Amateur Concert Pianist

Programme

Performance time20 min

Provisional schedule

Prizes

2027 jury

• 

  Karolos Zouganelis

  Greece

  Biography

  Karolos Zouganelis was born in Athens in 1977 and began his musical studies at the age of five. In 1992, he earned his diploma from the National Conservatory of Athens, studying under Myrto Mavrikou; he was awarded a First Prize in piano, receiving the highest honors (*Très bien*) by a unanimous decision of the jury. He also studied with Fivi Vallinda and Elisabeth Kounalaki.

  In 1996, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, where he studied with Gérard Frémy, Cyril Huvé, Sylvaine Billier, Anne Grapotte, Jean Koerner, and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. He went on to earn advanced diplomas (*Diplômes de Formation Supérieure*) in piano, vocal accompaniment, instrumental accompaniment, and chamber music. Furthermore, he studied *Lied* and *mélodie* (art song) with Ruben Lifschitz and Jeff Cohen, and participated in masterclasses led by distinguished artists such as Christian Zacharias, György Sebök, Idil Biret, and Dominique Merlet. Having gained early recognition at the “Papaïoannou Panhellenic Competition” in Athens—where he won First Prize in 1991—he has also been a prizewinner in numerous international competitions, including the *Concorso Internazionale Città di Senigallia* (Italy), the *Concorso Internazionale Città di Marsala* (Italy), the “Anton Rubinstein” International Competition in Alessandria (Italy), the “Alfredo Casella” International Competition in Siena (Italy), the “Flame” Competition in Paris, the *Concours Musical Régional d’Ile-de-France* in Paris, the Arcachon International Competition, and the Vulaines-sur-Seine International Competition. He is also a laureate of the *Mécénat Musical Société Générale*. He is a scholarship recipient of the A. G. Leventis Foundation, as well as the Académie Musicale de Villecroze and the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundation.

  Karolos Zouganelis has given numerous recitals—both as a soloist and in duo with singers—in Athens, Thessaloniki, Rome, and Paris (at venues including the Cité de la Musique’s Amphithéâtre, Radio France’s Studio 106, the Théâtre Mogador, Salle Cortot, and the Hôtel des Invalides), as well as at the Opéra de Lyon and the Opéra de Montpellier. He has been a guest artist at various festivals, such as the “Piano en Saintonge” International Festival, the “Les Musicales” International Festival in Colmar, the “Ars Terra” International Piano Festival, the “Dedans-Dehors” Festival (organized by the Cité de la Musique), the “Festival Européen Jeunes Talents” in Paris, the “Journées Lyriques de la Seine” festival, the “Saison Musicale Royaumont,” and the “Villa Musica Konzertsaison” in Germany. He has performed under the direction of conductors including Jeffrey Milarsky, Zsolt Nagy, Janos Furst, and Michael Gielen. Furthermore, he has presented J. S. Bach’s *Goldberg Variations*—accompanied by visuals by Axel Arno—at the “Manolis Kalomiris” Festival on Samos, the Corfu International Festival, and the Dimitri Mitropoulos Hall at the Megaron in Athens.

  In October 2006 and June 2007, he served as a pianist for the “Operalia” international vocal competition, organized by Plácido Domingo at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain, and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

  In October 2007, he won the Pianist’s Prize at the 4th “Nadia and Lili Boulanger” International Voice-Piano Duo Competition, as well as the Duo Prize alongside soprano Shigeko Hata. In February 2010, he took part in a complete performance of Chopin’s piano works, organized by the Chopin Society and Pianos Pleyel in Paris—an event filmed in its entirety by the television channel France 3.

  On March 1, 2010—the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth—he was at Victoria Hall in Geneva, participating in a complete performance of the composer’s piano Études.

  He is currently an assistant professor in Peggy Bouveret’s vocal class, as well as a professor of supplementary piano, at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris.

