique chamber music center Garth Newel, and has played with many leading musicians including the Audubon and Serafin Quartets, Richard Stoltzman, Jacques Zoon, Luis Rossi, and many others.
Dedicated to the works of living composers, Gainsford was a member of Ensemble X, a contemporary music group in Ithaca, NY. He has premiered many works including the 3rd Piano Concerto by Ladislav Kubik, which he also recorded with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Brno under the baton of Alex Jimenez, and Marc Satterwhite's Five Rivers of Hades, and he has recorded Ellen Taafe Zwilich's Images for two pianos and orchestra for Naxos. He has worked with many other composers including Steven Stucky, Chen Yi, John Psathas, Christopher Theofanidis, James Matheson, Steven Burke, Robert Paterson, Mark Wingate, Karim Al-Zand, Diego Vega. Dr. Gainsford is highly in demand as a master-class clinician and teacher, and in August 2005 was appointed Associate Professor of Piano at Florida State University, where he is now Coordinator of Keyboard. He is also a founding member of Trio Solis, formed in 2008, whose debut recording, “Diamonds in a Haystack” was selected as Critic’s Choice in American Record Guide.
PROGRAMME:
Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809)
Fantasia in C Major, Hob.XVII: 4
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Sonata in B-flat Major, D.960
Molto moderato, Andante sostenuto, Scherzo: Allegro vivace – Trio: Un poco più lento, Rondo: Allegretto – Presto
Interval
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Etudes-tableaux, Op.39
No.1 in C Minor, No.2 in A Minor, No.3 in F-sharp Minor, No. 4 in B Minor, No.5 in E-flat Minor, No.6 in A Minor, No.7 in C Minor, No.8 in D Minor, No.9 in D Major
JASON BAE - Sunday, 13 July - 5pm
“An imperturbable soloist…”
- The New Zealand Herald
Jason Bae was born in Daejeon, South Korea in 1991 where he began studying piano at the age of five. In 2013, Jason has received Bachelor of Music in piano performance with First Class Honours at the University of Auckland under the tutelage of Rae de Lisle. He has also studied at the Aspen Music Festival and School with Ann Schein and John O'Conor from 2007 to 2013. Jason is currently in his 1st year of Masters of Arts in piano performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London studying with Christopher Elton and Joanna MacGregor.
At age 12, Jason has made his concerto debut with Auckland Symphony Orchestra performing Grieg Piano Concerto Op. 16. A year later, he became the youngest concerto soloist to perform with Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra for the 'SkyCity Starlight Symphony Concert in the Park' at the Auckland Domain in front of 200,000 people. Under the baton of Rossen Milanov, Jason performed Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Winds as a soloist with New Zealand National Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2010. He has also appeared as a concerto soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra of Australia, Auckland Youth Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and Bach Musica.
Jason was awarded 1st Prize in the 2008 Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition in New York, which led to a performance at the Carnegie Hall in Weill Recital Hall. In the same year, he won the New Zealand Young Performer of the Year. The following year he won 2nd prize at the 2009 Lev Vlassenko International Piano Competition in Brisbane, Australia, where he also received the 'Pnina Salzman Memorial Prize for the Best Performance of Work by Chopin'. Then in 2010 Jason’s performance of Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 achieved 1st Prize at the University of Auckland Gala Concerto Competition. Jason has competed in the 2012 Dublin International Piano Competition, graduating to the second round. Last year, he was the Grand 1st Prize Winner of the 2013 New Zealand Inaugural Wallace National Piano Competition.
In 2013, Jason was the First New Zealander to be invited by the Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage of New Zealand, Hon. Christopher Finlayson, to present a piano solo recital at the Grand Hall of New Zealand Parliament, 'Beehive'. Also, he has performed for the Former Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir. Anand Satyanand, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, and the President of European Commission, Jose Manuel Barosso.
In 2012, Jason presented his sold-out debut piano recital at Auckland Town Hall. In the 2013-14 season, Jason will be making his recital debut at Steinway Hall in London, Bloomsbury Festival in London, Cosmos Hall in Seoul and New Zealand Wallace Piano Festival. Also, he will be performing Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 with Manukau Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kenneth Young.
Jason is the First New Zealander to become the Young Steinway Artist since 2012. Also, he is a proud beneficiary of ‘Lewis Eady Charitable Trust’ since 2004.
jasonbaepianist.com
PROGRAMME:
J.S Bach
Partita No.6 BWV 830
Rachmaninov
Moments Musicaux Op.16
Interval
Leonie Holmes
Nocturne
Chopin
Piano Sonata No.3 Op.58