Piano Island Festival | 6th edition
Jakarta, Indonesia
21 - 28 July 2024
FACULTY
2024
RENOWNED INTERNATIONAL PROFESSORS
Dang Thai Son
Guest Professor
Dang Thai Son was propelled to the forefront of the musical world in October 1980, when he was awarded the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Xth International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland. It was also the first time that a top international competition was won by an Asian pianist.
He began piano studies with his mother in Hanoi, later at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with V. Natanson and D. Bashkirov.
Since winning the Chopin Competition, his international career has taken him to over forty countries, into such world-renowned halls as LincolnCenter (New York), Barbican Center (London), Salle Pleyel (Paris), Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Opera House (Sydney), and Suntory Hall (Tokyo).
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Other career highlights include a New Year's Day concert (1995) with Yo Yo Ma, Seiji Ozawa, Kathleen Battle, and the late Mstislav Rostropovich, in a major international event produced by the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK; on Chopin's 200th Birthday, March 1st, 2010, he played at the Gala Concert in Warsaw. During the 2012-2013 season, Dang Thai Son toured around the world with all five Beethoven's piano concertos.
He is currently a Piano Faculty member at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Ohio, USA) and at the New England Conservatory in Boston (Massachusetts, USA.) In June 2019, he was invited to be the honorary Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China.
Dang Thai Son is frequently invited to give master classes around the world - such as the special class in Berlin in October, 1999, where he taught alongside Murray Perahia and Vladimir Ashkenazy. He has sat on the juries of prestigious competitions such as the Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition (2005, 2010, 2015, 2021), Cleveland (USA), Clara Haskil (Switzerland), Artur Rubinstein (Tel-Aviv), Hamamatsu, Sendai (Japan), Piano Masters of Monte Carlo, Sviatoslav Richter (Moscow), Prague Spring International, Montreal International Piano Competition, and Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition among others. His pupils garnered top international prizes including the most recent winner of the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland.
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Stanislav Ioudenitch
Guest Professor
Born in Uzbekistan, Stanislav Ioudenitch earned widespread recognition in 2001 when he won the gold medal at the XI Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The victory served as a springboard that has resulted in engagements in premier venues around the world. Since then, he has collaborated with countless esteemed orchestras and musicians, including the Munich Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Orchestra, and the National Symphony in Washington, D.C.; the Takács, Prazák, and Borromeo string quartets; and conductors including James Conlon, Valery Gergiev, and Mikhail Pletnev, among others.
Ioudenitch is a former student of the prestigious International Piano Academy Lake Como in Italy, and he later became the youngest teacher ever to present a master class there. He now serves as vice president of Lake Como, which, since 2015 has enjoyed a partnership with Oberlin Conservatory that brings elite student pianists to the Ohio campus for advanced study.
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Prior to his appointment at Oberlin in 2017, Ioudenitch had performed recitals and led master classes on campus and was a longtime fixture on jury panels for the Cooper International Competition for young pianists as well as its predecessor, the Oberlin International Piano Competition.
Ioudenitch helped create the International Center for Music and the Youth Conservatory of Music at Park University near Kansas City, Mo. His former teachers include Natalia Vasinkina, Dmitri Bashkirov, Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Rosalyn Tureck, William Grant Naboré, and Leon Fleisher.
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He has recorded for the Harmonia Mundi and Academy labels.
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Antonio Pompa-Baldi
Guest Professor
Born and raised in Foggia, Italy, Antonio Pompa-Baldi won the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1999 and embarked on a career that continues to extend across five continents.
A top prize winner at the 1998 Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition of Paris, France, Antonio Pompa-Baldi also won a silver medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Mr. Pompa-Baldi appears at the world’s major concert venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Cleveland’s Severance Hall, Milan’s Sala Verdi, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Shanghai’s Grand Theatre, and Paris’ Salle Pleyel, to name a few.
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In 2019, he was a returning guest at the third edition of the Lang Lang International Piano Festival in Shenzhen, China, continued his honorary guest professorship at the Beijing China Conservatory, and was named honorary professor at the Shenyang Conservatory of Music. Among the stops on his tours, he performed in Vienna (Austria), Malaga (Spain), Nancy (France), New York, and throughout China (Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Dalian, and Guangzhou).
