Duncan George Gifford (born 26 November 1972) is an

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n-born award-winning concert pianist and teacher. He has been a professor of piano at the Conservatory of

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since 2006.

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describes him as a "major artist of his generation". The ''

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'' described him as "a virtuosic and musically eloquent soloist".

Early life

Gifford was born in

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and educated at Newington College (1985–1990), the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and in Russia at the Moscow Conservatory.

Piano competitions

Gifford's impressive record of international music competition awards began in 1989, when he was a finalist in the

ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards The ABC Young Performers Awards is a classical music competition for young people that ran annually from 1944 to 2015, and again from 2017. It is generally considered the most prestigious Australian classical music competition not restricted to a ...

. In 1992 he won the 3rd Prize in the Sydney International Piano Competition. He was the highest placed Australian competitor in the history of the competition (this has since been equalled by Daniel Hill, who placed 3rd at the 2004 competition). He won 4th Prize in the 1994 Dublin International Piano Competition and 3rd Prize in the 1996

Montreal International Piano Competition The Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) is an elite-level competition for classical musicians who are interested in pursuing an international career as a professional concert artist. Established in 2001 by the late André Bourbeau an ...

. He was awarded 1st Prize, and the

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

and Chopin Prizes, in the 1998 José Iturbi International Piano Competition in

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, 1st Prize in the 1999

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, and 1st Prize in the 2000

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Grand Prix de Piano in

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Performance career

Gifford has performed with orchestras and in recitals throughout

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, and in the

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where he gave his

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debut recital in 1999. In 1993 he released his first CD featuring the music of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.

Teaching career

Since 1996, Gifford has been based in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, where he is professor of piano.

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

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. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

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, ''Debussy Preludes Books I & II'' ,

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year – Classical *In 1964 and 1977 it wa ...

, , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifford, Duncan 1972 births Living people Australian classical pianists Male classical pianists People educated at Newington College Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Sydney International Piano Competition prize-winners Moscow Conservatory alumni José Iturbi International Piano Competition prize-winners Australian music educators Piano pedagogues 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians