Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer.
Vladimir Krainev was a Russian pianist and professor of piano, People's Artist of the USSR.
Christian Zacharias is a German pianist and conductor.
Valeriy Sokolov is a Ukrainian violinist.
Josu de Solaun is a Spanish-American classical music pianist, composer and conductor. He is also a solo piano free improviser, playing solo improvised piano recitals, as well as a published poet and a published composer. He holds citizenships from both Spain and the United States. In 2019 he was given the title of Officer of Cultural Merit, a state decoration, by Klaus Iohannis, president of Romania. In both 2021 and 2023 he was awarded an International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) Award, once for chamber music and once for solo playing.
XV Jose Iturbi International Piano Competition took place in Valencia, from September 14 to the 30th, 2006. The competition is held every two years and is a member of the Geneva World Federation of International Music Competitions. Pianist Josu De Solaun Soto was given the First Grand Prize, becoming the first Spanish pianist to be awarded such distinction in the 25 years of the competition's existence. The prize included over $25,000, recital and orchestral engagements and a recording contract.
Ilarion Ionescu-Galați is a Romanian violinist and orchestra conductor.
The XVI Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition took place at the Palacio de Festivales in Santander, Spain, from July 25 to August 7, 2008. Twenty pianists, selected through three shortlists of candidates took part in the event. The Dresden Philharmonic accompanied the three finalists in the final on August 6. Both the Semi-finals and the Final were broadcast through TVE.
The IX Sydney International Piano Competition took place at the Seymour Centre in Sydney from 16 July to 2 August 2008.
Mikhail Voskresensky is a Russian pianist and music pedagogue who left Russia for the United States in 2022 protesting against Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in Fort Worth, Texas from May 22 to June 7, 2009. The competitors were selected by a screening jury during screening auditions that took place in January and February 2009. The Takács Quartet performed with the semifinalists, while the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Conlon accompanied the finalists.
The International Piano Competition "Ricard Viñes" takes part each year in Auditorium Enric Granados in Lleida (Spain).
Valentin Gheorghiu was a Romanian classical pianist and composer. He is regarded as a leading Romanian pianist of the twentieth century, focused on both piano concertos of the Romantic period and chamber music. He won the prize for the best performance of Enescu's Violin Sonata No. 3 at the first George Enescu International Competition in 1958, with his brother Ștefan as the violinist. He made recordings with international orchestras and conductors.
The I European Union Piano Competition took place in Prague and Ostrava from June 24–29, 2009, as part of the cultural program accompanying the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It was jointly organized by the International Dvořák Society and European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA). The purpose of the competition was to deepen the cultural integration of the member states and to find the most promising young pianist of the European Union. The selection of the candidates was provided with the help of embassies, Ministries of Culture, EPTA organizations, and leading European music schools and institutions. Only candidates delegated from those authorities were accepted to participate, one candidate for each EU country. A total of 27 pianists were accepted to the Semi-final Round in Prague, which consisted of a 60-minute piano recital, performed at the Nostitz Palace. Four finalists where then chosen to perform with one of the leading Czech orchestras, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, in a concert broadcast by both Czech Television and Czech Radio. Pianist Josu de Solaun Soto was given the First Prize and Audience Prize. The prize included a cash award and a string of recital and orchestral engagements.
Edna Golandsky is a classical music pianist, lecturer and pedagogue of renown. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she studied under Rosina Lhévinne and Adele Marcus. She later studied privately during many years with noted pedagogue Dorothy Taubman, whom she considers her main influence. She has earned wide acclaim throughout the United States and abroad for her extraordinary ability to solve technical problems at the instrument and for her penetrating musical insight. Many well-known concert pianists frequently play for her in her New York studio, including Enescu Competition winner Josu De Solaun Soto, Chopin Competition laureate Gabriela Montero and Leeds Competition winner Ilya Itin. Golandsky co-founded the Taubman Institute, of which she was Associate Artistic Director from 1976 to 2002. In June 2003, Golandsky and senior faculty members previously affiliated with the Taubman Institute formed the Golandsky Institute, which is a leading center for the study, advancement, and dissemination of the Taubman Approach. The institute conducts an annual symposium and festival every July at Princeton University.
The Ploiești Philharmonic Orchestra is a Romanian orchestra based in Ploiești, Prahova County. The orchestra's home is the Paul Constantinescu Philharmonic, located in centre of Ploiești.
Emil Simon was a Romanian conductor and composer.
The George Enescu International Competition is a music competition for young pianists, violinists, cellists and composers, that takes place in Bucharest, Romania. It has helped launch the careers of many musicians, and among its list of first-prize winners are legendary pianists such as Radu Lupu, the winner in the 1967 edition. Other winners include Spanish pianist Josu De Solaun Soto, Russian pianists Elisabeth Leonskaja, in 1964, and Dmitri Alexeev, in 1970.
Maria Teresa Naranjo Ochoa was a Mexican virtuoso pianist and teacher.
Evgeny Konnov is a Russian pianist. He is the winner of first prizes in more than 30 international competitions, including first prize and public prize at the 64th Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona 2018, first prize and public prize at the 31st International Ettore Pozzoli Piano Competition in Seregno 2019, first prize at the 14th Unisa International Piano Competition in South Africa 2020. In the season 2020/2021 he was an artist in residence at the Staatstheater Augsburg. His debut album was released by Naxos in 2022 with piano sonatas by the Catalan composer Antonio Soler and was highly acclaimed by the international press.
