Barcelona Piano Academy winners

PAST BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD WINNERS

VII BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2018

SAKI NISHIOKA, 27 year-old (Nara, JAPAN)

Saki Nishioka was born in Nara, Japan. She obtained her Bachelors degree at the Kyoto City University of Arts in 2015. She studied with Bruno Rigutto at L’École Normale de Musique ‘Alfred Cortot ” in Paris where she obtained “Diploma Superieur de Concertiste” (the highest diploma of this institution) at École Normale de Musique.

She is currently pursuing her Masters degree at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris under the guidance of Hortense Cartier-Bresson.

She has received several awards and scholarship such as: Aoyama Foundation Scholarship in Japan, the 2nd prize and Public prize at the 5th Gabriel Fauré International Piano Competition (France), 2nd prize at the 9th Claude Bonneton International Piano Competition (France), 2nd prize at the 61st Student Music Competition of Japan and the VII BPA International Piano Award 2018 at Barcelona Piano Academy (BPA).

She has performed in many music festivals including the Chopin Festival in Paris,

Lisztomanias, Piano aux Jacobins, Piano en Valois. Her important piano career brought her to performed as a soloist with orchestras like the Ribeirão Preto Symphony Orchestra and the Osaka Chamber Orchestra.

SPECIAL MENTION SPANISH MUSIC

AKIHO SUZUKI, 25 year-old (Sidney, AUSTRALIA)

Suite Iberia - I. Albéniz

Akiho Suzuki is now a fourth-year Honours student undertaking a Bachelor of Music (Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she holds the Clarence Addison Turrill Scholarship. She began piano lessons at the age of seven and has been studying with Natalia Ricci since 2011, when she was accepted into the Open Academy Rising Stars program at the Conservatorium. She has also been receiving lessons from Clemens Leske since 2017.

She has received several awards including the Bessie Cook Piano Award, Felix Switzer Memorial Award and the John Cassim Award for Music. This year she was also the recipient of the Hendersons Traveller Scholarship which enabled her to attend the Summer Academy at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria. As a passionate ensemble pianist, she has also been a finalist in both the Music Viva Chamber Music Award and the Jennifer Warren Piano Accompaniment Award at the Sydney Eisteddfod.

Akiho has performed at various venues throughout Sydney including the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall and St. James’ Church. She has been invited to perform as a soloist with the Eastern Suburbs Chamber Orchestra and has played in masterclasses with many internationally-acclaimed pianists including Angela Hewitt, Jacques Rouvier, Lukáš Vondráček, Paul Roberts, Christopher Elton. In addition, Akiho has a special interest in Spanish piano music and has worked with several Spanish professors such as Albert Attenelle, Marta Zabaleta and Luis Fernando Pérez.

Outside piano, Akiho has a deep interest in psychology which she studied for some time at the University of Sydney. She is particularly interested in music performance psychology, including issues such as performance anxiety, effective practice methods, and mental wellbeing of musicians. She is currently undertaking a research project on effective piano practice as part of her Honours study. While she plans to primarily pursue a performance career, Akiho hopes to undertake postgraduate research in this field at some point in the future.

BPA SCHOLARSHIP (Best Spanish Participant)

Pau Vendrell Vilardaga, 17 year-old (Barcelona, SPAIN)

Pau Vendrell Vilardaga was born in Vic, Barcelona in 2001. He

started studying piano at the age of 6 with Joan Ribé in the Music School of Vic. He

completed his Professional Grade at age 16. In 2011 he was awarded first prize at the

Catalonia Young Pianist’s competition of Torroella the Montgrí and in 2017, he won first

prize of his category in the Girona Music Performance competition.

Pau has been studying at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester since 2017 with

teacher Marta Karbownicka. He has received advices in masterclasses from renowned

pianists such as Peter Donohoe, Diana Baker, Josep Maria Colom, Alba Ventura, Daniel

Ligorio, Maria Jesús Crespo and Lluís Rodríguez.

BPA SCHOLARSHIP (Best Spanish Participant)

Laura Miras, 23 year-old (Barcelona, SPAIN)

VI BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2017

CHARLOTTE COULAUD, 26 year-old (Paris, FRANCE)

- VI BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2017

- SPECIAL MENTION SPANISH MUSIC (El Puerto and Triana from the Suite Iberia - I. Albéniz)

Charlotte Coulaud was born in Paris in a family of musicians and began studying piano at the age of five.

