| KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2006 CHOPIN PIANO COMPETITION WINNERS 5/22/2006 - KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES
2006 CHOPIN PIANO COMPETITION WINNERS
Claire HUANGCI, a 16-year old student from Rochester, is the laureate of the
57th Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition, held in New York last month.
Miss Huangci is a student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she
works with Eleanor Sokoloff. Her prize brings a cash scholarship of $5000 and recital
opportunities in the U.S. and Poland. She also appeared as soloist with the Connecticut
Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Adrian Mackiewicz in a concert at the
Foundation House on Sunday, May 21, and recorded for broadcast over WQXR-FM.
Later this year, Claire will perform for Kosciuszko Foundation Chapters in Houston,
Denver, and Springfield, MA.
Second Prize went to 18 year-old Natalia Kazaryan, a native of Tbilisi, Georgia,
currently studying at The Juilliard School with Jerome Lowenthal. Third Prize was
divided between Miki Fujihara, a senior at Hunter College and student of Miyoko Lotto;
and Hanna Sun, a student at LaGuardia High School who is also working with Ms.
Lotto. A special Honorable Mention was awarded to Konrad Binienda, a high school
junior from Akron, Ohio, who won the Jan Gorbaty Prize for the best performance of the
music of Chopin.
The jury consisted of Jed Distler, of Sarah Lawrence College; concert pianist
Mirian Conti; and Frank Levy, of The Juilliard School.
The 57th Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition took place Friday
and Saturday, April 7 and 8, 2006 at the Foundation House. Some twenty performers from across the U.S. competed.
THE CHOPIN PIANO COMPETITION
The Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition was established in 1949,
on the one hundredth anniversary of the death of Fryderyk Chopin. Held annually since
then, the competition is proud to number many outstanding pianists among its winners,
including Van Cliburn, Murray Perahia, and Ian Hobson.
The objective of the Chopin Piano Competition is to encourage highly talented
young musicians of all ethnic backgrounds, and to promote study and performance of
the works of Chopin, Szymanowski, and other Polish composers. The competition is
open to citizens or permanent residents of the United States, and international full time
students, between the ages of 16 and 22.
Contestants prepare a program of approximately 70 minutes. The required
repertoire includes works of Chopin and Szymanowski; Bach; a Classic sonata; a major
19th century work; and a work by an American, Polish-American, or Polish composer
written within the last 50 years.
Photo Caption: Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition 2006: (bottom row) Hanna Sun, Shared Third Prize; Natalia Kazaryan, Second Prize; Claire Huangci, First Prize; Ela Ingarden, KF Acting Director of Cultural Affairs. (second row) Anna Utecht, KF Staff; Miki Fujihara, Shared Third Prize; Helen Mary Tyszka, KF Trustee, who announced the results;
Mirian Conti, Juror; (top row) Konrad Binienda, Honorary Mention.
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