International Duo Piano Competition Review - Russian Duo wins with Liszt, Ravel, and Gershwin

In celebration of Franz Liszt’s 200^th birthday, the Music Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Duo Piano Festival presented the International Duo Piano Competition, held at Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston, Illinois from October 20 – 23, 2011.  

From an initial field of 28 duos, seven advanced to the final round. After three days of preliminary competition and an intense seven-hour final round, the winners are as follows:

Duo Vis à Vis (Grand Prize “Liszt 200 Chicago” and “Norman Pellegrini Schubert Prize”): Polina Grigoryeva and Yulia Yurchenko perform at leading concert series in their native Russia, including St. Petersburg, and at festivals and with orchestras in Germany and abroad. They have participated in the Schubert Festival in Rostock, Germany and the International Festival of Modern Music “Musical Spring.” Other competition prizes include 1st prize in the Valentino Bucchi Competition in Rome and top honors in the Jesenik, Czech Republic Schubert competition and  the Bialystock, Poland Competition for piano duo.

Tsuyuki & Rosenboom (2nd Prize): Wife and husband Chie Tsuyuki and Michael Rosenboom have won awards in numerous prestigious competitions, including the London International Music Competition and Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition. Since 2009 they have studied duo piano with Bernd Goetzke at the College of Music and Theater in Hannover, and they have performed to much critical acclaim in Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States. In April 2011 they performed on the North German Radio “Young Artists Live” Series.

Liang-He Duo (3rd Prize): Xiaomin Liang, a Music Institute piano faculty member, and Jue He, both originally from China, began playing together while students at Northwestern University, where they have studied with Sylvia Wang and Alan Chow. They have performed in many concert series in the United States and China, including a televised concert at Beijing Concert Hall. The Liang-He duo is committed to the exploration of duo-piano classics, as well the commissioning of new works through commissions.

Yamamoto Piano Duo (Honorable Mention): Sisters Ayaka Yamamoto and Yuka Yamamoto, originally from Japan, launched their duo in 2009 and are currently students of Martin Hughes and Thomas Kreuzberger in Vienna. They have won prizes in competitions including “Pietro Argento” in Italy and the Yokohama and Japan International Piano Duo Competitions. In 2010 they performed at the Vienna Musikverein.

The competing piano duos ranged from 20 to 35 years old and came from around the world, including China, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Germany, Canada, and throughout the U.S. Each duo performed 45–60- minute programs of at least three works, including a work by Mozart and a piano duo by Franz Liszt; more than half the competitors performed a work by Schubert to compete for the Pellegrini Prize. 

The prestigious panel of jurors included:

• Jeffrey Swann (U.S.), chair—Concert pianist; professor, New York University, Arizona State University
• Yong Hi Moon (Korea/U.S.)—Member of Moon-Lee Piano Duo; piano faculty, Peabody Conservatory of Music
• Edward and Anne Turgeon (Canada)—Concert piano duo; professors, Florida Atlantic University
• Theodore Edel (U.S.)—Noted Chicago-based pianist; professor emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago

Competition founders and directors Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem, also directors of the popular 23-year-old Chicago Duo Piano Festival, commented, “The inaugural edition of the Chicago International Duo Piano Competition was a resounding success. The level of performances was high throughout the competition, and the young professional duos in the finals turned Nichols Hall into a celebration of Franz Liszt on his birthday weekend, offering a musical feast of varied repertoire for piano duo. This event identified a much-needed venue for piano duos and their wonderful repertoire. We truly hope this competition will find a permanent home in our great city and help to fill this need.”