In 1999, at eight years old, she performed the first movement of Joseph Haydn’s D major concerto with the National Radio Orchestra of Romania during a concert in memory of her great-grandfather Constantin Bobescu (romanian composer, conductor and violinist).

She studied with Elena Filonova in Paris and entered the Paris Conservatoire of Music in the class of Brigitte Engerer in 2007. In 2012 she obtained the Master’s degree with distinction. She also studied chamber music with Daria Hovora. She is currently studying with Bruno Rigutto at Schola Cantorum.

She also attended master-classes with Dominique Merlet (at the Académie musicale de Villecroze), Sergio Perticaroli, Arie Vardi, Georges Pludermacher, Yves Henry (at Nohant Festival Chopin) and Giovanni Bellucci.

She is prizewinner of several competitions: first prize at the competition Les Virtuoses du Coeur and first prize at the International Piano Competition of Ile-de-France in 2013. She won the Jury’s Prize at the fifteenth edition of Les Jeudis du piano in Geneva in 2015 and the second prize at the International Competition Claude Bonneton in 2016.

Since december 2013 she is laureate of the Fondation d’entreprise Banque Populaire.

She performs in France and in many festivals: Festival Harmonies d’Automne (Paris), Festival Artemus (Bourgogne), Festival de Musique de Pontlevoy, Piano en Saintonge, Pianoscope (Beauvais), Ars Terra (Picardie).

She also performed in Spain at the French Institute of Madrid, in Romania with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Ploiesti conducted by Horia Surianu, and in Hungary, at the Kodaly Centre of Pecs and at the Palace of Arts in Budapest with the Pannon Philharmonic conducted by Tibor Boganyi.

Charlotte is the winner of the VI BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2017 and the SPECIAL MENTION OF SPANISH MUSIC.

YAMAHA SCHOLARSHIP (Best Spanish Participant)

Carolina Santiago Martínez, 23 year-old (Murcia, SPAIN)

Carolina Santiago Martínez was born in Yecla (Murcia, Spain) where she started her piano studies at the age of eight. Later she did the Professional Degree at the Conservatory of Villena (Alicante, Spain) where she obtained the highest result at the end of her grade. She completed it with Modern Music studies. In 2013 she began Bachelor Degree at Badajoz (Extremadura) with Alexander Kandelaki, and in 2015 she moved to Barcelona where she finished her Bachelor with the pianist and professor Albert Attenelle at the Conservatori del Liceu.

She has studied and participated in Masterclasses with renowned teachers such as Luca Chiantore, Josep Colom, Pilar Valero, Chistopher Elton, Aquiles delle Vigne, Jacques Rouvier, Bruno Rigutto, Michael Wladowski, etc. She has played in such outstanding places as Kasteel d’Ursell or the Atélier Marcel Hastir (Brussels, Belgium), the Parlament of Catalonia, the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion (Barcelona), Barcelona Piano Academy, the Musikeon academy (Valencia), etc. In 2017 she has participated at the Primavera Pianistica course and competition (Belgium), the Festival Castell de Peralada and the Fringe Festival (Girona, Spain).

Her interest in contemporary music has led her to program concerts in new music, she has participated at the FestivalMixtur 2017 in Barcelona and now she acts as Coordinator of the Curs Internacional de Composició Institut Français-Barcelona Modern Project.

She has recently won the AIE scholarship for the Manuel de Falla course (2016, Granada) with Galina Eguiazarova, the Yamaha scholarship awarded by the VI Barcelona Piano Academy (2017) and the Conservatori del Liceu’s scholarship for Master Degree 2017-2018 with Albert Attenelle.

V BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2016

SHUHUI ZHOU, 25 year-old (Shanghai, CHINA)

Ms. Shuhui (Sophia) Zhou is a native of Shanghai. She was offered full scholarship by Oberlin College as the first double-degree bachelor student from mainland, China. Her degrees include Bachelor of Music on piano performance and Bachelor of Arts on German Literature. She spent a year furthering her duo study in Vienna, Austria,during which she was under tutorage of Jan Jiraceck von Arnim, professor of University of Music and Performing Arts of Vienna and Morton Solvik, renowned Mahler scholar.

Her concert appearances include Franz Liszt Saal in Vienna, Carnegie Weil Concert Hall, Kennedy Centre in D.C., Shanghai Concert Hall, German Consulate of New York, Emmanuel Church of Boston, etc. She has played in masterclasses of Richard Goode, Ruth Slenszynska, Ann Schein, Barry Douglas, Christopher Elton, Leslie Howard, Bernd Goetzke, Karl-Heinz Kaemmerling, etc. Her appearances in music festivals such as the Mannes Sound Festival, Piano Texas Festival, Barcelona Piano Academy, Beethoven Institute, Euroarts Festival in Austria, Baroque Performance Institute and Holland Music Sessions have been highly acclaimed. She is also the winner of the V BPA International Piano Award of Barcelona Piano Academy 2016.

