JURy
ALBERT ATTENELLE
PRESIDENT
Spanish pianist. Professor of Barcelona High Conservatory of Music “Liceu”
Spanish pianist. He was born in Barcelona, early showing his talent for music. At the age of six he gave his first recital in his hometown. The great pedagogue Frank Marshall, who attended the concert, took charge of his piano training from that moment, transferring to him in the course of the following years the legacy of the Catalan piano school that goes back to Joaquín Malats , Ricardo Viñes and Albéniz , going through Granados and Marshall himself. Later he expanded his studies in Paris with Professor Marcel Ciampi .
His performance as a soloist with the Bilbao and Barcelona orchestras in 1957, as well as his winning various International Awards, place him at the forefront of the piano current affairs of his generation.
His career has developed as a soloist and performer of chamber music in Europe, America and Japan; As a soloist with large orchestras, he has performed a large number of concertos from Bach to contemporary ones, passing through Beethoven, Chopin, Franck , Schumann, Ravel, Stravinsky , Poulenc , Saint -Saens , Prokofieff , Bartok , etc., under the direction of conductors like Janos Sandor , Peter Maag , Ros – Marbà , Ronald Zolmann , Walter Weller , Gary Bertini, Christopher Hogwood , etc …
In possession of a large repertoire that covers all styles, he has paid special attention to the composers of the 20th century, which has led him to offer the first audition of Mompou ‘s Música Callada or to repeatedly perform Luis’ Concertos for piano and orchestra. de Pablo, Roberto Gerhard or Xavier Montsalvatge among others.
From his discography we would highlight the Concertos for piano and orchestra by Luis de Pablo, Roberto Gerhard, as well as volumes dedicated to Déodat de Séverac and Joaquín Nin-Culmell ( Anacrusi ). In chamber music, and as a member of the Barcelona Trio , Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and the Mendelssohn and Dvorak Trios ( Harmonia world ). He has recently published a double CD with the complete Iberia and La Vega by Isaac Albéniz under the Columna Música label and a double CD dedicated to Federico Mompou has just been released under the same label that includes the complete Música Callada, Suburbis and Variations on a Theme by Chopin.
He has recently performed in Australia presenting different programs including Iberia by Albéniz , Danzas Españolas by Granados, Música Callada by Mompou and Fantasia Bética by Manuel de Falla.
He has published a revised edition of Isaac Albéniz ‘s Suite Iberia, and is in possession of the Albéniz Medal of the City Council of Camprodón for his contribution to the dissemination of the music of this brilliant composer.
He is President of the Competition Jury since 2016.
ERNESTO ROCÍO BLANCO
SECRETARY
Born in Caracas, Venezuela.
He began his musical studies at the Conservatory of Santa Cruz de Tenerife with María Isabel Pérez Canino and Amparo Barrera, continuing them in Seville with Ramón Coll and later at the Superior Conservatory of Music in Madrid with Professor Guillermo González and his assistant Consuelo Mejías, obtaining the Superior Degree in Piano with outstanding and Honorable Mention.
He is in possession of the Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) in the Department of Didactics and School Organization and Special Didactics, Doctorate program of “Curricular, technological and institutional innovation”. He has participated in different International Pianistic Interpretation Courses taught by Vlado Perlemuter , Paul Badura-Skoda , Joaquín Achúcarro , Esteban Sánchez, José Francisco Alonso etc.
He regularly teaches Piano Improvement courses, among which it is worth highlighting the “Manuel de Falla” International Courses in Granada, the Musical Improvement Cycles at the Professional Music Conservatory of Jaén, the Summer Courses organized by the University of Murcia, held in Águilas , the Interpretation Courses “Ciudad de Jamilena ” of which he has been an uninterrupted teacher since 1999 and the Improvement Courses of the Professional Conservatory of Úbeda.
He has given recitals as a soloist and in chamber groups in different Spanish and European cities. Critics have highlighted his sensitivity and technique: “Ernesto Rocío obtains beautiful sonorities from the instrument, through a safe and clear mechanism” (El Mundo).
He has been Tenured Professor of piano at the Conservatory of Music of Madrid, professor and vice-director at the Professional Conservatory of Music of Jaén and professor at the Conservatory of Music of Jaén.
Since 1997 he has been a member of the Advisory Board of the International Piano Competition “Premio Jaén”, and Secretary of the Competition since 2019.
SUSUMU AOYAGI
VOWEL
Nicaraguan pianist.
