 |
Sylviane Deferne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sylviane Deferne |
| Born | 1965 (age 57–58) Geneva, Switzerland |
| Genres | Classical music |
| Occupation(s) | Concert pianist |
| Instrument(s) | Piano |
| Website | Official website |
Sylviane Deferne (born 1965 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss pianist and musician. [1]
Deferne started studying the piano in the Geneva Conservatory of Music of her hometown of Geneva, and she soon won first prize of virtuosity with distinction. [1] She won several international competitions, including first prize unanimously at the Frank Martin Competition in the Netherlands, [1] and second prizes in the international competitions at William Kapell in the United States and in Cologne, Germany.
Deferne has had engagements as a soloist in Europe and the US. She has partnered in ensembles including Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
Recordings have been made under the labels of Cascavelle and R.E.M. Under the Decca label, the Concerto for Two Pianos by Poulenc was recorded in collaboration with Pascal Rogé and the New Philharmonia of London, conducted by Charles Dutoit. She had three discs produced by Radio-Canada.
Reviews on her interpretation of music by Bach, Schubert, Brahms, Karol Szymanowski, Chopin, Grieg and Rachmaninoff have been published. [2]
Deferne has toured in Germany, France, Romania, Korea, Canada and various cities in Switzerland. She also plays chamber music; with the Trio Ceresio, which she joined in 2007, she regularly performs in Switzerland, and toured in Japan. [1]
In May 2008, Deferne was invited to perform as a soloist with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in Switzerland, with the Concerto No.1 by Frank Martin. She teaches classes of professional piano at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva in the Conservatories at Neuchâtel and Geneva.
Frank Martin was a Swiss composer, who spent much of his life in the Netherlands.
Alex Klein is an oboist who began his musical studies in his native Brazil at the age of nine, and made his solo orchestral debut the following year. At the age of eleven he was invited to join the Camerata Antigua, one of Brazil's foremost chamber ensembles. During his teenage years he toured and performed as a soloist, recitalist and as a member of several professional orchestras in Brazil. He then studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with James Caldwell, earning a BM and an artist diploma in music performance.
Abbey Henry Simon was an American concert pianist, teacher, and recording artist. He was a protégé of Josef Hofmann at the Curtis Institute of Music and a winner of the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1940. He was called a "supervirtuoso" by The New York Times.
Yeol Eum Son is a South Korean classical pianist. She first drew international attention in October 2004 at age 18 when she appeared as a soloist performing Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Lorin Maazel on their Asia tour in Seoul, Daejeon, and Tokyo. Son again performed with Maazel and the New York Philharmonic when they returned to the Seoul Arts Center in February 2008, this time as soloist for Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2.
Christian Zacharias is a German pianist and conductor.
Grzegorz Nowak is a Polish conductor. He has served as music director of the Polish National Opera, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Radio Orchestra in Kaiserslautern, Germany), and Sinfonia Helvetica and festival Musique and Amitié in Switzerland. He is the Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.
Nobuko Imai, is a Japanese classical violist with an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. Since 1988 she has played a 1690 Andrea Guarneri instrument.
Baiba Skride is a Latvian classical violinist. She was the winner of the Queen Elisabeth Violin Contest in 2001.
Nareh Arghamanyan is an Armenian pianist. She is best known for winning the 2008 Montreal International Musical Competition.
Daniel Blumenthal is a German-born American pianist.
Antonio Pompa-Baldi is an Italian-American pianist. Described by Donald Rosenberg of The Plain Dealer as "a musician of myriad superlative qualities" and by Allan Kozinn of The New York Times as a "a poised, assured player with a solid technique", Pompa-Baldi won the first prize in the 1999 Cleveland International Piano Competition. He was also a prizewinner of the 1998 Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition and the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Pompa-Baldi continues to regularly perform internationally as a recitalist, as a chamber musician, and as a soloist with such orchestras as the Boston Pops, Houston Symphony, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Symphoniker, and the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France under such conductors as Hans Graf, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and Theodore Kuchar. Additionally, Pompa-Baldi currently serves as Distinguished Professor of Piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music and as honorary guest professor and visiting professor at three universities in China, including the China Conservatory of Music.
Đặng Thái Sơn is a Vietnamese-Canadian classical pianist. In 1980, he won the X International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, becoming the first pianist from Asia to do so. He has received particular acclaim for the sonority and poetry in his interpretations of Chopin and the French repertoire.
Rachel Kolly d'Alba is a Swiss violinist. Considered a child prodigy at the violin, she started playing at the age of five.
Anna Borysivna Fedorova is a Ukrainian concert pianist. Fedorova performs as soloist, chamber musician and with symphony orchestras in the major concert halls of the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, UK, Ukraine, Poland, the US, Mexico, Argentina, and parts of Asia. Fedorova is a David Young Piano Prize Holder supported by a Soiree d'Or Award and Keyboard Trust.
Tatjana Vassiljeva is a Russian cellist with many prizes.
Martin Helmchen is a German pianist. He has played with international orchestras and has recorded discs of many classical composers.
Nikki Chooi is an American-Canadian classical violinist. He is a prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition and Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition and 1st prize winner of the 2013 Michael Hill International Violin Competition, Montreal Symphony Manulife Competition, and Klein International Strings Competition. Nikki is a soloist, educator, and current Concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He previously served as Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York.
Mélodie Zhao is a classical pianist. She was born in Bulle, Switzerland.
Philippe Tondre is a French-British classical oboist. He has served as Principal Oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2020, and a professor of Oboe at the Curtis Institute of Music since 2022.
Hong-Mei Xiao is a Chinese-born American violist. She won first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition, and is a recipient of the Patek Philippe Grand Prize. Hong-Mei Xiao's career as an international soloist comprises critically acclaimed performances in major concert halls and with orchestras of great distinction throughout the world. An award winning recording artist, her CDs have been released by labels such as Delos Productions and Naxos Records. She was also honored as a United States Artistic Ambassador.