In addition to standard solo piano repertoire, Sophia is an experienced chamber musician in various fields. As the piano soloist in Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, she performed, recorded and premiered contemporary pieces by composers such as Andrew Norman, Benjamin Broening and Thomas Ades. As the recipient of the Oberlin faculty prize of best collaborative pianist, Ms. Shuhui Zhou is also an active collaborative pianist as well as vocal coach, under the tutelage of Cristina Stanescu and Vlad Iftinca, coach for the Metropolitan Opera House. She has played in masterclasses for American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, soprano Christine Brewer, renowned collaborative pianist Warren Jones and Roger Vignoles as well as Carolyn Hague in Konservatorium Wien.

Ms. Shuhui Zhou holds a Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music in New York City. She is currently under the tutelage of Thomas Sauer.

Claudia Dafne SEVILLA CARRIÓN started playing the piano at five years old and began her studies at the Professional Conservatory of Music and Dance in Albacete, Spain, where she obtained the special grade award of Best Student at the "Diputación de Albacete” competition. She entered the Conservatory "Rafael Orozco" in Cordoba at 16 years old and achieved the highest result at the end of her grade. She moved to Paris in 2011 to study at the École Normale Supérieure de Musique de Paris with Ramzi Yassa. Thanks to a scholarship from the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris she continued her studies in Paris with Paul Blacher. During her studies, she has participated in Masterclasses with renowned teachers such as Christopher Elton, David Kuyken, Joanna MacGregor, Antonio Soria and Guigla Katsarava. In 2012 Claudia met pianist and professor, Albert Attenelle, with whom she has continued to work with since and who will be an influential figure in her development as a pianist.

Claudia has given several concerts during her career: one given in Albacete to claim the construction of a Superior Conservatory in Castilla-La-Mancha, the concert "IV Tribuna Jóvenes Pianistas" in Cordoba, a concert organised by the "Club des Directeurs de la Cité Internationale Universitaire" in Paris, a collaboration with the theatre orchestra of the Cité Internationale Universitaire in their performance of ´Pájaro de Fuego´ in La Coupole theatre under the direction of Adrian McDonnell, and also the concert "Deux pianistes et un piano". She also participated in the symposium "La mujer en la piano, María Szymanowska", which was organized by singer and musicologist Elisabeth Zapolska in the Centre Scientifique de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences.

Claudia has been participant of BPA during the 5 seasons of its history (2012-2016) and now she continues her studies in the University of La Sorbonne in Paris as part of a Master of Interpretation in the speciality Forte-piano, under the direction of Jeanne Roudet and Edoardo Torbianelli where she also works as a piano teacher.

SPECIAL MENTION SPANISH MUSIC & YAMAHA SCHOLARSHIP

Claudia Sevilla Carrión, 26 year-old (Albacete, SPAIN)

Goyescas: El Amor y la Muerte - E. Granados.

IV BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2015

DARIA PILTYAY, 25 year-old (Ekaterimburg, RUSSIA)

Daria Piltyay was born in Ekaterinburg (Russia). When she was 5 years old she entered the Special Talent School of the Mussorgsky Conservatory of her hometown. In 2000 she started studying under the guidance of Sergey Beloglazov and in 2002 she made her debut with orchestra playing Mozart’s C-minor concerto with the Sarátov Philharmonic Orchestra. One year later, she entered the world-renowned Gnessin Academy to study with Elena Ivanova.

In 2006 she went to Barcelona to study with Stanislav Pochekin at the Liceu Conservatory, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance in 2013. She has followed postgraduate studies at the same Conservatory. She has received masterclasses from great pianists, like Jaques Rouvier or Félix Gottlieb.

She has given recitals in many Spanish cities, France and Italy. Among the prizes she has won are: First Prizes at the Manresa and Villafranca del Penedés Competitions (2007), First Prize at the International Rome Competition (2008), First Prize at the Ricard Viñes International Contest of Lleida (2009), First Prize at the San Sebastián Competition and the IV BPA International Piano Award (2015).