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Antonio Pompa-Baldi is a Steinway Artist. He is often invited to judge international piano competitions such as the Cleveland, Hilton Head, E-Competition, BNDES Rio de Janeiro, and Edward Grieg, among many others. He serves as president of the jury and artistic advisor for the San Jose International Piano Competition since 2006.
Pompa-Baldi is on the Piano Faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music. His students have been prizewinners in important competitions such as Marguerite Long, Hilton Head, Isang Yun, and Gina Bachauer. He is regularly invited to teach masterclasses in countless Universities, Music Schools, and Festivals in the US and all over the world.
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Congyu Wang
Founder / Artistic Director
Hailed as a “complete musician – a sensitive artist and an extremely talented young pianist”, Congyu Wang is an internationally renowned soloist who has garnered acclaim as a recitalist, accompanist and chamber musician.
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Born in Singapore, Congyu Wang started playing the piano at the age of 3. He was selected for a scholarship that enabled him to attend the prestigious Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, where he studied with renowned French pianists Jean-Marc Luisada and Odile Catelin-Delangle. He later enrolled in the Schola Cantorum (Paris) to continue his studies with Gabriel Tacchino (who had been Francis Poulenc’s only student). Ever since youth, Congyu Wang has enjoyed phenomenal success in international piano competitions, ultimately winning the Grand Prize in Berlin and Bordeaux. His other prizes include Vulaines-sur-Seine, Lagny-sur-Marne, Merignac, Paris, Jakarta, Tallinn and Cle d’Or Reunion. He was featured in the national news journal ‘Zao Bao’ as Singapore’s most promising young artist of the year in 2016.
In 2015 Congyu Wang published his first album ‘Charme’ on KNS classical featuring the works of Francis Poulenc to international acclaim. Recently he released his second album ‘Reflets’ dedicated to Claude Debussy commemorating the 100th death anniversary of the French Composer. His recordings are frequently broadcasted on radios internationally – France Musique, BBC radio 3 (UK), Radio Vie (Reunion), Radio Antena 2 (Portugal), Classic 1027 (South Africa), Symphony 92.4 (Singapore) etc.
Congyu Wang is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Piano Island Festival, Piano Concerto festival and the International Chopin Competition in South Africa. He is ambassador to several charitable foundations - Association des Jeunes Musiciens (Young musicians), Association Koinonia (International Refugees), Grace International Foundation Liverpool (Youth Development).
Congyu Wang is a Young Steinway Artist.
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Yen Chun-Chieh
Artistic Director / Guest Professor
Pianist Chun-Chieh Yen has concertized in Europe, Asia, and America, embracing a wide range of repertoire. Making history at age 13 as the youngest pianist to perform in recital at Taipei’s National Concert Hall, his annual concert tours in Taiwan have brought widespread critical acclaim. His rendition of Balakirev’s “Islamey” at the Braunschweiger Kammermusikpodium Germany at age 14 drew significant public attention and received rave reviews.
Concerto performances take Mr. Yen to orchestras all over the world including the Russian National Orchestra, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. He has enjoyed collaborations with many conductors, including Mikhail Pletnev, Henry Mazer, Uri Mayer, Shao-Chia Lü, and Günther Herbig.
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Mr. Yen began his piano studies in Taiwan with Prof. Rolf-Peter Wille. After winning Third Prize at the International Youth Tchaikovsky Competition in St. Petersburg in 1997, Mr. Yen furthered his education at the Hochschule für Music und Theater Hannover in Germany under the tutelage of Prof. Vladimir Krainev where he earned his Konzertexamen degree. He was then given a full scholarship to study with world-renowned pedagogue John Perry at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. He has won numerous prizes in competitions, including First Prize at the 4th Hamamatsu International Academy Piano Competition in Japan (1999), and Third Prize at the 4th Prokofiev International Competition in St. Petersburg (2004). He also received the "Prix de L'Ordre du Merite" in Luzern, where he was praised by Maestro Alexis Weissenberg. Mr. Yen is currently full time Assistant Professor at the National Taiwan Normal University; his students have won top prizes at international competitions
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Zhou Yun
Guest Professor
Originating from a renowned cultural city in the northeast of China—Shenyang, ZHOU YUN graduated with a 1st Class Honours Master’s Degree in Music Performance from the Royal College of Music in UK. She had a scholarship to study music at the Royal College of Music, and she had the opportunity to learn and polish her crafts from the celebrated Russian pianist, Professor Dina Parakhina for many years.