Nicaraguan pianist. Susumu Aoyagi started giving piano lessons at the age of five. After returning to Japan, he won the Japan National Student Music Competition. While studying at the Toho School of Music Gakuen , received the Japan Western Music Prize and studied at the Berlin University of the Arts. He also received a prize at the Long -Thibauld International Competition in 1992. Since then, he has performed at different venues such as the Japanese Embassy in Paris and Radio France, as well as in Germany and the United States.
He has won first prize in several international competitions, including the Premio “Jaén” International Piano Competition (1998) and the Alfredo Casella and Pollino competitions in Italy. He started acting in Japan in 1997 and won the Aoyama Music Award in 2000, as well as the 28th Frederic Chopin Society of Japan Awards .
He has released seven CDs , all highly appreciated. In 2006, he began producing a series of recitals called “In a Room with Liszt.”
He has performed with various renowned orchestras, and has held numerous chamber concerts with famous artists both in Japan and abroad. In March 2012, he made his Weill Recital Hall debut at Carnegie Hall.
He is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Tokyo University of Arts and Music and Visiting Professor at Senzoku College of Art. Gakuen and Vice President of the Jury and member of the organizing committee of the Takamatsu International Piano Competition.
PILAR BILBAO
VOWEL
Spanish pianist. Born in Bilbao.
His musical training began at an early age. Her mother, Pilar Iturburu , initiated her piano studies, interpreting pieces by Mozart, Schumann and Beethoven at the age of four. At the age of seven he was presented for the first time to the public in Bilbao, causing an excellent impression.
Later he continued his higher studies at the Madrid Conservatory with Pedro Lerma. His training is completed under the guidance and advice of prestigious teachers such as Hans Graf, Bruno Seidlhofer , Vlado Perlemuter , Nikita Magaloff and Claudio Arrau , who had a notable influence on him.
He has made concert tours of Germany, Portugal, Belgium, England and Italy, with extraordinary critical and public success, always standing out for his great musicality and artistic maturity.
He has been a soloist with the Israel Chamber Orchestras, Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Pro-Música and Madrid Symphony, Bilbao Symphony, ROSS in Seville, Collegium Bonn Musicum , BBC Symphony etc., under the direction of maestros García Asensio, Spiteri , Bolet , Wolf Ferrari, Ziino , Platen , Lockaert , Commissioner, etc.
His prizes and awards include the Extraordinary Prize for Chamber Music, the “End of Degree” Honor Award, Diploma and Silver Medal at the Pozzoli International Competition in Seregno (Italy), Diploma and Gold Medal at the “ Viotti ” International Competition ” in Vercelli (Italy), “Ibañez de Betolaza ” Prize, Prize in the International Competition “F. Bussoni ” in Bolzano (Italy), Absolute First Prize in the Musical Interpretation Contest organized by RNE and the General Directorate of Fine Arts, Cruz de Alfonso X “El Sabio”.
He has made recordings for RNE, Canal Sur Televisión as well as recorded records for Movieplay and Etnos, obtaining with the latter the Ministry of Culture Award for the complete Preludes for piano by Padre Donosti .
She is regularly invited to be a member of the Jury of important Piano Competitions, as well as to teach piano improvement courses.
Since 1978 she has been Professor of Piano by opposition at the Superior Conservatory of Music of Seville. In 2003, she entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Santa Isabel de Hungría in Seville as a Numerary Academician. In 2007, she joined the faculty of the Madrid Royal Conservatory of Music as a professor.
HORTENSE CARTIER-BRESSON
VOWEL
Born in France.
She began her studies at the Paris National Conservatory of Music and Dance at the age of 15, where she won five first prizes. Later, admitted to the improvement cycle, she studied with the great Hungarian pianist Gÿorgy Sebök at the Indiana University in Bloomington (USA).
Considered one of the most notable pianists of her generation, she won the 3D prize at the 1981 Liszt- Bartok Competition in Budapest, then beginning a brilliant career offering recitals and solo performances with great orchestras such as the Orchester de Paris conducted by Ricardo Chailly . and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antal Dorati .
She was appointed professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire in 2011.
Hortense Cartier-Bresson , a singular and passionate pianist, interprets all kinds of music, standing out especially in chamber music. He has played with many other pianists, including Roger Muraro , Raphaël Oleg , Ayako Tanaka , Philippe Graffin , Pierre Fouchenneret , François Salque , Henri Demarquette , Xavier Gagnepain , and Quatuor ebène .
JOHN SALMON
VOWEL
Born in the state of Texas (United States).