YAMAHA SCHOLARSHIP (best Spanish participant)

Neus Peris, 31 year-old (Barcelona, SPAIN)

Neus Peris graduated at Esmuc with Prof. Eulàlia Solé, is now in the piano class of Prof. Albert Attenelle, at L’Escola de Música de Barcelona. She has attended to International Festivals and Masterclasses in the USA, Denmark, The Nederlands, Portugal and Spain, being inspired by great musicians. She has performed as a soloist and as a chamber musician as well, feeling a special connection with the XXth Century music. Having a versatile profile, she has also taken part in several projects on different genres and musical styles including multidisciplinary works.

SPECIAL MENTION SPANISH MUSIC

Lorelle MacNaughton, 25 year-old (Auckland, NEW ZEALAND)

Suite Iberia - I. Albéniz

Book III: El Albaicin, El Polo, Lavapiés

Book IV: Málaga, Jerez, Eritaña

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Lorelle received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Auckland where she studied with Read Gainsford, Natalia Ricci and Rae de Lisle. She then moved to Sydney to continue her studies with Natalia Ricci where she is currently pursuing her Master’s degree and continuing a specialization in Spanish Piano music.

She gained First Class Honours from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she specialized in the study of Spanish Piano works.

Lorelle has been the recipient of many awards including Auckland University’s Janetta McStay Prize for Pianists, Kathleen Mary Reardon Memorial Music Scholarship, the Anne Bellam Music Scholarship for further study overseas, Tuakana Scholarship for Maori/Pacific Island students, and the Carl, Alberta Rosenfeldt Prize in Chamber Music, the Sonja Hanke Memorial Scholarship for Pianists, and the prestigious Albert Scholarship for Postgraduate students.

She also received the Maori Education Trust’s Francis Irwin Hunt Scholarship and was the winner of the Manukau Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.

Lorelle was invited to present a paper at the Melbourne Conservatorium’s Spanish Music Symposium and the following year at Avondale Conservatorium.

III BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2014

CARMEN MONTERO FERNÁNDEZ, 19 year-old (Granada, SPAIN)

Carmen Montero was born in Granada in 1995 and she began to study piano at the age of five. She got her first piano lessons from Silvia Rosa Montero and Rosa Sólvez. She pursued her studies at the "Ángel Barrios" Conservatory in Granada. Later on she studied with Javier Herreros and she finished the Middle Degree program in piano performance winning the First Prize of her class.

She has taken several masterclasses from world renowned pianists such as Galina Eguiazarova, Eldar Nebolsin, Luis Fernando Pérez, Albert Attenelle, Domenico Codispoti, Joanna McGregor, Claudio Martínez Mehner, David Kuyken, Guigla Katsarava, John Salmon and Ángel Sanzo. She has also benefited from the advice of Alfredo Aracil.

She has been awarded prizes at many piano contests, among them the First prize and the Jury Special prize at the XII Soloist Competition of the "Ángel Barrios" Conservatory (Granada 2012), the Second Prize and the "Rafael Orozco" Prize awarded to the best Andalusian performer at the "Marisa Montiel" Competition (Linares 2012), the First Prize at the "Esteban Sánchez" International Competition (Cáceres 2012), the Third Prize at the "Ricard Viñes" International Competition (Lérida 2012) and the Second Prize at the "Jacinto Guerrero" Competition (Toledo 2013).

She was chosen by the Jury of the XVI "Infanta Cristina" Competition to attend the V AIE-Loewe-Hazen Young Pianists Meeting at the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid.

In 2013 she began her studies at the "Victoria Eugenia" Higher Conservatory in Granada under the guidance of Professor Antonio Sánchez Lucena.

SPECIAL MENTION SPANISH MUSIC

- Not given

YAMAHA SCHOLARSHIP

Neus Peris, 30 year-old (Barcelona, SPAIN)

YAMAHA SCHOLARSHIP

Víctor Braojos López, 17 year-old (Cardedeu, SPAIN)

Víctor Braojos has just finished the Middle Degree program in piano performance at the Granollers Conservatory, studying with Josep Mª Roger and Jordi Masó. He has also taken piano lessons from Michel Wagemans, Albert Attenelle and Christopher Elton, among other well-known pianists.

In 2014 Victor has qualified for admission to the Bachelor Piano Performance Studies with the best entrance results at the Liceu Conservatory and second at the ESMUC (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya.

Victor has been awarded prizes at many piano competitions, such as the first prize at the "VI Concurs Arts Musicals" (2011), first prizes at the "Concurs de Piano Junior de Barcelona" (2010 & 2013), third prize at the "Concurs de Joves intèrprets de Piano de Catalunya" (2013) and more recently, and more recently, first prize at Concurs "Cambra Barcelona" (2014) and first prize at the "Concurs de Interpretació de Girona" (2014).

II BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2013

MARIACRISTINA BUONO, 23 year-old (Bari, ITALY)

Mariacristina Buono

Mariacristina Buono started playing the piano with Pirluigi Camicia when she was 5. At the age of 17 she had a “10/10”, graduated with honors and obtained a piano diploma at the “Nicolò Piccinni” Conservatory of Music in Bari. Following that she studied with professor Benedetto Lupo at the “Nino Rota” Music Conservatory in Monopoli where she likewise had a “10/10” and graduated with honors in 2012. Too, she attended the “Incontri col Maestro” piano course at Imola with professor Enrico Pace. She has participated in a great number of master classes with teachers of international prestige such as Fabio Bidini, Aquiles Delle Vigne, Aldo Ciccolini, Daniel Pollack, Christopher Elton, Andrzej Jasinski, Franco Scala, Alexander Lonquich, Marisa Somma, Joaquin Soriano, Paolo Bordoni, Konstantin Bogino, Riccardo Risaliti, Michele Marvulli, Per Nystrom and Sorin Enachescu. She has also taken part in numerous recitals and concerts in Sardinia, Venice, Vanersborg (Sweden), Salzburg and Helsinki. In September 2013 in Almeria, Spain she performed Chopin’s “Concert for Piano and Orchestra n. 1, op. 11 accompanied by the “Orquesta FIMA” orchestra after winning the “Concurso Colloquio Musicale 2013” competition.

SPECIAL MENTION SPANISH MUSIC

Araceli Fernández Beiztegui, 23 year-old (Granada, Spain)

(El Corpus Christi en Sevilla, Suite Iberia - I. Albéniz)

Born in Granada in 1990, where she began her piano studies at the age of 5. Currently she completed her studies at the Granada Conservatory with Antonio Sánchez Lucena. She has taken Masterclasses by important pianists as Eldar Nebolsin, Albert Attenelle, Ramon Coll, Christopher Elton and David Kuyken. First Prize (youth level) at VIII Soloists Competition of Angel Barrios Conservatory in Granada, and Special Jury Prize at the same competition, First Prize at the Soloists Competition of Granada Conservatory and Prize "Popular Albacete University " at the National Piano Competition "Ciudad de Albacete" 2013.

I BPA INTERNATIONAL PIANO AWARD 2012

ALEJANDRO ALGARRA ULIERTE, 30 year-old (Granada, Spain)

- I BPA AWARD

- SPECIAL MENTION SPANISH MUSIC (Eritaña, Suite Iberia - I. Albéniz)

Alejandro Algarra, PianoReferred to by critics as one of the principal and most promising young talents of the current Spanish panorama, pianist Alejandro Algarra studied in his home town of Granada and completed his bachelor's degree under the supervision of Professor Antonio Sánchez Lucena, who still remains his teacher. He continued his training by attending Master Classes with such several relevant pianists such as Josep Colom, Albert Attenelle, David Kuyken, Serguei Yerokhin, William Fong, Ramon Coll and Frank Wibaut among others. He holds a Master's in Piano Performance from the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía where he studied with prominent professors including Christopher Elton, Joaquín Achúcarro, Domenico Codispoti, Bruno Canino, Dimitri Alexeev or Pascal Rogé. His increasing concert schedule, has led him to perform solo and with various orchestras, in a wide variety of concert halls throughout the Spanish and European geography, always with important critical acclaim. He is a regular guest of prestigious piano festivals, among them the Festival Internacional de Piano “Rafael Orozco” (Cordoba), Festival de Piano de La Maestranza (Seville), and Festival Noches en los Jardines de Falla (Grenade). He has developed an intense recording activity of solo piano, chamber music and contemporary music. Mr. Algarra has been awarded prizes in national and international competitions, among them Concurso de Piano “Ciudad de Albacete”, Concurso Internacional de Piano “Ria de Vigo”, Premi “Amparo Fandos” (Torrent), Concurso Internacional de Piano “Frechilla-Zuloaga”, Barcelona Piano Academy or Concurso Internacional de Piano (Ibiza).Nowadays he is part of the teaching faculty of Professors of Music and Performing Arts (Community of Madrid), combining his work as a solo pianist with teaching at the Conservatory of Music in Getafe.

BPA 2018

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BPA 2016

BPA 2015

BPA 2014

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BPA 2012