Jury members

The pianist from Finland, born in 1974, has been a guest for many years at international festivals such as the Augsburg Mozart Festival, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Lucerne Festival, Musical Olympus in St. Petersburg, Kissinger Sommer, Davos Festival, Festival der Raritäten Husum, Gidon Kremer’s Lockenhaus Festival or the Ravinia Festival (USA). He has appeared several times in concert with well-known European symphony orchestras including the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, RSO Wien, Musikkollegium Winterthur, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, MDR Orchestra Leipzig, Belgrade Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lille, Weimarer Staatskapelle, Munich Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Academica Salzburg and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under famous directors like Andris Nelsons, Tugan Sokhiev, Juraj Valcuha, Georg Alexander Albrecht, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lawrence Foster, Dennis Russel Davies, Dorian Wilson, Leif Segerstam, Okko Kamu, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä, John Storgårds, or Neville Mariner.

Born in China, Zhe Tang entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at the age of twelve. Following graduation, he continued his studies in the United States and earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he also taught and served as teaching assistant to Professor Barry Snyder. In 2003, Zhe Tang became one of the youngest piano professors in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In addition to his teaching tenure, he was appointed as the Vice Dean of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Director of Teaching and Research for the Piano Department, the Chair of the Piano Department for the Middle School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Chair of Shanghai Professional Pianists Society，Artistic Director of Shanghai International Piano Festival & Institute, and Artistic Director of Shanghai Spring International Piano E-Competition.

Born in Chieti, he studied under the guidance of Lucia Passaglia at the Conservatory “L. Cherubini” in Florence graduating with highest honours. He participated as a student performer on a three-year piano perfection course at the “Accademia Musicale Umbra” where he achieved a “Diploma of Excellence”. Later, he participated in the “International Master Classes” in Klaipeda (Lithuania), held by Lazar Berman. With him, his concert repertoire deepened and improved with particular attention to the music of F. Liszt, at the European Academy of Music, Erba (CO). He perfected Chamber Music at the International School of Chamber Music in Duino under the guidance of “Trio of Trieste” achieving a “Diploma with Merit”. He has won national and international competitions, including “M. Clementi” in Florence, “Agorà 80″ in Rome, “F. Liszt” in Lucca, and “Città di Stresa”. In 1997 he won second prize at the ‘T. I. M. ” – International Music Tournament; in 1998, he was awarded the prestigious “Prix Venice”; in 1999 he won second prize at the international competition “Ecomusic” of Monopoli (BA); in 2002 was the winner of the 40th International Piano Competition “Arcangelo Speranza” in Taranto. In October 2009 he was awarded in the “4th International Tbilisi Piano Competition” in Georgia (WFIMC).

Critically acclaimed as ‘...one of the greatest Interpreter of J.S. Bach´s work of his generation’, Pianist Stepan Simonian was born in 1981, studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Pavel Nersessian and pursued his studies with the famous Pianist, Evgeni Koroliov, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. It was through this linage of well cultured tradition of piano school, that shaped Simonian’s musical taste and passion for the works from Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Beethoven, Bach and Mozart. He was the recipient of the Silver Medal at one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in the world – the International Johann-Sebastian-Bach Competition in Leipzig 2010, Germany. He also won the 1st and the 3rd prize at Virginia Waring and Jose Iturbi International Piano Competitions both in USA and was awarded the prestigious Berenberg Cultural Prize 2009 in Hamburg in recognition of his achievements in chamber music. In 2014 he won the 3rd prize at Aram Khachaturian International Piano Competition in Armenia.