The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition is based in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and is the second largest piano competition in the United States. The competition has three age categories: the International Artists Competition for pianists aged 19–32, the Young Artist Competition ages 15–18, and the Junior Competition ages 11–14. The competition is managed by the

Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation The Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is best known for its Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the second largest piano competition in the United States. The Fou ...

, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization. The Foundation hosts regular

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

competitions, concerts, and festivals on a four-year cycle.http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,640191545,00.html

History

The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition was founded in 1976 by Paul Pollei, a member of the piano faculty at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

. It was hosted by the university as part of the Summer Piano Festival from 1976 to 1980. In 1978 Gina Bachauer's widower, Alec Sherman, announced that the name of

Gina Bachauer Gina Bachauer (Greek: Τζίνα Μπαχάουερ; May 21, 1910, AthensAugust 22, 1976, Athens), was a Greek classical pianist who toured extensively in the United States and Europe. Interested in piano at a young age, Bachauer graduated from t ...

was to be given to the Competition in honor of his wife, the celebrated

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

pianist who was popular in Utah, having appeared with

Maurice Abravanel Maurice Abravanel (January 6, 1903 – September 22, 1993) was an American classical music conductor. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years. Life Abravanel was born in Salonika, Rumelia Eyalet, Ottom ...

and the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving c ...

. The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition became part of the Utah Symphony in 1980 and relocated to Salt Lake City. The competition was held every other year during the month of June and the Gold Medalist received a Steinway grand piano and a recital debut in New York City. In 1983, the Foundation was admitted as a member of the

World Federation of International Music Competitions The World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classi ...

based in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Candidates from more than 40 countries have participated as contestants in the Foundation’s competitions. More than 1,000 pianists have competed in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competitions and

cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In bookkeeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

s totaling more than $300,000 have been awarded. The competition is renowned for launching the careers of duo-pianists Gail Niwa and Lori Sims.

Winners

Gold Medal winners of the International Artists Competition: * 2018 �
Changyong Shin
South Korea * 2014 – Andrey Gugnin, Russia *

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–

Lukas Geniušas Lukas Geniušas (russian: Лукас Генюшас; born July 1, 1990, in Moscow) is a Russian-Lithuanian pianist. Geniušas began to study piano at the age of five, and in 1996 he entered the Moscow Frederic Chopin College of Music Performing. ...

, Lithuania * 2006 –

Stephen Beus Stephen Beus (born 1981, Othello, Washington, United States) is an American pianist. Biography Stephen Beus began taking piano lessons at age 5, and made his symphonic debut at age 9. He won the MTNA National Competition at the high school level ...

, USA * 2002 –

Cédric Pescia Cédric Pescia (born 1976) is a pianist. He is a dual citizen of France and Switzerland. Biography Pescia studied at the Conservatoire de Musique in Lausanne, the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva, the Universität der Künste in Berlin, and t ...

, Switzerland * 1998 – Lori Sims, USA * 1994 –

Nicholas Angelich Nicholas Michael Angelich (December 14, 1970 – April 18, 2022) was an American pianist. He was noted for performing internationally with ensembles from Europe and North America. Early life Angelich was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 14 ...

, USA * 1991 – Gail Niwa, USA * 1988 –

Xiang-Dong Kong Xiang-Dong Kong ( born 1968, in Shanghai) is a Chinese pianist. He was one of the young musicians featured in '' From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China''. Kong was Gold Medalist at the 1988 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. In 19 ...

, China * 1986 –

Alec Chien Alec Chien is a pianist from Hong Kong. Born in Hong Kong, Chien earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at Juilliard where he studied under Adele Marcus. He was prized at the II Sydney and the VIII 1982 Santander's Paloma O'Shea (4 ...

, China * 1984 –

David Buechner Sara Davis Buechner (born David Buechner; 1959)" _overview.html" ;"title="Allmusic: David Buechner > overview">Allmusic: David Buechner > overview, retrieved February 25, 2007. is an American concert pianist and educator currently based in Philade ...

, USA * 1982 – Michael Gurt, USA * 1980 – Duane Hulbert, USA * 1979 –

Panayis Lyras Panayis Lyras, earlier known as Panaghis Lykiardopoulos or Panayis Lykiardopoulos, is an American classical pianist. Lyras was born in Athens, Greece, in 1953. At age six he attended the Athens Conservatoire and emigrated with his family to Ame ...