• 

  Herbert du Plessis

  France

  Biography

  After studying with the renowned master Pierre Sancan, pianist Herbert du Plessis spent several years in England, where he won the 1st Prize at the Royal Academy of Music. Seeking to go beyond mere technical virtuosity, he simultaneously pursued piano studies with the great Liszt interpreter Louis Kentner in London, while also working towards a master’s degree in musicology at the prestigious University of Oxford, from which he graduated with the very rare distinction of a First-Class Honours degree.

  Upon returning to France, he was invited by the legendary virtuoso Georges Cziffra to further his training under his guidance, both in Hungary and in Senlis. As a laureate of the Cziffra Foundation, Herbert du Plessis had the privilege of refining his approach to Romantic music through his close association with this unforgettable interpreter of Liszt. In accordance with the wishes of the late master, Herbert du Plessis served for many years on both the Board of Directors and the Artistic Committee of the Cziffra Foundation.

  Herbert du Plessis’s concerts are consistently met with enthusiasm by both the public and the press. He has been invited to perform at festivals and appear on radio broadcasts across Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Hungary. In 2012, his engagements took him as far as Australia and Brazil. He has performed to sold-out audiences at London’s iconic Wigmore Hall, a feat he has repeated elsewhere, such as when conductor Laurent Petitgirard invited him to perform with the French Symphony Orchestra at the Opéra-Comique, or when Pierre Cardin opened the doors of the Espace Cardin on the Champs-Élysées to him.

  For several years, Herbert du Plessis served as Honorary President of the Liszt Festival in Provence, and in 2007, he gave the inaugural recital at the Richelieu Festival. In Paris, he has performed at the Salle Gaveau, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Auditorium des Halles, and the Musée d’Orsay. The radio station France Musique dedicated a ninety-minute programme to him.

  Herbert du Plessis is one of the very few pianists in the world to have performed the complete works of Chopin in public, spread across 10 recitals, a feat he accomplished three times in Paris, which also led to an invitation to perform in London for the prestigious Chopin Society. A recipient of the Grand Prix from the Nouvelle Académie du Disque, Herbert du Plessis has released recordings featuring the works of Liszt, Chopin, and Schumann; a double album dedicated to Chopin’s Études and Préludes was released in April 2024. In a completely different vein, a CD of contemporary English music is set for release in 2027.

  Let us turn to the critics:

  “Regarding Herbert du Plessis, one might say: Hats off, gentlemen, a true musician!” (Jeannine Hauchard in CultureMag, May 2010)

  “Herbert du Plessis possesses a truly astonishing, expressive mastery of the keyboard” (Frédéric Gaussin in jejouedupiano.com, November 2021)

  The magazine Piano notes: “Herbert du Plessis’s complete cycle of Chopin’s works, performed in Paris, garnered significant media attention. His approach is characterised by refinement, a keen sense of musical line and phrasing, and an expressive restraint, one deeply imbued with sensitivity and controlled passion.”

  Following a concert in Saint-Étienne, Jean-Luc Perrot wrote: “Herbert du Plessis performed works by Chopin and Liszt, Romantic composers par excellence. A student of Louis Kentner and Georges Cziffra, Herbert du Plessis moves within this musical world with astonishing ease… He played Chopin’s Berceuse with infinite subtlety and complete, relaxed poise: a sublime moment of pure emotion.”

  Regarding a performance at the Salle Gaveau, the Revue des Deux Mondes noted: “Sensitive and intelligent, and gifted with a superb touch, masterful technique, and infallible taste, Herbert du Plessis is an admirable artist… His rendition of Brahms’s formidable Variations on a Theme by Paganini, one of the most challenging pieces in the entire piano repertoire, was a magnificent display of keyboard mastery, commanding nothing but the utmost respect… Truly, piano playing of the very highest order.”

  On the release of his first recording of works by Liszt, the magazine Diapason wrote: “The directness and transparency of his luminous touch, the varied colours with which he adorns his playing, the perfect balance between heart and architectural sense, the sheer panache he can display: one is left utterly delighted and dazzled.”