The piano career of John Salmon, born in the state of Texas (United States), has been highlighted by the enthusiasm of the public and critics throughout more than thirty years of career and concerts on three continents. John Salmon has been acclaimed in Europe, Latin America, China, and the United States for both his classical and jazz performances; He is known for his performances as a soloist, leader of his jazz trio and quintet, and soloist with orchestras such as the Dallas Symphony, the Andalusian Symphony Orchestra of Seville, and the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano (Italy).
Among the many awards Salmon has received are the 1979 “Jaén” Prize, the Indianapolis Beethoven Foundation Prize, prizes from the “ Busoni ” Competition and the Maryland Competition, the Fellowship of the German Exchange Service Scholar and Juilliard “Gina Bachauer ” Award School .
John Salmon has also made recordings for Radio Nacional de España, Radio Suisse Romande from Switzerland, RAI from Italy, CBC from Canada, National Public Radio in Washington, DC, and for the US television channels PBS and C-SPAN. His three recordings of the piano works of composer Dave Brubeck (Phoenix PHCD 130, Naxos 8.559212 and Naxos 8.559301) have been reviewed as “a splendid recreation of Dave ‘s music Brubeck ” ( Marius Dawn , Pianist ) and “a brilliant recording” ( Shelly Berg , Piano & Keyboard ).
Jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck has praised Salmon’s performances with the following words: “Thank you, John Salmon, for such a splendid gift!” His latest recording projects include works by Nikolai Kapustin ( Naxos 8.570532) and Salmon’s own compositions ( Salmon Is A Jumpin ‘ , Albany/Troy 1224).
John Salmon currently resides in the United States, where he is Professor of Piano at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His academic and musical background includes degrees in philosophy and music from Texas Christian University , as well as higher degrees from the Hochschule fur Freiburg Musik in Breisgau (Germany), the Juilliard School in New York and the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.
ANGEL SANZO
VOWEL
Born in Antequera, Spain.
Winner of numerous international competitions, Ángel Sanzo is considered one of the most outstanding pianists of his generation. His first recognition came after winning First Prize in the ” Frechilla Zuloaga” Competition in Valladolid in 1998. Later he obtained First Prize in the International Competitions “Joaquín Rodrigo” (2004), European Pianistic Competition ” Citta di Taranto” (Italy, 2007), “Princess Lalla ” Contest Meriem ” (Morocco, 2000), as well as the Second Prize in the “José Iturbi ” of Valencia (2000) and Medal unanimously in the “María Canals” Contest of Barcelona (2004).
Born in Antequera in 1973, Sanzo trained mainly in Spain, being a student of the prestigious pianists Joaquín Soriano and Alicia de Larrocha . Obtains the End of Degree Honor Award at the Conservatorio Superior de Málaga. His teachers have been José Felipe Díaz and Javier Herreros. He completed his studies in London with Peter Bithell and at the University of Alcalá de Henares with Ferenc rados .
He has been invited to play at the Santander Festival, the “Rafael Orozco” Festival in Córdoba, the Bellinzona Concert Cycle of the Lugano Festival (Switzerland), the “Don Quixote” Cycle in Paris, the Wallonie Festival (Belgium), performing in prestigious venues such as the Teatro Monumental in Madrid, the “Manuel de Falla” Auditorium in Granada, the Palau de la Música in Valencia, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Tonhalle in Dusseldorf, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, etc. He has given recitals in France, the United Kingdom , Belgium, Austria, Italy, Germany and Portugal, Chile and the United States, making recordings for RNE, RAI, RTSI, RNM, RTBF, RBB and TVE.
He has performed as soloist with the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra, Valencia Symphony Orchestra, Malaga, Almeria and Granada Symphony Orchestras, Extremadura Orchestra, RTVE Orchestra and numerous chamber orchestras, with conductors Adrian Leaper , Max Bragado, Michael Thomas, Enrique García Asensio, Xavier Puig, Domenico Longo, Miquel Ortega, Lorenzo Ramos and Álvaro Albiach . Likewise, his wide repertoire of chamber music has led him to play all over Europe with musicians like Shirly Laub , Benjamin Dieltjens , Ángel Luis Quintana and the American violinist Tai Murray with whom he had a duet for three years.
Piano professor at the Badajoz Superior Conservatory of Music and the Alfonso X University of Madrid, he has become one of the most sought-after educators by Spanish Conservatories and Universities, where he frequently teaches Masterclasses and improvement courses. He is invited to be part of a jury in numerous national and international competitions. Many of his students have been awarded First Prizes in prestigious acting competitions.
MARIA ZISI
VOWEL
Born in Greece.
Maria Zisi was born in Greece. At the age of 14 he entered the Munich Higher School of Music to study with Karl- Hermann . Mrongovius and Begona Uriarte. He finished his studies with the “ Meisterklasse ” diploma.
From 2001 to 2003 he studied with Joaquín Soriano at the Superior Conservatory of Music in Madrid. He participated in several improvement courses with professors such as: Alexis Weissenberg (award for the best course participant), Cecile Ouset , Maria Tipo, Paul Badura Scoda , Nikolai Petrof and Jean -Francoix Heisser . He has obtained scholarships from the “ Onassis”, “IKY ” and “ Friends of Music ” foundations in Greece and from the “Chopin Gesellschaft Hannover” in Germany.
In 1994 he won the 1st Prize of the Contest ” Jugend musiziert ” in Germany. Likewise, in the year 2000, the 1st Prize in the International Competitions of Jaén and Ferrol and – in both competitions – the Prize for the best interpretation of Spanish music. In 2002 she was awarded the Grand Prize at the “José Iturbi ” International Piano Competition , the Prize for the best interpretation of Spanish music and the Prize for the best interpretation of a Beethoven concerto.
He has performed as a soloist with the young Bavarian Orchestra, with the Bayonne Symphony Orchestra, the Bad Reichenhall , the Thesaloniki National Symphony Orchestra in Greece, with the Valencia Orchestra, with the “ Deutsches Kammerorchester ” at the Berlin Philarmonie and with the Berlin Comic Opera Orchestra at the Athens Festival at the Herodion Theater . In 2019 he participated as a soloist in the project for the refoundation of the Orquesta de Cámara de Canarias at the Teatro Guimerá in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
She has made recital tours in Germany and Japan, a guest of the Kawai firm . She has performed at the Palau de la Música in Valencia, at the Gasteig in Munich – a recital broadcast live on Radio Bavaria -, at the Juan March Foundation in Madrid, Switzerland, invited as first prize in the Alexis Weissenberg course – , at the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome, in Austria and in Turkey. He has made productions for the archives of Radio de Baviera (BR4) and for Radio Nacional de España and in 2004 his first CD was released with Las Goyescas de Granados.
He lives in Spain and currently, after having passed the opposition for the Piano Chair, teaches at the Conservatory of Music of Navarra in Pamplona.
MARTA ZABALETA
VOWEL
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris.
He finished his musical studies in San Sebastián at the age of 16 with 1st prize in piano and went through some of the main European schools to consolidate his training: Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris with D. Merlet , Escuela Reina Sofía in Madrid with D. Bashkirov and Marshall Academy with Alicia de Larrocha . He has collected important prizes in international competitions such as Santander’s ‘Paloma O’Shea ‘, Darmstadt , Premio Jaén and Pilar Bayonna de Zaragoza.
concert career , Marta Zabaleta has collaborated as a soloist with orchestras such as the English Chamber , London Symphony, Berlin Symphony, Euskadi Symphony , Bilbao, Extremadura, Castilla y León, Murcia, RTVE, Community of Madrid, Galicia, Malaga, Granada, Valencia, Reina Sofía, among others… under the direction of maestros as relevant as Sir Colin Davis, Daniele Gatti, Harry Christophers , S. Comissiona , C. Mandeal , M. Venzago , G. Varga, G. Neuhold , JC Spinossi , G. Pelhivanian , J. Mena, D. Wilson, L. Pfaff , JM Encinar, J, Amigo, M. Bragado, G.I. Ramos, C. Wilkins . She has been invited to important international festivals and venues, highlighting her debut at Carnegie Hall with Asier Polo.
On the market are the recorded discs of J. Rodrigo with the EMI label, F. Escudero with the CLAVES label, on camera with Asier Polo with the BBK label, and two pianos with the RTVE label, the M. Pompey concert . He has also recorded “Sins of Youth” with compositions by Alicia de Larrocha and in recent months two new albums have come to light: solo with Goyescas and el Pelele de Granados, edited by La mà de Guido and together with Asier Polo with works by Rachmaninov and Frank, with Ibs classical .
In addition to her concert work , Marta Zabaleta has extensive experience and recognition in piano pedagogy . He has taught Masterclasses at Trinity Laban College of London and the universities of Bogotá and Medellín, among others.
She is a full professor of piano at the Higher Music Center of the Basque Country – Musikene and director of the Marshall Academy of Barcelona, at the express wish of her predecessor, Alicia de Larrocha . At this prestigious academy, he regularly teaches master classes in piano interpretation and virtuosity and Spanish music repertoire.
Albéniz medal from the Isaac Albéniz public foundation.