, USA * 1978 –

Arthur Greene Arthur Greene is an American pianist and educator. Career Greene won gold medals at both the 1978 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and the William Kapell International Piano Competition. ''The Washington Post' wrote "For 99 ou ...

, USA * 1977 – Christopher Giles, USA * 1976 – Douglas Humpherys, USA Other notable laureates include

Armen Babakhanian Armen Babakhanian ( hy, Արմեն Բաբախանյան; born 9 October 1967) is an Armenian classical pianist. He has received prizes at various international piano competitions including the Leeds (5th prize), Van Cliburn (5th prize), Gina Bach ...

(1991),

Mehmet Okonsar Mehmed (modern Turkish: Mehmet) is the most common Bosnian and Turkish form of the Arabic name Muhammad ( ar, محمد) (''Muhammed'' and ''Muhammet'' are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of Muh ...

(1991),

Violetta Egorova Violetta Egorova (Russian: Виолетта Викторовна Егорова) is a Russians, Russian concert pianist. Biography She was born in Krasnodar on November 16, 1969, a city on the southernmost section of Russia. She began to play an ...

(1991),

Kevin Kenner Kevin Kenner (born May 19, 1963 in Coronado, California) is an American concert pianist. Biography At the age of 17, Kenner was a finalist at the X International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Ten years later, in 1990 he returned to Warsaw ...

(1988),

Vassily Primakov Vassily Primakov ( as Василий Примаков) is a Russian concert pianist and recording artist known for his interpretations of Chopin. Education Primakov was born in Moscow and began studies at Moscow's Central Special Music School a ...

(2002),

Lev Vinocour Lev Vinocour (russian: Лев Винокур; born 3 August 1970) is a pianist from Russia. He began his studies at the age of six. He studied at the School of Music in Saint Petersburg and continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory under th ...

(2002),

Luiza Borac Luiza Borac is a Romanian classical pianist. Life In 2012, Borac recorded several world premiere recordings with Jaime Martin and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields of works by the pianist and composer Dinu Lipatti. The double CD was ...

(1998), Young Artists laureates

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(1999), Leonardo Colafelice (2012),

Aimi Kobayashi is a Japanese classical pianist. She was a finalist at the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition and won 4th prize at the subsequent XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition. Biography She was born in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and ...

(2012), and Junior laureates Nareh Arghamanyan (2000),

Colleen Lee Colleen Lee Ka-ling (; born 11 October 1980) is a Hong Kong pianist who won the 6th place prize in the XV International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005. Biography Lee began piano lessons when she was four, and started studying with Miss Eleanor ...

(1993),

Rachel Cheung Rachel Wai-Ching Cheung (; born September 27, 1991) is a classical pianist from Kowloon, Hong Kong. She has won numerous prizes and awards in Hong Kong and overseas, and performs regularly in Asia, Europe, and North America. Early life and edu ...

(2004),

Aristo Sham Aristo Sham () (born 12 March 1996) is a pianist born in Hong Kong. He has won numerous prizes and awards in Hong Kong and overseas, and has performed in several countries. He has been featured in the Channel 4 programme, The World's Greatest Musi ...

(2008),

Tony Yike Yang Tony Yike Yang (born December 7, 1998) is a Canadian-Chinese pianist. Early life and education Yang was born in Chongqing, China to Chinese parents. He and his parents immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 2004. He began piano studies at the age of ...

(2012).

Critical response

Several members of the press have noted the high caliber of talent of Bachauer competitors. The

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

said "only the best try out for the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition."

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

said "those chosen are considered the cream of the young virtuoso world. Finalists often end up being offered scholarships to music academies, moving on to classical music careers."http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2008/06/29/piano-winner-bachauer.html?ref=rss

References

External links

Bachauer Website

* ttps://archive.today/20120731064220/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,640191545,00.html Stephen Beus Wins 2006 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
Gina Bachauer Competition Display and Archive Project
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620114709/https://orca.byu.edu/Reports/Journals/2006%20Final%20reports/HBLL/Yamamoto,%20Samuel.doc , date=2015-06-20
Gina Bachauer Piano Competition Set to Open
Music of Utah Piano competitions in the United States

History

Winners

Critical response

See also

References

External links