She had drawn a large fan base and enjoy great success at home and abroad with her charisma and playing fusion music with beautiful melodies incorporating western cultural music.
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he has been active on the international stage for the last few consecutive years. She has also been on a world tour, spanning several countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, Singapore, and cities in China such as Shenzhen, Xiamen, Shandong, and Tianjin. The Nouvelles D'Europe described Zhou Yun’s piano performance as something universal with a clear, crisp, delicate, energetic, and imaginative tone. Her unique Eastern charisma and subtle music have drawn huge success and many compliments.
In addition, she has not only served as a Judge for several international competitions and seminars but is also very active in the music festivals in countries such as Hungary, Hong Kong, and Japan.
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Rixiang Huang
Guest Professor
Winner of an impressive array of prizes, Dr. Huang was a top prizewinner of Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition, Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Dallas International Piano Competition, New York International Artists Piano Competition, International Piano Competition La Palma d'Oro in Italy, along with WPTA International Piano Competition.
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Highlights of the 2023-24 season include a ten-city solo recital tour in China; solo recital at the University of Southern California, The Richard Nixon Library & Museum, and University of West Georgia; Prokofiev Piano No.3 with Orquestra Clássica do Sul; Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.3 Performance with USC Thornton Orchestra. Dr. Huang joins the artist faculty at Perugia Music Festival in Italy; Euro Arts Academy in Poland; Piano Concerto Festival in Portugal; Interharmony Music Festival in Italy; Montecito Music Festival in California in 2023.
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Dr. Huang has also been frequently invited to adjudicate in piano competitions such as the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Piano Competition, the Music Teachers' Association of California Piano Competition, Paderewski International Piano Competition, Pacific Stars International Piano Competition, International New Star Piano Competition, SYMF, and Satori Piano Competition. Huang is a member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC), and the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT).
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Dr. Huang received Doctoral of Musical Arts at the USC Thornton School of Music where he served as Studio Teaching Assistant, studying with prestigious conductor and pianist, Jeffrey Kahane. Dr. Huang received a Master of Music in Piano Performance at The Juilliard School, studying with legendary pianists, Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio. Previously, he worked with world-renowned pianists, Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Paul Schenly at The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was awarded the Arthur Loesser Memorial Prize for outstanding achievement in piano performance.
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Rixiang Huang is a Steinway Artist.
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Iswargia Sudarno
Guest Professor
Iswargia R. Sudarno was born and raised in Bandung, Indonesia, where he started his piano lesson at the age of eleven. After gaining a bachelor degree in architecture, from Bandung Institute of Technology, he decided to continue his musical education at the Manhattan School of Music in New York (USA), and completed his study with a Master of Music degree, under the guidance of the legendary pianist and pedagogue Karl Ulrich Schnabel.
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During summers he also works extensively with Bela Siki, Rita Sloan, Gabriel Chodos, and Robert Levin consecutively at the Johannesen School of the Arts (Canada), Aspen Music School (USA) and International Summer Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg (Austria). Mr. Sudarno also received a full scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Services to study as an exchange student at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, Germany, under the guidance of Hansjörg Koch. Other awards received include the Aspen Music School Scholarship and Stanley Norman Smith Award from the Manhattan School of Music (for the best achievement in piano pedagogy learning).
Mr. Sudarno has appeared as a soloist with leading Indonesia’s orchestras, and has performed in many countries in Asia, America, Europe and Africa. Aside his performing activity, Mr. Sudarno is also a passionate pedagogue. Beside appointed as the director of Jakarta Conservatory of Music, he is also on the faculty of the Jakarta Conservatory of Music, Indonesian University of Pedagogy and Education Music Department.
He is continuously in frequent demand of giving master-classes in Indonesia’s major cities. His students have won many national and international piano competitions.