Winner Gallery

Peter Toth

Hungary

1st Place Winner

Hungarian pianist Peter Toth has become one of the most recognized artists of his generation.  He concertized in most countries in Europe, including Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Russia, France, Holland, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland. In addition, he performed in Japan, South Korea, Peru, Costa Rica, China, Australia, and the United States.  Toth has won top prizes at numerous piano competitions, such as the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Los Angeles (2010), Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest (2001), and the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Weimar (2000). His first released CD recording won the 1st prize at the Franz Liszt International Recording Competition in 2005. Thus, he became one of the most significant Liszt interpreters of his generation.  He also won the 6th prize and a special award for the best performance of a major romantic work by his outstanding interpretation of Brahms’s First Piano Sonata at the Southern Highland International Piano Competition in Australia.

Toth is a regular guest artist of different piano festivals, such as the ALS Festival in San Francisco and the Festival Musique en Vallée du Tarn in France.  He has been member of the American Franz Liszt Society since 2011. He has lived in the United States since 2009. He currently resides in Austin where he is doing his doctoral studies with Anton Nel.

Krzysztof Książek

Poland

2nd Place Winner

Krzysztof Książek was born in Krakow in 1992. He began his music education at the age of 9 in the piano class with Grażyna Hesko- Kołodzińska, M.A., and graduated from the 1st level S. Wiechowicz State Music School in Krakow.  Since 2005, he has been under the tutelage of Prof. Stefan Wojtas, first as a student of the 2nd level F.Chopin General Education State Music School, and currently at the Academy of Music in Krakow. He is a winner of highest prizes at national and international competitions: 1st Prize at the X Ludwik Stefański and Halina Czerny- Stefańska Piano Competition, Grand Prix and a special distinction for the best rendering of Chopin’s works, as well as the award of the Japanese sponsorship group Kigoukai to perform in Japan (Płock 2008), XV Concurs International de Piano Ricard Vines- 2nd Prize (Lleida, Spain 2009), The International Chopin Piano Competition- 1st Prize, Grand Prix, special distinction (Lvov, Ukraine 2010), 6° Concorso Internazionale Pianistico “Citta di Avezzano”- 1st Prize (Avezzano, Italy 2011), and The Frederic Chopin National Piano Competition- 3rd Prize (Warsaw, 2011).

The artist performed at the 67th International Chopin Piano Festival in Duszniki Zdroj,  XVIII International Festival of Young Laureats of Music Competitions “Silesia” in Katowice, and the 2nd Artur Rubinstein Festival of Łódź Philharmonics. He gave concerts in Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. He is a recipient of following scholarships: the Prime Minister’s, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Foundation Pro Musica Bona. In the years 2005-2011, he was under the tutelage of the National Fund for Children.

CHRISTINE WU

USA

Best American Pianist In The Final Round

Presented by the Chopin Foundation of the United States

Christine Wu, 20-year-old pianist from Troy, Michigan, began her piano studies at the age of five. Her major teachers have included Julian Martin, Logan Skelton, and Mary Siciliano.

Recently, Christine was a finalist in the 2012 New York International Piano Competition, and was named 2012 Young Arts Merit Award Winner in Classical Piano. In 2009, she was one of six finalists in the International Institute of Young Musicians Piano Competition, and was featured on a live Kansas Public Radio broadcast. She won second prize in the 2009 Fite Family Piano Competition held in Missouri, and has been a semifinalist in the 2010 Cooper International Piano Competition and the 2008 Eastman Young Artist’s International Piano Competition. In addition, she has been top prizewinner of numerous statewide competitions over the years including the Michigan Music Teachers Association Concerto and Solo Piano Competitions and the Michigan National Teachers’ Association Piano Competition.

Christine has been a featured soloist with the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Symphony Orchestra of Michigan. In January of 2011, she was invited to perform in the Liszt Festival at Juilliard. She has attended the Aspen Music Festival and Bowdoin International Music Festival, and has worked with noteworthy artists including Menahem Pressler, Richard Goode, Veda Kaplinsky, Yong-Hi Moon, Matti Raekallio, Emma Tahmizian, and Paul Pollei.

In the fall of 2010, Christine began her Bachelor of Music degree studies at the Juilliard School. She is currently a student of Choong-Mo Kang, and is a recipient of the Howard & Ethel B. Ross Piano Scholarship.

NIngyuen li

Hong Kong

3rd Place Winner

NingYuen Li started studying piano when he was seven years old. He studied in Cleveland Institute of Music under Mr. Sergei Babayan. He has also studied with Zhaoyi Dan at the Shenzhen Art School and later under professor Eleanor Wong, who is Senior Lecturer and Artist-in-Residence of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Li has won a number of international prizes . In 2004, he won the Gold Prize of the “5th International Chopin Piano Competition in Asia” held in Japan, won the Second International piano competition Wiesbaden 2004” in Germany, and was the winner of the 2005 “13th Hong Kong (Asia) Piano Open Competition” in Hong Kong. He also was the first prize in the Class A and the first prize in the concerto class of the 2007 “14th Hong Kong (Asia) Piano Open Competition” in Hong Kong, the first prize in the Hong Kong & Macau regional competition of the Steinway and Sons International Youth piano competition in 2007, and he won the second prize of Steinway and Sons piano competition in China. He had performed in many cities in South Korea in 2004, and appeared in concerts many times in Hong Kong, ShenZhen, and Wuhan. He also played with ShenZhen Symphony Orchestra

Soyoung Choe

Korea

Jury’s Choice

Presented by the Paderewski Music Association in Bydgoszcz, Poland

Soyoung Choe began piano studies at age three with her mother, also a pianist, in her native Korea. In addition to piano lessons from her mother, Ms. Choe furthered her music education at two arts schools – Yewon and Seoul Arts High School – in Korea. Simultaneously, she participated in a pre-college program at the Korea National University of Arts for seven years, studied under Choong-mo Kang. At age ten, Ms. Choe was selected to perform at the Prodigy Concert at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul.

Ms. Choe has appeared as a soloist with the Kiev Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 she performed a recital as one of the Young Professional Artists Series at Kumho Art Hall in Korea. Ms. Choe has also participated in numerous international music festivals, such as Euro Music Festival in Prague and Leipzig, the Mannes International Music Festival in New York, and the International Masterclass in Rome. Recently, she appeared in the Masterclass held at Mendelssohn Academy in Leipzig as a representative of NEC with full scholarship.

Soyoung has also won numerous competitions in Korea since elementary school, including first prize in the Chopin Competition (Korea), second prize (without a first prize) in Beethoven Competition (Korea), and bronze in the Asia Chopin Competition (Tokyo). In June 2011, she won third prize at the California International Piano Competition held in San Diego.

Ms. Choe continues to perform actively at NEC. In 2012, she was recently won the school’s prestigious the Honors Competition. In 2011 she performed for NEC’s Lisztomania Concert which commemorated the two hundredth anniversary of Franz Liszt’s birth. Furthermore, she performed at the ‘Chopin in Paris’ Concerts in 2010.

Soyoung Choe is currently completing the final year of her bachelor’s degree at New England Conservatory, where she studies with Wha-Kyung Byun.