• 

  Julien Kurtz

  France

  Biography

  Julien Kurtz’s career is inseparable from the Amateurs virtuoses International Piano Festival, which he co-founded in 2008 and whose expansion he has helped to establish in France and around the globe through increasingly numerous and highly acclaimed projects each year.

  His unique background, marked by a dual curriculum as a professor of economics and social sciences and as a pianist, makes him an essential ambassador for high-level amateur pianists who, through Les Amateurs virtuoses piano festival, are offered concert opportunities on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, as well as masterclasses and concerts with leading professional pianists.

  His training as a pianist began with Catherine Silie (a student of Yves Nat and former assistant to Pierre Sancan at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris), before continuing notably with Bernard d’Ascoli. He has had the opportunity to perfect his skills in masterclasses with Rena Shereshevskaya, Dimitri Bashkirov, Denis Pascal, Mûza Rubackyté, and François-René Duchâble.

  He has performed on many different occasions around the world (France, Germany, Russia, Hungary, South Africa, Canada, China, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, etc.), both solo and with orchestra, and has had the opportunity to perform with eminent artists such as Célimène Daudet, François-René Duchâble, and Dmitry Shishkin.

  He also worked for a year with Jean-François Zygel, assisting him primarily in the preparation of his famous “Leçons de musique” (Music Lessons) at the Théâtre du Châtelet and radio broadcasts on France Musique.

• 

  Agnès Postec

  France

  Biography

  Of Breton origin, Agnès Postec began her musical studies at the Brest Conservatoire before continuing her training at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where she obtained her Concert Diploma unanimously, with the jury’s special congratulations. She then entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), the national conservatoire in Paris, where she brilliantly obtained her First Prize in Piano, studying in the classes of Aldo Ciccolini and Bruno Rigutto. Agnès Postec also took part in several summer academies in the classes of Anne Queffélec and Dominique Merlet.

  She was subsequently admitted to the advanced studies programme at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, where, from 1988 to 1990, she studied piano and chamber music with György Kurtág, Ferenc Rados and Kornél Zemplény. From then on, Agnès Postec gave numerous solo and chamber music concerts in France and abroad. She also took part in various recordings for the Pierre Verany-Arion labels, which received favourable reviews from the critics.

  Agnès Postec holds the Certificat d’Aptitude (C.A.), the French state qualification for teaching piano in conservatoires, which she obtained with the highest honours at the CNSMDP. Alongside her performing career, she also teaches: she is currently a piano professor at the Rennes Regional Conservatoire (Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional, CRR) and at the Pôle d’Enseignement Supérieur Spectacle Vivant de Bretagne – Pays de la Loire, a higher education institution for the performing arts, while also serving on various examination and competition juries. Agnès Postec has also taught at the international summer academies in Mende, Rouffach and Grand Nancy, and has taken part in various Erasmus exchanges in Italy and Germany.

• 

  Isabelle Oehmichen

  France

  Biography

  Isabelle Oehmichen regularly performs as a concert pianist, in recitals, with orchestras, and in chamber music ensembles, across France and in numerous other countries (including Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Finland, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Hungary).

  Winner of the First Grand Prize at the 1989 Milosz Magin International Competition and a 1993 laureate of the Cziffra Foundation, she served on the Foundation’s artistic committee and later held an artistic leadership role there until 2019.

  She has recorded 13 albums, either as a solo pianist or as a soloist with orchestra; these include concertos by Weiner and Wissmer, previously unrecorded works by Henri Collet and Henri Sauguet, and the world-premiere recording of Czerny’s Nocturnes, alongside works by Mozart, Chopin, and Liszt.

  As Artistic Director of the Franco-Hungarian Musical Association (A.M.F.H.) in Paris, she established a Summer Chamber Music Academy in Budapest in 2002.

  She frequently serves on the juries of international competitions in Europe and the USA.

Rules

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